New key arrived. Now about those FOBs.

So, FNA verified the original PIN to be true. So, it seems the PIN was changed somewhere down the line or the immobilizer is faulty. Ed opted to order a new immobilizer kit. I beleive this comes with a complete new set of FOBS. Ferrari says 3 weeks, we'll see about that. He's going to go ahead and deliver the car to me this weekend and have the parts sent to me. I'll have to install the immobilizer myself.

 

This is just nuts. That's what Dave is going through also.

People should be more prudent with these pins and records.

 

I'm not sure why people are so concerned about this. What is the goal? Start the car and secure it. One fob means you satisfied that. You can clone as many fobs as you want and should never need the pin. Anyone who has actually started with the pin knows what a pita it is. Will you remember the process in five years when you needed the pin after three drinks and a late night at your favorite restaurant? Can you even see in the dark? Cloning the one fob you have will satisfy all your needs. You can even get them in colors and it is way cheaper to buy ten clones than one imobilizer ecu and a set of three fobs.
Even for an anal concourse I have never heard of testing a pin as part of the judging. The pin is just not a must have.

 

And to think I was considering passing on my car because the tool kit (can be had for about $500) was missing?!?!?

 

FBB, it's really not that simple.

1) If I ship the only working FOB to Gobble and it's lost or damaged in shipping - GAME OVER - New Immobiliser Kit $2,000. (and I can't use my car for who knows how long)

2) If the only working FOB breaks when I'm 4-6 hours from home - GAME OVER, tow truck and New Immobiliser Kit $2,000.

I'd rather spend the $2,000 now, get a working PIN and 3 Working FOB's.

 

Ship to Gobble with insurance. Worst case it gets lost and insurance pays for all or a portion of the new fobs. Best case you are only into it for a few Hundred $$.

 

I overnighted my working red fob to gobble insured for $2000
had 3 working ones 3 days later

I see no risk

 

Actually it is that simple. I've done it. In fact before gobble, Eric355 in France was the only game in town. I sent my fob to France! No insurance either because of customs. if the fob is lost you buy a new alarm kit swap left/right ecu (all other cars) and install. Also, once your rolling code is known you can clone more fobs without sending the original. Also of you are super paranoid as an engineer you can understand the process and buy the simple chip reader yourself and clone you own. There have been technical discussions here on the mechanics of this. I never understood them since I work with hammers and chisels. Talk to Eric355 he is your 355 brother and extremely helpful to all ferrari owners.

 

Reading programming it is the easy part

De-soldering that bad boy takes a steady hand and good eyes of witch I have neither

Its really a tiny chip

 

Has anyone ever heard of a immobilizer going bad?

 

Sorry you need 1 original fob for the car not the PIN. He does not know how to find just the pin data in the code

Even if you have an original fob and it dont work he might be able to do something if its not curropted

You have to get it to work with the FOB if you can start the thing

 

Guys, 1st off, don't assume that if you insure the package for $2K and its lost, you will get $2K. UPS and FedEx don't work that way. You need to prove the contents are worth that much. Example, You can't ship a paper clip and insure if for $50,000 and expect to get a payout.

Also, some of us what a complete car with all the fix 'ins. If I sell the car (doubtful in any foreseeable future), I find value in having 3 FOB's and a working PIN.

FBB, if a chip reader is so cheap and available, send me the link and I'll buy one right now.

PS, I don't know what Gobble charges if you supply a FOB, but I seem to recall $250-350 for a clone - I'd rather spend that money toward a full working system.

 

Did you take your car to the dealer? That would propably be easier. Remember, you cannot remove the immobiliser from the car without drilling the rivets out of the cage.

 

I opted for the clone approach and sent my only fob to Mark (gobble) for a clone. The turnaround was very quick (a couple days). Yes, a bit of a risk that the fob would be lost in transit, but I did insure it and even included a return fedex label and packaging with insurance.

Now that I have two fobs, I feel a bit better as I have a little insurance in the event one fob is lost. Still, this is not the best solution as I need to "rotate" the use of my fobs. Why you ask, well, each time you use a fob, the code "rolls" and the cloned fob falls out of sync. If you use one fob repeatedly, say for a week of driving (yes I often choose to drive her that much) you will find yourself pressing the cloned fob button repeatedly to align the codes, once having to press the button over 100x to realign the code. Not a big deal, once I understood the process (after a quick panic attack of imagining a failure).

