I suppose it could be possible to program a brick type into the key version as well.
Latest project car - partial wiring loom replacement
- Thread starter mrscalex
- Start date
Great investigation work Rob.
Could you share a link for the dongle please.
A summary of the EWS to 15 pin socket checks you did would make a brilliant article for the Wiki section, if you have time to put it together.
It might be very difficult to tell now. The wire was destroyed from end to end.
My advice to safeguard would be:
- Careful physical examination
- Ensuring the loom is not getting crushed where it’s manipulated as the boot lid closes
- If something stops working or is intermittent investigate it.
- Understand why
- Replace the fuse only when you know why and with a quality product. Definitely not a pack of 300 for a £1!
You can cross program various key types. You can certainly program a much more modern key fob to replace the 3 button key most of us have.
@Ducklakeview already offers a service on here and shows some of the possibilities. He was investigating brick fob replacement too.
https://zroadster.org/threads/now-offering-replacement-keys-and-repairs-to-oem-ones.19980/
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This is the dongle. Very quick dispatch btw.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152070887752
I’ll try and do something at some stage with a write-up. But to explain it properly would be a long article. You can go a very long way with the live data in BMW Scanner.
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Assuming the AK90 programs the keys okay and no reason it shouldn't, the other challenge is finding a good quality blank and someone to cut it.
A lot of the cheap blanks from China use metal which is too hard to cut properly. A good key has some brass added. These key blades can end up breaking the locksmith's cutter. That makes them very angry as it costs so much to replace. Some refuse to cut other suppliers' blanks.
So the best option is to ignore the £1.50 blanks from China on ebay. And find someone who will supplies and cuts for around £15-£20.
I'm currently identifying a reliable supplier and have a good rapport going with one guy up north I found on ebay. He's sourced the 3 button fob for me, has done a test cut he's happy with and is sending it to me at no upfront cost on approval. This is a picture he sent to me showing the disaster that a cheap blank can cause.
The final part of the equation is sourcing the transponder which is the actual security part of the key. That's what the AK90 actually programs. I'm investigating that too currently and have a couple on order to try. They are under a fiver each.
A lot of the cheap blanks from China use metal which is too hard to cut properly. A good key has some brass added. These key blades can end up breaking the locksmith's cutter. That makes them very angry as it costs so much to replace. Some refuse to cut other suppliers' blanks.
So the best option is to ignore the £1.50 blanks from China on ebay. And find someone who will supplies and cuts for around £15-£20.
I'm currently identifying a reliable supplier and have a good rapport going with one guy up north I found on ebay. He's sourced the 3 button fob for me, has done a test cut he's happy with and is sending it to me at no upfront cost on approval. This is a picture he sent to me showing the disaster that a cheap blank can cause.
The final part of the equation is sourcing the transponder which is the actual security part of the key. That's what the AK90 actually programs. I'm investigating that too currently and have a couple on order to try. They are under a fiver each.
Btw never post pictures of your key like I did initially and have now changed. Or leave them laying around in public. It is very easy for a locksmith to read the cut of the key from looking at it. There are 6 positions of cut and each one has 6 depths of cut. That gets translated as a 6 digit code like BH043021 that can be fed into a laser key cutter and churned out.
Btw that's also the best way to get a blade cut. Not a trace/copy from your old key. But from the original key code. So when you see someone on ebay saying send a photo of your key and we can cut from that they are not a bodge it and scarper. They are actually the opposite, a skilled locksmith who wants to cut the key the best way for you.
Btw that's also the best way to get a blade cut. Not a trace/copy from your old key. But from the original key code. So when you see someone on ebay saying send a photo of your key and we can cut from that they are not a bodge it and scarper. They are actually the opposite, a skilled locksmith who wants to cut the key the best way for you.
Actually you also need a secondhand key of the same type for the PCB. You can get them for around £10 on ebay. So that's about £30 in total plus the one off cost of your AK90.
If you don't fancy dong all of this yourself then I have to say @Ducklakeview offers very good value at £60 for a suitable replacement or £80 for the Bentley style key.
If you don't fancy dong all of this yourself then I have to say @Ducklakeview offers very good value at £60 for a suitable replacement or £80 for the Bentley style key.
Got the car started this morning 
Forgot I had removed the 2x DME relays for testing!
Also needed a DME-EWS rolling code resync. Easy with BMW Scanner.
Making an awful noise though. I thought it was the lifters initially. But I now suspect a leaking manifold, hopefully join to the system only.
It will be coming into the garage later if I can make some room. Its interior is spread out in there currently. Then we’ll get it on the stands. And do my 340 point and growing detailed assesment over the evenings this coming week.
If we find no serious issues we’ll hopefully do the loom repair next weekend.
Forgot I had removed the 2x DME relays for testing!Also needed a DME-EWS rolling code resync. Easy with BMW Scanner.
Making an awful noise though. I thought it was the lifters initially. But I now suspect a leaking manifold, hopefully join to the system only.
It will be coming into the garage later if I can make some room. Its interior is spread out in there currently. Then we’ll get it on the stands. And do my 340 point and growing detailed assesment over the evenings this coming week.
If we find no serious issues we’ll hopefully do the loom repair next weekend.
D
Ducklakeview
Guest
I've stopped doing the "Bentley" style ones as I'm not happy with the quality, specifically the little metal loop that fixes it to yor keyring. I've had a couple snap, so I now do this style of key instead, same price;
A recommendation goes a long way with these non-OEM keys. They are banged out of China like no one's business and there's good and bad out there. So it's useful to know when to avoid a type/source. And what to go for instead.
That particular key is the same style as the latest 3 Series and probably many other BMWs too. The big difference is the OEM ones are all keyless. The key in your picture has been engineered to copy the original look but using a flick-blade.
I might have a dabble with one of these more modern styles. But right now I'm sticking to the original rubber 3-button fob.
D
Ducklakeview
Guest
I'm waiting on a sample 3 button fob from a locksmith I've got a rapport going with. He buys from a major national company apparently. I dare say the key is still from China. But someone else has gone to the trouble of checking it and putting their name to it.