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Dead key

Discuss problems you have had or are having with your Z4
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thanatu55
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Dead key

Post by thanatu55 » Sat Jan 20, 2018 12:22 am

Yeah so I've got a dead key and can't use the remote central locking. I forgot about those dark 'stand by door, insert key in lock' days.

I managed to crack the key open and replaced the battery but still nothing. Any idea's?
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Steve84N
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Dead key

Post by Steve84N » Sat Jan 20, 2018 9:47 am

Needs to be set to the car again.

There are threads on here about how to do it.
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Ducklakeview
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Dead key

Post by Ducklakeview » Sat Jan 20, 2018 10:29 am

Get all of the keys you have together.

Sit in car with doors and windows closed.

Insert any of the keys into ign, and turn to pos 2 for less than 4 seconds and then off and remove key.

Then, within 30 seconds, take a key and hold down the lock button whilst pressing and releasing the unlock button 3 times in succession. The car should acknowledge acceptance of the key by locking and unlocking the central locking. Repeat with any other keys you have. When done, insert any key into ign and turn to pos 2 again, and back off, this tells the car that you have finished and stores the keys. Any keys you do not program at this stage will be deleted from the car's memory.

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thanatu55
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Dead key

Post by thanatu55 » Sat Jan 20, 2018 7:44 pm

Ducklakeview wrote: Sat Jan 20, 2018 10:29 amGet all of the keys you have together.

Sit in car with doors and windows closed.

Insert any of the keys into ign, and turn to pos 2 for less than 4 seconds and then off and remove key.

Then, within 30 seconds, take a key and hold down the lock button whilst pressing and releasing the unlock button 3 times in succession. The car should acknowledge acceptance of the key by locking and unlocking the central locking. Repeat with any other keys you have. When done, insert any key into ign and turn to pos 2 again, and back off, this tells the car that you have finished and stores the keys. Any keys you do not program at this stage will be deleted from the car's memory.

Mike


Thanks for the advice Mike, I gave it a go following those instructions but I got nothing :(

I tried numerous permutations to make sure I was following them right (ie. varying how many seconds etc.). Hope I don't end up having to get a new key!
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Dead key

Post by Ducklakeview » Sat Jan 20, 2018 9:57 pm

Need to check the key is actually transmitting. I have a tester if you're in the area. Did none of the keys get the confirmation? If not it probably wasn't in programming mode. You must go from key in, on and off within the 4 seconds to activate it, and the doors and windows must be closed. It is the correct procedure, I've done loads.

Mike

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Dead key

Post by Magicarcher » Wed Jan 24, 2018 1:27 pm

thanatu55 wrote: Sat Jan 20, 2018 7:44 pm
Thanks for the advice Mike, I gave it a go following those instructions but I got nothing :(

I tried numerous permutations to make sure I was following them right (ie. varying how many seconds etc.). Hope I don't end up having to get a new key!
You have my sympathy, I was plagued with this problem for weeks, I also tried various methods without success. In my case the keys were pairing from inside the car and wouldn't work outside the car. After much head scratching I discovered my problem lay in the interior mirror (where the receiver is located). £35 off ebay for a replacement S/H mirror solved it.

When you say "but I got nothing", when following Mike's procedure do you get the acknowledgement of pairing after pressing key 3 times and releasing?

Is your other key working or do you just have one?

After replacing the battery, did you charge the key up (when I replaced mine I bought two, one had a terminal voltage of 3.2V the other 2.7V).

It may be worthwhile trying it with the key in very close proximity of the interior mirror. In my case the keys would work within 60cm from inside the car but only 15cm directly in front of the mirror from outside the car.
Z4 3.0L 2005. Titan Silver. Audio Upgrade Second Stereo Pioneer X8700DAB, Sony Xplode 4 x 70W Amp, 6.5" Reckhorn Subs in rear cubby, Focal AS165-3 in fronts.

