Ford Fiesta 1.1 96 Reg ignition problem

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
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Sun 6 Jun 2004 05:34
Ford Fiesta 1.1 96 Reg ignition problem - jazzman
I have recently acquired a Ford Fiesta Classic 1.1 96 reg.

I am having trouble with the ignition and frankly am a bit consfused about where the problem might be after reading previous posts about key problems on the ford fiesta.

The problem being that sometimes the car starts fine with either the black or the red key i got with car (bought second hand last week). When i turn the ignition to position II the LED on the clock comes on steady and I can fire the ignition up.

Sometimes however either of the keys refuse to work, when i turn to positin two, the warning lights come up as expected but the LED on the watch blinks rapidly. If I leave it to do that it blinks rapidly for a minute and then at random intervals.

The manual says that this means the key has not been recognised. If I now leave the car alone for 10-15 minutes and come back it all works fine.

Any clues what's going on?

Jazzman
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Sun 6 Jun 2004 09:05
Ford Fiesta 1.1 96 Reg ignition problem - jc
Make sure you don't have another key near the lock or a metal key-fob;these can degrade the signal.
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Sun 6 Jun 2004 11:09
Ford Fiesta 1.1 96 Reg ignition problem - jazzman
I did have a metal ring round it for a day and then RTFM which told me not metal around it. Will this have permanently damaged the key?

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Sun 6 Jun 2004 13:13
Ford Fiesta 1.1 96 Reg ignition problem - Adam {P}
I'm not sure. Someone I know had an L reg Fiesta Mark III which they used the red master key on for a while and the normal black key wouldn't work. You are right in as much that when the light flashses rapidly they keycode has not been recognised. I can only guess that it may have gone into programming mode for another key. I got told never to use the red key unless we were getting other keys coded.

I'm sure someone will be along in a minute who know's what they're on about.
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Mon 7 Jun 2004 07:45
Ford Fiesta 1.1 96 Reg ignition problem - Andrew Moorey (Tune-Up)
The red key is the master key. Both keys carry a passive chip which the transponder around the ignition barrel recognises. Suggest you start from scratch by opening the door with the red key, insert the red key and turn ignition on, wait for red light in clock to come on then switch off and immediately insert black key and turn ignition on. The red key primes the immobiliser to look for a 'new' key for about 20 seconds. Putting in the black key then 'registers' that key as a legitimate key (up to 5 keys can be programmed).
Andrew




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