08 Mondeo: immobiliser problem/won't turn off.

80s Child · 25-11-2016 5:40pm #1

Hi, we've a 08 Ford Mondeo Titanium X. Suddenly, the car won't turn off. When you press the button, the car says 'Immobiliser problem', and then the car turns itself back on to battery mode.

Has anyone had this problem? If so, any advice would be greatly appreciated!

80s Child · 03-12-2016 6:23pm

Any ideas folks?

It wouldn't turn off for me today in town again and then did so as normal. As I was coming out with the young fella in the baby sit, the alarm started to go off and the key wouldn't turn the alarm off. I couldn't gain access to the car either, I had to use the 'real' key to open the driver's door.

Any feedback or oponions would help. I'll be bringing it to the main dealer this week to see what the problem is.

Hal1 · 04-12-2016 12:26pm

Have you tried stalling the car in that situation? How is the battery does it start the car everytime?

80s Child · 04-12-2016 5:41pm

Hal1 wrote: »

Have you tried stalling the car in that situation? How is the battery does it start the car everytime?

No, it did occur to me though. I connected it again this morning, it started on the button and ran perfectly and turned off, and just before it switched off, it said immobiliser malfunction again.

I'm going to reconnect it when I get home and try stalling it, but I'll still have to switch the car off, so it'll be interesting to see!

80s Child · 05-12-2016 7:11pm

It doesn't come on when I stall the car. Is there a relevance to that?

Hal1 · 05-12-2016 7:36pm

I would get the codes read in a reputable garage and go from there.

80s Child · 05-12-2016 9:51pm

Hal1 wrote: »

I would get the codes read in a reputable garage and go from there.

Ya, the only solution. I just thought by putting it up here, someone may have come across it themselves.

FortySeven · 05-12-2016 10:01pm

I've been working in a Ford dealership for years and haven't heard of this happening.

Definitely one for the dealer, an Indy is not likely to diagnose this with an aftermarket diagnostic kit. Ford ids will throw a code and it can be cross referenced in etis for the solution bit I suspect a wiring issue here.

Some looms can cost a pretty penny, especially on a titanium due to many options, ask them to just diagnose it. Get them to show you where the problem is if possible or get a good description of which loom ( if it is the wiring, might not be) then take it to your local auto electrician and price a repair to the loom. Can save you a fair bit if the loom is in the hundreds.

dooroy · 06-12-2016 12:26am

Would agree with FortySeven as my nephew had a similar problem with his 07 Mondeo recently and it turned out to be a wiring problem.
In his case someone had been 'tampering' with the wiring to get the airbag light off.
An auto electrician sorted it for him.

80s Child · 24-12-2016 8:54pm

So, I gave it to a main dealer for a diagnostic test and they said it was a faulty switch and that they ed switch it and everything would be okay. Happy days! Got a phone call an hour later saying that the fault still existed. Back to square one!
When I went back to them, they feel that there was a fault in the wiring and they gave me a quote of €200, stating that it could take up to 4 hours to find the fault. They said that if I wanted to take it to my own mechanic, it would work out cheaper. I got the distinct impression that they didn't want the job!
So, my own mechanic was backed up with work so I drove it for a week or two and disconnected the battery every time as the problem persisted. When he did take it, he followed the wiring but couldn't find a fault. He then gave it his own diagnostic test to se what was wrong. What he found was that someone had programmed the ECU incorrectly, basically it had been tampered with before, and that something had happened that triggered the ECU to go back to these settings and that there was no way of overriding it.
So now, I've to get an ECU unit for my 08 Titanium X. It won't be this week or the next probably, but hopefully it'll work out! We were thinking of trading it anyway, but we just hoped it wouldn't be for another 4-6 months ideally, as my wife will be on unpaid maternity leave. But sure look, it could be worse!

80s Child · 11-07-2017 4:33pm

I'm back.

So, it's been 7 months and the Mondeo is still not repaired.

We've put in a new ECU and a new fuse box.

My mechanic, an indie, cannot get to the root of the problem.

The car is still turning itself on. He has the inside stripped trying to locate the problem, but alas, to no avail as of yet.

Anymore ideas folks?? I'm at my wits end!!

Edit: just off the phone from him there.

The cluster in the car is turning itself on. He'll turn the car off and lock it with the key, and it could be an hour, 2 hours, a day and the cluster will light up.

Any thoughts?

scannerd · 11-07-2017 6:00pm

Difficult as its not happening all the time. I would be trying to track down where the dash is getting the power to turn on from, starting the a wiring diagram and then maybe long term recording of power feeds to the dash with an amp clamp / scope to narrow down where its coming from. Could also be an internal fault in the cluster. when you stay turning on is it just the cluster or more?

80s Child · 11-07-2017 7:22pm

scannerd wrote: »

Difficult as its not happening all the time. I would be trying to track down where the dash is getting the power to turn on from, starting the a wiring diagram and then maybe long term recording of power feeds to the dash with an amp clamp / scope to narrow down where its coming from. Could also be an internal fault in the cluster. when you stay turning on is it just the cluster or more?

No, the ECU, radio, everything. The car is basically waiting for you to push the start button.

scannerd · 11-07-2017 9:43pm

does it have keyless go?

80s Child · 11-07-2017 9:46pm

scannerd wrote: »

does it have keyless go?

Excuse my ignorance, but do you mean not inserting the physical key into the car to start it? If so, yes.

Now, I had it at a Ford garage before and they thought that was the problem, so they changed it but the problem persisted, so they put back in the old one again.

rex-x · 12-07-2017 9:57am

Get a new instrument binnacle. Numbers need to match exactly, code it in and likely you will have no more issues. This is not an uncommon problem on fords of that age.

80s Child · 12-07-2017 11:21am

rex-x wrote: »

Get a new instrument binnacle. Numbers need to match exactly, code it in and likely you will have no more issues. This is not an uncommon problem on fords of that age.

Really? When I look online I can't find anything similar to this problem.

Cheers for that.

rex-x · 12-07-2017 11:27am

The immobiliser/keyless go etc is all in the instrument cluster

80s Child · 12-07-2017 11:36am

rex-x wrote: »

The immobiliser/keyless go etc is all in the instrument cluster

I just sent that onto my mechanic there and he told me that he got one already and that it did lessen the problem, but didn't relieve it altogether!!

I swear to God, this is driving me mental!!

rex-x · 12-07-2017 11:45am

80s Child wrote: »

I just sent that onto my mechanic there and he told me that he got one already and that it did lessen the problem, but didn't relieve it altogether!!

I swear to God, this is driving me mental!!

In what manner did it lessen the problem? A new binnacle needs to be coded using the oem ford diagnostic software, I highly doubt he just happened to get the correct binnacle and code it in casually?

80s Child · 12-07-2017 2:07pm

rex-x wrote: »

In what manner did it lessen the problem? A new binnacle needs to be coded using the oem ford diagnostic software, I highly doubt he just happened to get the correct binnacle and code it in casually?

Right. I'll pass it on!

08 Mondeo: immobiliser problem/won't turn off.

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