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P38 Key code lockout .


P38 Paul

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Hello peeps , Got a 1997 P38 which has had the battery disconnected for 6 weeks , Tried to start it today & got the message KEYCODE LOCKOUT , I've put the keycode in but all it does is bleep at me & continues to show the same message , Any ideas what I can do to start it would be a great help .

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Firstly,do you have the handbook to follow the procedure EXACTLY. All panels including the bonnet must be shut as seen by the BECM, the alarm sounder/BBUS must also be connected for the EKA to work.

You need to wait for the lockout message to disappear before trying to enter the code. I also seem to remember that some cars needed the code entering "backwards" - ie,firstly turning the key clockwise instead of anticlockwise or vice versa.

Later BECM versions, I think from Pam micro 36 on can have their EKA code entered via Testbook or possibly Nanocom etc.This is useful when door latches are faulty or door looms have poor connections.

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Probably dodgy micro switches in the door lock that are not recognizing the key movements when entering the code.

Have the window down and when moving the key to enter the code look at the "lights on" warning light in the instrument cluster. This should flash to indicate that each twist of the key has been recognized.

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I will be honest and had this same advice, yet I could never see the lights flashing as expected when turning the key But (after it was sorted) when the BECM stopped sulking, the drivers door lock when operated would cause the interior lights to dim and also if I had inadvertently used the plip for the alarm, it would disable the alarm again. So that microswitch would appear to be working.

I I tried everything with the keycode and failed. In the end Nanocom sorted it in less that 10s (longer than it took to empty my bank account last month..)

Cheers

Peter

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No luck peeps , Cant get rid of message & engine wont turn over , Have tried all your suggestions except buying a nanocom . The drivers door does lock when I connect the battery & the indicators flash 3 times , But that's all I am getting out of it . Lockout message does not disappear at any time during or after the full procedure . The keycode always worked before when I disconnected the battery .

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Paul

Take the door panel off and operate the locking mechanism from inside the door rather than using the key to input the code. Sometimes the key does not throw the locking mechanism far enough to register the key code. Failing that Dealer or nanocom

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Really dont get what you think is funny ? My point is that you cannot input the EKA code until the keycode lockout message disappears.

No the keycode input makes the keycode lockout message disappear that is the purpose of the message and the keycode input.

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No the keycode input makes the keycode lockout message disappear that is the purpose of the message and the keycode input

Sorry, its a well known feature of P38 security that you need to wait usually 30 mins for the lockout message to go out BEFORE you can enter the EKA code. In the OP's case where the message wont disappear at all I think he needs to remove the BECM and send it away for repair/reset. Nanocom,Autologic nor Testbook are much help in cases like this. If you try to get into them with Testbook when they are in this state they often are completely muddled, French market setting,LHD and manual box etc. when the car is UK spec RHD,auto...

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Simon, I think you have misremembered.

Because it's been a long time I had to re-read the manuals.

In the Workshop Manual, Electrical section, BECM description, the EKA instructions contain the following warning in Bold

NOTE: The code cannot be entered if the message centre displays 'KEY CODE LOCKOUT'.

I do note a couple of variations in Vehicles up to 96MY compared to Vehicles from 96MY .

Up to 96MY the locked out period is 10 minutes, in vehicles from 96MY (this example) the locked out period is increased to 30 minutes.

The other variation contains a glimmer of hope, in that before entering the EKA, up to 96MY it was only necessary to turn the door key to the lock position once.

In vehicles from 96MY (this example) it is necessary to turn the door key to the lock position 4 times before starting to enter the EKA code. (Enter the first digit. If the first digit is 2, turn and release the key two times in the unlock direction.)

The glimmer of hope is that the OP may have failed to observe the 'lock 4 times' element of the procedure, thus starting to enter the EKA before the BECM is ready to recognise it.

When I used this procedure on my '95 vehicle it became my practice to fully wind down the drivers window, then I could put my head inside the car and give myself a clearer view of the side lamps warning light in the instrument pack.
From the Workshop manual again: At each turn of the key to the lock or unlock position, the side lamps warning lamp in the instrument pack will flash to indicate that the key turn has been recognised.

Again from my memory, the warning lamp flashes twice for each key movement, once to show the 'fully turned' position has been reached, and again to show the key has been fully returned to the normal vertical position.

For Example.

