Grantcos

Just bought a mk3 mondeo 51 reg, it needs an engine

Got one big problem, there is only ONE key and its the blue top one, am i in trouble???????? How do I save the ecu from loosing its info to the engine/key when I replace the engine and will it restart with that key or is there no transponder in it, and can I get a new remote key without having a red top key

Thank you

burnzy

is it petrol or diesel? you can get hold of new red(master) keys your best bet is to find an auto locksmith so you don't pay ford prices, there's a bloke down here at a market does them for £65 iirc, also did slave keys for £30, have to have car on site though as he plug's his machine into it to program everything

you should be fine on the one key but if you did have the ecu loose it's data then it could prove costly as i found out , but it's pot luck my 2 mondeo's only had 1 slave key with them my one has been as good as gold and trouble free, the other one lost it's data within 4 months of owning it and i ended up having a right mare sorting it all out.

the engine swap with a petrol should be simple as i'm sure it's just the ecu thats PATS controlled but my experience is more with mk2 mondeo's

diesel will be more involved as i'm sure you'll need to transfer the diesel pump, injectors and i'm not too sure but there might be something else on the list, but they are codded with the ecu so swapping them will mean they wont need re-programming once all back together

Grantcos

Thank you for that big reply!!!
Its a 1.8 petrol, the car was recovered from a breakdown and the owner told the garage to keep it, they had the key with the blue flash but not the remote key, this chap got it but couldent fix it and I have bought it.
I dont think there will be a transponder in this blue top key?? I'll take it apart tomorrow.
Would it be best to sort the key issue before I swap the engine, although the battery has already been fla,t as i had to put the jump leads on it tonight to test the electrics on the car. So maybe it will have lost memory already, the engine is to knackered to try to see if the key actually works, turns over but made a very bad sound and loads of smoke after 0.5 - 1 second of the starter turning so no chance of it firing up lol.

vaughant

iTrader: (1)

Hi dude,the blue top is the transponder,its a little glass thing that actually sits in the little blue part of the key.As long as you don't disturb the wiring in anyway,it should work fine,but as you said best to get it at least turning over from the key before you do the swap so you know it all works.

vaughant

iTrader: (1)

Right,just re read it and if it's turning over you should be fine,I've never heard of a key losing it's memory from a flat battery?you only need the master key to program a new key,although I believe that's not actually gospel as you can get a good key man to do it for a reasonable amount.

Grantcos

I thought an engine would turn over but not fire without the transponder, but if thats what the blue top key has got in it, that is great and a relief, Thank you Vaughant

tabetha

Don't know about the later mondy but certainly with the red master the engine still turns over with "wrong" key, I had 1 red master and 1 black key all coded up old keys deleted all done dusted and supplied for a total of £58 at abbyegate ford in wymondham, norfolk.
I'd shop around a lot as I had prices for the exact same work from £58 to well over £200 from ford dealers, took about 15 minutes while I waited.
tabetha

iansoutham

A simple engine swap like-for-like on a petrol engine will not change anything in the PATS system, so you should not encounter any problems there.

However, reference you only having one key, unlike the early systems where you had a red "master" key to open the programming system, later cars (about 1998 onwards) have 2 keys with blue inserts on them. There are 2 types of blue-top key, normal ones and those with "W1" (I think it is) imprinted into the blue cap.

With both types of these later keys, the first 2 keys programmed into the system become the "master". By this, I mean that to open the programming system, you need to put one key into the ignition, then remove and put the other one in. This releases the programming system into accepting more keys.

If you only have 1 key with a blue cap on it, you would need to get another one programmed, either by Ford or by a good aftermarket source. A company that simply replicates the original key rolling code onto a new key would not be sufficient in this instance, unlike with the earlier red "master" systems.

Once you have the second key programmed, you can then enter up to 8 keys into the system yourself, 4 of which can be remote keys.

Grantcos

Tabetha was that for a remote key also?
Ian, that is great, sounds like I should be okay then, I have checked the key I have but it is totally plain, no W1. If the starts the engine then that will be great and a relief then I would just need to get a remote key.
For the pats, would it be best to reconect the battery once the engine is out just to retain its memory if its going to take a while for me to source another engine.

Thank you very much guys!