Renault Clio - Transponder?

seosamh1980

I've done a search and haven't found any threads on this but I find sometimes search doesn't bring up the most relevant threads. My Renault Clio (2001, almost geriatric) has been having problems with intermittently not starting. Finally a mechanic gave me some bit of an answer, he said "It's the transponder, go to Renault". Made it sound like he was telling me something clear, the key is fine, transponder is not, it's not reading the signals to start when the key is put in sometimes. So I rang one Renault garage, first the guy said he'd bet €50 it was the key, then said "So it's the transponder around the ignition you want?". I wish if people were going to give you instructions to ask somebody else they'd give you clear ones. Anyway he gave me a price, I rang another garage to ask and he didn't even know what I was asking for, told me to get the mechanic to call him and explain it. Now I don't know the mechanic well, and have already plagued him about this car in the last week, so don't want to be calling him up to do me a favour.

Can anyone tell me the actual words I need to be using to make this clear?? Or better yet, has anyone a rough idea of how much this costs to fix, taking into account not just the new part but labour, etc. I don't want to pour a lot of cash into my old car.

Thanks in advance for any light you can shed on this. I knew this would be the only thing I'd miss about my ex the mechanic!

Wossack

theres a chip in the key, which deactivates the immobliser - this is called the transponder

it responds, via tranmission, the radio identifier to disarm the immobilser

/edit usually if the car doesnt start and its a factory immobliser problem, theres a light shown in the dash board (little red key perhaps?)

seosamh1980

Ah ok, but the mechanic said the key is fine, that it's not the key, so does this still refer to that part in the key, or is there another in the car? Sorry if that is a stupid question, it's not stupid when you don't know!

Edit: The battery light shows on the dash when this happens.

Wossack

theres also an aeriel (or sometimes called RFID loop?) near the ignition, that sends the query to the key/keyfob, and waits for response before letting the car start.

I dont know about the specifics of the clio dash, but I'd say the battery is doubling as the immobliser indicator (?)

have you a second key?

Wossack

oh, and try the key on its own in the ignition - with no other keys hanging off it, or other bits (some gyms give RFID fobs as swipes for example)

seosamh1980

Wossack wrote: »

theres also an aeriel (or sometimes called RFID loop?) near the ignition, that sends the query to the key/keyfob, and waits for response before letting the car start.

I dont know about the specifics of the clio dash, but I'd say the battery is doubling as the immobliser indicator (?)

have you a second key?

If I have a second key it's 3.5 hours away in my parents house, was in college when I bought the car so a lot of the process included them, they might have one. I feel there isn't a spare though for some reason, will check.

seosamh1980

I've checked with parents and there was a second key, but they sent it to me when the other one stopped working, so I currently know of only one key! I have a Tesco and gym membership fob on the keys, I'll take them off but it'll be a while before I'll notice if that changes it, it can go weeks without happening, or can happen three times in two days.

Thanks.

cplwhisper

been there done that......brought my car to renault dealer to be told that immobilisor ring had to changed per the diagnostic specialist gadget..€140 + vat and fitting.

Ordered same and all good for a week or 10 days... 7am and again no starting the clio. towtruck run back to renault to say the diagnostic now says relay fault...off course at a cost but needed the car for work so handed over the dosh..


six month later after... the yet again but immobilisor ring, 3 relays, re-chipped the keys, them blaming the other keys on my keyrings to be the cause... major complaint to the Manager of dealership meant th3y took my car for a week to test it out between diagnostic checks for them to confirm that the problem is the ECU brain on my car all the time and when asked was that confirmed by the high tech diagnostic device they used the answer was NO !!!

they believed the diagnostic was not reading my car right !! but never offered me a refund for their errors saying that the courtesy car they gave during the test periods was sufficent and not something they normally do for free.

Solution to your issue is a ""crank-shaft sensor" worth about €40 family friend 200 miles away solved it by me Symptoms i told him on phone.... i bought 2 at the time just in case it happend again...

If your stuck PM me you address i'll send ya it for free.. i got rid of my clio as soon as i could - my car was the 1.2 8valve extreme model

seosamh1980

Thanks for that cplwhisper. It hasn't happened now since last week, I took the key off my key chain with two fob things, not that I can say that was causing it but for now the car has been very well behaved. I do want to get a new car longterm because it is just one problem after another with Renaults, I could deal with it when it was 1/2 years between big problems but not it's more frequent. Thanks for the offer too, I'll let you know in a few days, really appreciate it.

Edit: Spoke too soon! Car did it again, came back 20 minutes later and it wouldn't start, then we pushed it off the road, tried once more and it started. Sigh.