If the first EKA digit is 2 the BECM has to see the key fully turned to the unlock position once, then to see that the key has returned to the vertical position, because if the vertical position isn't recognised then the second turn to the unlock position cannot be recognised. There has to be a neutral position between each unlock (or lock) turn of the key.

I have a vague recollection, but cannot find it confirmed anywhere, that on repeated failure to enter the EKA correctly, the lockout period doubles, from 30 mins to 60 mins, but I have no recollection about whether 60 mins extends to 90 mins, or 120 mins.

In the OPs position I would connect a battery charger to the battery (to prevent the battery from discharging excessively), then leave the ignition switched on all night, (so the Keycode lockout message is visible in the Message centre). I'd hope this would give enough time for any extended Keycode lockout period to expire.

I only have hands-on experience of my'95 vehicle, I do not have the trade experience that AllyV8 has.

HTH

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Simon, I think you have misremembered.

David possibly however I have always fiddled around trying it for a bot then going back to it and eventually getting it to work. The best method I found was shorting the two battery cables (without the battery connected) for 30 seconds or so. That tends to wipe out all error messages.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hello everyone , Just to let you know that I got the car started today , The problem was a mixture of things that were all going wrong all at the same time . The advice from Ally V8 helped me a lot as I was entering the EKA code with the bonnet up & that probably did the most damage causing the lockout in the first place , Also , leaving the car with the ignition on for 30 minutes cleared the lockout message so that I could have another go at it . Also the kind gesture from Puffernutter who offered to lend me his nanocom & send it through the post to me , How trusting is that with a guy he doesn't even know , At the end of the day the car would not accept the keycode in the normal way probably because of the micro switches in the door ' Thanks Paul Woodward ' & they could only be entered with the nanocom . So there we have it , another success story with the help from the forum . Thankyou to everyone that put there suggestions forward on this topic , I couldn't have done it without you . Kind regards , Paul .

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  • 3 years later...

That sounds like the driver door actuator failing. If the microswitches don't register the key movement, the alarm wont let the doors unlock. And with superlock, you can't manually open them either.

There are easier/cheaper ways to get in to a P38 though....

@JohnnoK good link, thanks!

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On ‎12‎/‎19‎/‎2018 at 6:57 AM, Escape said:

That sounds like the driver door actuator failing. If the microswitches don't register the key movement, the alarm wont let the doors unlock. And with superlock, you can't manually open them either.

There are easier/cheaper ways to get in to a P38 though....

@JohnnoK good link, thanks!

Hello Escape , hope you are well . So in your valuable opinion , what is the best way to get into a P38 that is super locked as this is surely going to happen to me one day , regards Paul .

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Paul, I'm not gonna put this on a public forum, but you'll get a pm. 😉

Best precaution is not to use superlock, it's not that the P38 is that likely to be stolen anyway. You need to be sure both remote(s) and driver door actuator are fully operational if you superlock it. That way, should either one fail, you can still get in with the other. If the car is really superlocked, smahing a window wont even help you, because you won't be able to unlock or open the door from the inside either. And taking the door card off with the door closed is impossible as far as I know  (without doing a lot more damage).

You should always be able to mechanically unlock the driver's door, either locked or superlocked, and take it from there. Should the mechanical link fail, at the same time as the remote, at least without superlock you can unlock from the inside (after you get in). If you remove the rear door, you have just enough access to cut through the front door catch so you can open that and get to the inside if the lock is jammed or the links broken.

Filip

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  • 4 weeks later...

The P38 ended up with a flat battery after relying on a solar charger and a low sun angle. Learning lesson from last time (don't just connect the c-tek charger with batt neg still on as it knacks the becm up disastrously) Give disconnected battery a charge for a couple of days. Then reconnect batt and go through the eka procedure. If your door switches don't produce the required indicator flashes then that will need sorting out first. Likely a set of newer mgf drivers door micro-switches grafting in.

Once eka code ok lets you start engine, the  remotes can be reprogrammed via drivers door, (needs the ign to have been on without the key code lockout messages etc).

 

Pete

Edited by pete3000
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  • 1 year later...

Please help been at it for a month now I’ve tried everything with the engine disabled press remote or enter key code I’ve brought 2 different door locks, stripped all the loom out. Tried syncing the key fob etc etc etc can anyone help?? Thanks 

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