MG ZR 2004 - Plip programming gone wrong - Fixed # Archived Message
Posted by Dave Hill on October 4, 2009, 1:20 pm
A Cautionary Tale!
Having just had one of the most frustrating Friday's I felt I should share my experiences so that others don't fall into the same trap. A seemingly innocent task of re programming a couple of plip remotes on a 2003/4 MG ZR (same as Rover 25) has left me with a non-runner & the possibility of a costly fix.
This one uses the later type Pektron SCU 2 button system that differs from the earlier Lucas 5AS type. I have re-programmed many old ones without incident & entered into this procedure a little unprepared to be honest. Prior to commencing I tested the two remotes & confirmed a good signal from both buttons on each unit. The owner had informed me that one was working intermittently & the other not at all.
Using Autodiagnos, the menu's are quite straight forward & to be fair to AD they have good info on both their website & the accompanying update/installation disc. I set about the process & was presented with a screen that displayed what you are lead to believe is the EKA code (Emergency Key Access). It didn't look correct to me as it contained way too many digits. I took the step of backing out of the process & entering into another sub menu, to retrieve the EKA. This time I was presented with a more plausible U2 L5 U5 L3, which I noted down as kind of “get out of jail” card.
So back into the programming menu & I get a warning that the next step will erase the existing plips, in my naivety I carried on. In the next screen I am instructed to press the lock button on each remote & an audible beep will be heard (which I don't hear). I am not sure if this part of the process is the “erase” or the “learn” part. In the next screen I am asked to input the 20 digit code as seen on the bar code sticker. Here is where the problem started I think. With no response from the Horn to signal a received signal from the plip I am in a bit of a tight spot. I suspect that if I had a new plip with a bar code to hand I would have been ok to carry on, but I made the mistake of carrying on & turning the ignition off.
So now I have a car that has the SCU locked out & no matter how many attempts of EKA entry I make I cant proceed. Having gotten some great advice from various sources including Andy Amor & Mike Whitworth & even the Dark Lord himself (Thanks Darren). Unfortunately I am stuck at the moment & it looks like I need a replacement SCU. I have options of buying a new one or some spares from a local Rover breaker (approx £300) or I can take the car on my lorry to a guy in Birmingham (Best Of British Rover specialists) & he can swap the chip in the SCU for a reasonable cost. The SCU is a bugger to get at I think & with air-con fitted its even worse.
It is quite ironic that this should happen to me after a recent comment that I made in response to Jim on the Diesel |Management Forum, where I stated... “I make sure that the "learning" side of the job is done at my cost & not the customers”. Sure enough this an example where a visit to the dealership would have resulted in a less painful experience. My customer (or perhaps victim is more appropriate) won't be suffering financially however & has been offered a courtesy car whilst I get my act together.
If anyone has got a magic wand to make this one go away I would be grateful. I hope others can learn something from my tale.
Thanks to all who gave their time to talk to me.
Regards
Dave
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Link: http://www.autodiagnos.com/fileadmin/assets/en/downloads/pdf/technical_bulletins/rover/rover_plip.pdf
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- MG ZR 2004 - Plip programming gone wrong - Fixed # - Dave Hill October 4, 2009, 1:20 pm
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