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thanatu55
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Dead key

Post by thanatu55 » Wed Jan 24, 2018 4:14 pm

Magicarcher wrote: Wed Jan 24, 2018 1:27 pm
thanatu55 wrote: Sat Jan 20, 2018 7:44 pm
Thanks for the advice Mike, I gave it a go following those instructions but I got nothing :(

I tried numerous permutations to make sure I was following them right (ie. varying how many seconds etc.). Hope I don't end up having to get a new key!
You have my sympathy, I was plagued with this problem for weeks, I also tried various methods without success. In my case the keys were pairing from inside the car and wouldn't work outside the car. After much head scratching I discovered my problem lay in the interior mirror (where the receiver is located). £35 off ebay for a replacement S/H mirror solved it.

When you say "but I got nothing", when following Mike's procedure do you get the acknowledgement of pairing after pressing key 3 times and releasing?

Is your other key working or do you just have one?

After replacing the battery, did you charge the key up (when I replaced mine I bought two, one had a terminal voltage of 3.2V the other 2.7V).

It may be worthwhile trying it with the key in very close proximity of the interior mirror. In my case the keys would work within 60cm from inside the car but only 15cm directly in front of the mirror from outside the car.
Thanks I'll have a look into the mirror as you say, it's something I haven't tried. When I said I got nothing I mean literally nothing at all, no acknowledgement or anything. I figured it was a battery issue because it seemed to die gradually, sometimes it would work and sometimes it wouldn't. Eventually it stopped completely. I tried all the tips and tricks with things like toothbrush chargers and what have you but it got me nowhere, so naturally a new battery seemed the logical solution but nope.

Maybe it is the actual receiver and not the key like you say. I'll report back if I ever get it sorted.

Edit: I forgot to mention I only have one key, no spare for some reason. I've never thought to question that until now.
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Dead key

Post by Magicarcher » Wed Jan 24, 2018 8:28 pm

thanatu55 wrote: Wed Jan 24, 2018 4:14 pm
I figured it was a battery issue because it seemed to die gradually, sometimes it would work and sometimes it wouldn't. Eventually it stopped completely. I tried all the tips and tricks with things like toothbrush chargers and what have you but it got me nowhere, so naturally a new battery seemed the logical solution but nope.
What you are describing is exactly what happened to me. It started off intermittent, then got worse then packed up, I too put it down to the battery. I was a little more fortunate because I clocked that it was working when very close to the mirror.
Z4 3.0L 2005. Titan Silver. Audio Upgrade Second Stereo Pioneer X8700DAB, Sony Xplode 4 x 70W Amp, 6.5" Reckhorn Subs in rear cubby, Focal AS165-3 in fronts.

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Dead key

Post by BRC » Sat May 19, 2018 8:01 pm

Apologies for resurrecting an oldish thread but just today I had a problem with my keys. Essentially both would start the car but neither would lock/unlock remotely. Having followed the above noted procedure I too didn't meet with any success. However a little bit more searching and I came across this web site: http://www.programyourkeys.com/BMW_Z4_K ... mming.html
I tried Method 3 and hey presto both keys are now operating as they should. Not sure whether age has got anything to do with matters but mine is a 2008 car.
Hope this helps when other processes don't do it for you.
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thanatu55
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Dead key

Post by thanatu55 » Sat May 19, 2018 11:21 pm

BRC wrote: Sat May 19, 2018 8:01 pm Apologies for resurrecting an oldish thread but just today I had a problem with my keys. Essentially both would start the car but neither would lock/unlock remotely. Having followed the above noted procedure I too didn't meet with any success. However a little bit more searching and I came across this web site: http://www.programyourkeys.com/BMW_Z4_K ... mming.html
I tried Method 3 and hey presto both keys are now operating as they should. Not sure whether age has got anything to do with matters but mine is a 2008 car.
Hope this helps when other processes don't do it for you.
Useful to know for anyone still searching for answers, thanks! :thumbsup:

In the end I just replaced the keys, hopefully you've stumbled upon a cheaper alternative for anyone who might have a problem in the future.
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