Just found this post today. Thanks for all the hard work/effort to get this working. I have the same issue with my '03 R50. Based on your work I bought a key today and will try to get it working over the weekend.

As I read through your instructions, I realized how easy it would be to make an error creating the bar code, so I made a quick Excel file to convert the remote code to the bar code. All you need to do it type in the code from inside teh remote and Viola! the bar codes are produced.

I tried it with your sample code and the one shown on the TIS example and it worked without issue.

Thanks again.

 

File upload try #2

 

I appreciate the feedback. It has been quite a while since I went through the decoding process. Glad it is sti of interest to some people. Good luck with your remote.

I never even thought to do an Excel spreadsheet decoding tool. Nice work. I am sure others will appreciate that in the future. I think someone else put together a website that would auto decode a remote code using the info I gathered, but I don't remember what the link is.

 

Well I finally got my EasyDIS to work this weekend, and 10 minutes later my new key was programmed using your instructions. Thanks so much for the work to figure this out.

 

2 of my latest customers here at the MINI Key Hospital have sent me 2 of their remote keys to repair. What I have noticed about both of these pairs of keys is that they do not have the same 6 digit code on the sticker that is on the circuit board. I know the early cars came with a remote key, a general key and a plastic wallet key (I think) so if you have an early car with two remote keys the second one was ordered after you bought the car.

So while the two remote keys were probably not issued at the same time, why don't they have the same 6 digit code? All four keys I have repaired are very beat up so I don't think they are eBay used ones that have been re-programmed, re-cut, etc.

Remote boards with different 6-digit codes can be programmed for any MINI, but why wouldn't MINI issue ones with the same code? I think it would be easiest to issue ones with the same 6 digit code.

Val

 

Folks,

I've just read the entire thread from start to end.. wow. Kudos to all those who have contributed to this thread. I can't imagine BMW are too happy though!

Anyway, here's my predicament:
Bought a 05 MCS 2 weeks ago today. The remote key I got with the car was dead - no signal was being emitted. I went down the auto locksmith route to save £200 off BMW prices. They tinkered with the EWS and programmed an after market 3 button key to the car.. but they couldn't get the central locking programmed. A few £ was knocked off and I traced it back to a removed fuse (f24 - alarm). With a 5A fuse inserted I was able to program the remote central locking, but...

It seems every 4-5 days the remote stops unlocking and disarming the car. I've never had it unable to lock or arm the alarm (yet!). It's happened 3 times now and it's a little embarrassing. Anyway, I manually unlock the door and insert the key in to the ignition to turn the alarm off. Then I get in, close the door and immediately reprogram the key to the car. It programs straight away and works every time until it forgets it 4 or 5 days later. Does anyone know why this is?

In order to be completely clear the day after I picked the car up it broke down having lost all electrics. It turns out the battery connections were loose and the only things we'd put in the boot so far had caused movement at the battery terminals. The battery itself was also the original - 10 years old - and needed a jump to get going again, but would struggle within minutes. The battery was replaced and the terminals cleaned up and tightened properly. We've had no other electrical issues since, except the intermittent central locking problem. Could this be related? I've read about someone who needed a CAS replacement following a jump but they're central locking was simply dead altogether.

Can anyone shed light on this? Could it be related to why the previous owner removed f24 fuse, the jump start or something else? I'm really puzzled and sure as hell not going to be paying a dealer to pull my trousers down and have away with my hard earned cash..

 

So the inevitable happened.. couldn't lock the car with the remote fob. Please keep in mind it unlocked the car just fine 5 minutes previously. We came out from the supermarket and the car unlocked without issue but when I lock the car after parking it in the garage there was nothing. I tried locking it with me inside the car and the doors shut but there was no response. But as usual a quick resync and all was well.

Does anybody know exactly which module stores the synced keys? I've heard it's the EWS, CAS, ZKE and the receiver in the mirror and they can't all be right..

Now, I've recalled a few other things. Firstly, this seems to only happen on hot days (above 20-25C) where the cars faced head on in to the sun and secondly the car had a new windscreen fitted a few days before I bought it.

I suspect the module responsible for storing the synced keys is going bad and I also suspect the receiver as when it's happened the last two times I've felt the rear view mirror and it is quite hot. Possibly bad solder joints on the receiver momentarily causing a loss in power to the module that memorises the stored keys??

