Citroen C3 - Key and starting problems

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
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Tue 8 Sep 2015 21:25
Citroen C3 - Key and starting problems - BeckyMay
Hi,
I bought a citroen c3 2006 very recently. Its my first car and I am a bit clueless.

Well Im having a bit of a problem. My key fell apart so the metal bit and the plastic bit are completly seperate. If I try and use them seperatly the key wont turn in the bit to turn the key on. If i hold them together and try and cellotape them both together then a message flashes on the dashboad and says anti theft error. Today after work I couldnt get it to turn on at all until i pushed the clutch down and shook the steering wheel while turning the key, but the warning message didn't come up.

If I use the spare key to drive that warning message doesnt come up on the dashboard but that key won't open up the car, the buttons on the fob dont seem to work.

Also, twice now when I've stalled (Im very new!) the car wouldn't come back on, the engine was turning over but not sparking. Is it possible the problems could be related?

Any ideas whats going on and how to fix it?

Ive had to get new cambelt, anti roll bars, clutch and am waiting to get the electrics fixed because it keeps saying the lights are faulty when they aren't... So I didnt really want to have to pay £200 for a new key if I could help it :(

Thanks in advance.
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Wed 9 Sep 2015 01:04
Citroen C3 - Key and starting problems - elekie&a/c doctor
It is possible that the electronic immobiliser chip in the key that has fallen apart has been lost or damaged.The car will not start without this.Looks like you are going to need a new key.Unfortunately these and the similar Peugeot keys are very poor quality and are always in trouble.
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Wed 9 Sep 2015 14:23
Citroen C3 - Key and starting problems - Gibbo_Wirral

Google "ID46 chip", that should give you an idea of what you're looking for and is needed. Its usually tucked away into a recess of the key housing.

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