Maybe in the future I will consider going the extra mile and doing it right, perhaps after a big quarter when I can drop the $2k necessary to "fix" something that works today.

For now, going to focus on replacing headers while keeping my clone aligned.

 

The reason FBB is because some people value original provenance of their cars both for themselves and for the people they may eventually sell the car to. Being able to handover the car with a valid pin that works and a full set of fobs means something to me and now that I know what I know it would mean something to me if I was a buyer and I will be advising anyone who asks me going forward to verify that this is all intact and working as designed.

As Apex as a seller is doing, he recognizes that the car is missing this piece and he is going the extra mile to make sure Eric gets the car correctly configured and not jury rigged.

 

And there you go. A jury rigged fix that is not as designed.

Thus the reason to insure that yours is right and of in the market for a car, check that it is right.

 

Its just an simple atmel programmer, you can grab some opensource software to read it. I used to do this as a hobby a few years back
example
4in1 ATMEL AVR ISP Programmer DIP Programming Module | eBay

I believe its about $300 with a new FOB included


Like I said the chip is tiny and you need steady hands and super eyes. I would have tried it myself but did not want to mess up my only good one "testing"

 

Hi Tim, I looked up Eric thread and saw the chip must be removed - screw that!

 

If you are happy with a clone that's fine. I chose to buy a used immobilizer with PIN and fobs. I don't want to have to remember to switch fobs or go thorough endless pressing of the button after a month of driving. When you sell the car, if the potential buyer knows about this stuff then having the correct fobs and PIN will matter.

Rick

 

Yeah Duh my fat fingers cant do that anymore
You also need a microscope to see the pins

Other then that its a party until the fat lady steps on your toe

 

Cloning FOB's is not a jury rig. It is an alternative. If great alternatives were not around Dr. Bob you would be still doing all gold crowns and gold foil fillings. I'm sure by now porcelain and composite fillings have crept into your world. Ferrari would prefer and it is best to have the pin fobs etc. But what these threads show is that even if you have that stuff it still is not easy. You buy the stuff from Ferrari and sometimes it does not work because there was a switch along the way. Look how many times TAZ has posted the instructions. Look how many threads this has been an issue over all models since the obd2 355. I have one Ferrari with pin and 3 fobs and one ferrari with 3 clones. Guess what they act the same drive the same and can be secured the same. There are something like 100 rolling codes. So you can be 100 button presses off as they cycle, or probably less than that. It is not like if you have not used your clone in 5 years you have to do 5 years of pressing it to catch up. It doesn't work that way. So you do a few presses if you want to switch fobs. No big deal. Cloning is a painless way to accomplish all the goals except start the car with a pin for hugely less money and fewer headaches. Once I tried to buy my pin from Ferrari royal pian and was never successful...cloning was way easier and cheaper. Electronic guys pull chips all the time. I'm not an electronics guy and even I have done that many times with success. Tim is old and his hands shake and he is 7ft tall with giant hands. No disrespect to my friend Tim. He can't cleanly get that chip out but I'm nothing special and I can. Soldering? Simple! Eric355 and Gobble can and have done this a zillion times that's why you all know their names on this forum. We are lucky to have those two friends.

Each will choose his own solution and that's fine. Peace to all of you.

 

FBB you operate in the arena you choose to operate in and I'll operate in the one I choose. Authenticity and originality are valuable to me and having the pieces put together and working as they should be is how I choose to operate. Working around a missing part that can be fixed correctly makes no sense to me. You call it what you want, I call it jury rigged.

Thankfully there are sellers like apex who care enough to disclose deficiencies like this and take the steps to correct them properly for the buyer.

If I sell my car the buyer will get three fobs and two keys and a verified pin. Not a cloned rig

 

FBB, are you able to comprehend any option other than yours? I and others provided valid reasons and yet you dismiss, as usual. Why are you part of this discussion if you have no issues? Move on, please move on...

 

I don't know. Sometimes one has to take cost into consideration.

If my vacuum tank ever fails, it'll cost $637.21 to get a new one. I know a good alternative...
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