Does anyone know how to diagnose this?

 

Is the alarm system you speak of a factory installed MINI alarm or an aftermarket device? If it's an aftermarket device I would suggest tracking down the "box" that is the alarm and pulling the power at that point- pulling the fuse you replaced previously might disconnect power to something else. I'm guessing that this might fix your problem as I have read of other alarm systems not interfacing well with MINIs.

If it's the factory alarm I would start looking hard at that key you bought. Where did it come from, what does it look like? The only real place you can get a properly working key is at the dealer. I do key repair and could replace the battery in the one that came with the car (I will assume that key is an original key that the car was sold with); this should then produce a working remote key, although this key may not be in the cars "system" as it was not in working order when the locksmith programmed the new one. When new remotes are programmed in all remotes need to be present for them to be re-added and to work.

Much detail of the early MINI keys is found here:

https://sites.google.com/site/minian...moving-forward

Best of luck- you have a real head scratcher there!

Val

 

Hi Val, thanks for taking the time to read and reply. It's a head scratcher indeed!

The auto locksmith had a generic key they manually programmed in to the EWS.. Therefore it is not a genuine dealer approved BMW key. The only key I had with the car was the 3 button remote locking one but it was confirmed dead due to lack of signal being emitted. Both keys start the car but of these 2 only the non dealer key works as a remote key.

Also, a further note. I bought a 2nd hand 3 button key off eBay that had a known working board as I was going to transplant my blade and immobiliser chip but went down the auto locksmith route before it was delivered. (Without remote locking I had no way of activating the alarm and desperately wanted it active when parked up). At this point I should note that the first time the car didn't respond to the remote key I actually had all 3 keys on me by pure chance and both of the working remote keys were synced. The car didn't respond to either so I'm confident the issue is with the car and not the key(s). (But I know I could be wrong). Since then I've only had the non genuine key on me and as a consequence only that one has been paired to the car since. I may for the avoidance of doubt resync both of the working remote keys to the car in the morning and keep them on me for the next time the car fails to respond, to check the car fails to respond to either keys unlock button presses.

The alarm from what I can tell is standard mini - led on stalk blinks and siren sounds like a BMW one.

In may be wild goose chase but I stumbled across a BMW thread earlier that mentioned a module that suffers from heat distortion (if I remember correctly it's a 'GEN3' module). Apparently they're fitted in one of the rear pillars - unsure whether it's the same for minis. But, from my experience so far, I think heat is playing a huge part.

Any help or advice given is appreciated .. I'm not even middle aged yet but I can feel the car sending me grey early!

 

Little update:

After further reading and researching more in to these 'general' modules it turns out they're what we know as ZKE or BCU. I also found articles stating that upon replacing a BCU the keys need to be re-paired to the car for remote locking; pre July 04 this is done by manually programming the keys to the car using barcodes and post July 04 this is done by key in ignition, turn to KLR, turn back, remove key, hold unlock and while holding the unlock button pressing lock three times at which point you release unlock.

So, it seems plausible the BCU is on it's way out as that's what seems to store the paired keys. Now, the bit that makes this unusual is that, although I've recently had a windscreen replacement, I don't have issues following rain and instead my issues lay with hot days. Although, I do park the car in the garage when at home. I may have to take a look at the drivers footwell and BCU at the weekend..

Link to one of the BCU articles I found http://pmmonline.co.uk/technical/mini-body-control-unit-complaints

If anyone has any thoughts pls let me know!!

 

Hi, I did not read all of this thread, but how do I know if I need to purchase a 315 or 433 MHz key (does the 6 digit code tell me that). I have an '04MCS, button covers gone, one switch missing from the board. Would like to buy a second set of "guts" to have since I have two keys and one of them is a remote key.

 

315 Mhz for USA/Canada.

 

First of all, you need to read this site pretty thoroughly:

https://sites.google.com/site/minian...verremotekeys/

You can't just buy a spare board, at least not from MINI. They will sell you the whole key, made to order for your car via the VIN. There are problems with buying a used remote board- you have to use Easy-DIS to program your car to accept commands from the used remote- there is no series of button pushes that will allow your car to accept commands from these two button remotes.

This is why I started MINI Key Hospital- to repair these keys as new ones are expensive and it's virtually impossible to create a MINI key that works properly outside of the MINI parts department. I've repaired dozens of keys like yours, with missing rubber buttons and missing switches, and can usually repair keys for right around $50.

Contact me if you need your key repaired. Thanks to international shipping, I can and have worked on keys from around the world.

Val

 

Bought a used '03 R50 a few weeks ago. Had only one key. Ordered a new remote/key from the Mini Dealer in Cleveland. $173. Cut and immobilizer configured to VIN.

They wanted $117 to program the car for the new remote.

Instead I ordered the K-Line USB cable from Cable-Shack, $32. With the help of Cable-Shack Installation instructions (DISv57) and Indi's instructions. Reprogramming was a breeze. The menu's are slightly different on DIS v57 from v44, but it can be done.

I did this on a Win10 laptop. INPA, DISv57 and Progmanv32 all work and communicate to the car.

Just wanted to share my experience.

 

Ok , I posted this repair on my question but here's the fix for broken key buttons my one key worked fine but for the holes where the buttons use to be I cut two small pieces of thin playing card just enough to cover the buttons you can see at the bottom of the holes I placed two small pieces in the holes and put enough hot glue to fill the holes just above the rim of the fob ,let dry sand or cut smooth a marking pen for color and both buttons work perfectly cost 4 cents ! Yes a bit Mickey Mouse but much better then only the key and so much nicer for the hatch!,

 

I have a r50 with a two button key fob only one key and the fob was broken I did a temp fix and asked for help,lots of answers but all very expensive while visiting my cabin I came across an ad on Craig'slist for BMW keys I drop him a line and after much research I sent him my key and ecw from under the dash I got it back yesterday 3 keys my original one and two others for a hundred dollars first class job they all worked and the minis back on the street if you'd like his contact number private message me

 

Craigslist Fayetteville ar.put in mini key or BMW key I got one remote key refurbished new fob and two keys that work the doors and ignition for 100 plus shipping not bad nice guy no problem had to send the ecw ( came out ez )with my only key but three days later 3 KEYS his name is David Rankin 479 779 3962 all done by mail very happy !

 

Sorry to bring back from dead, but I recently purchased a 06 MCS that came with one remove key that did not work I ordered a new remote key from the dealer to have a second key, and took apart the original and soldered in a new battery as I figured that was the problem keeping it from working. I have tried to sync both to the car using both methods of key on off and button pushing found on line for the 04-06 3 button cars, and have not had any luck getting the keyless to work. The car starts, so I am good with the key blade and transponder, it is just the keyless entry that I am having issues with. Could it be something on the car side, as far as the receiver goes? Is there any test I can do/any wiring/fuses to check? Trying to avoid going to the dealer if I can avoid it, but I have not had any luck finding wiring diagrams. I have thought about buying a used mirror to see if that makes any difference with my problem. Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Jason

 

If your new remote key is working, then the receiver works and isn't the problem. You can check if your old key is actually transmitting at some auto parts retailers such as AutoZone. Wiring diagrams are here: https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/r53-cooper-s-hat/

 

 

Ok, you had only mentioned the old key not working. A new key should sync without a problem. Fuse F35 supplies power for all of the mirrors.
https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/r...ceiver/ql8KG6U
https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/r...-s-hat/txX3E5M
Pin 3 at the mirror should always have power.

If the fuse and power checks out, it would be worth a try if you can find a used '05-'06 mirror at a reasonable price ('04 and earlier mirror won't have a receiver).

 

 

OK, updated on my key issues, I replaced the mirror with a used part, and was able to successfully pair the new OEM key. Unfortunately, my older key which I replaced the battery in will not pair. I tested the battery terminals and have 2.57v, that should be enough for it to pair, correct? I am guessing the actual transmitter is toast. So, what are my options? Can I buy a cheap replacement key off of ebay and swap the guts, or will I have problems with the immobilizer? Trying to avoid shelling out another $180 for new OEM key. Thanks.

 

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...for-cheap.html
That person converted a non-remote key into a remote one by using the transmitter from used remote key from eBay. You should be able to do something similar (be sure to check the condition of the eBay key battery).