taser1984

FYI on these, 2 experiences both identical with Fleet trucks.
Both vehicles F350, NON transponder.
 
Customer ordered a re manufactured dash from Local ford dealer.
Dash shows up, they install will not start. Blinking theft light. Mileage, VIN etc are all already set and on a sticker on the side of the refurb clusters
 
What does NOT work to get these running
Programmable module installation - Copies data from old to new (I think?) acts exactly the same
Parameter reset - nope
Attempting to program transponder keys and just making it a transp car - nope
 
What does work -
Take out the APP, mileage adjustment, and just set the mileage right back to what it already had. Fired right up with the non transponder keys.
 
Not sure if the parameter reset was required or not - did them anyways prior on the second one.
 
 
Hopefully that saves someone some time.... the dash's ford is sending must all have the PATS enabled and for what ever reason setting the mileage while plugged into the vehicle seems to be turning it off.

What Jay said is mostly true, but there seems to be an exception on some early transponder optional vehicles. There's a function in the J2534 toolbox that comes with the Drew Tech and rebranded Drew Tech tools to turn off the immobilizer. It doesn't work most of the time, but did work once for me on a Durango. I can't remember what year it was though.

What Jay said is mostly true, but there seems to be an exception on some early transponder optional vehicles. There's a function in the J2534 toolbox that comes with the Drew Tech and rebranded Drew Tech tools to turn off the immobilizer. It doesn't work most of the time, but did work once for me on a Durango. I can't remember what year it was though.

I tried programming a 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee key by J2534 and utterly failed. I couldn't connect to the vehicle at all with my CarDaq Plus. Keep in mind that this is not the latest in J2534 technology, so maybe a newer interface is necessary?
I did notice that the Tech Authority website now has links to get incodes for the Sprinters, so maybe they're opening up that system to us now?

The RL66 should be a 93LC66 and the R56L should be a 93LC56. The L in the part number indicates that it's capable of operating at a lower voltage (2.5 V). The difference in the two is that the 93C66 holds 8 kb of data and the 93C56 only holds 4 kb. If you look at your RL66 dump and no data is being stored in the latter half of the file, the L56R will probably work. If there's anything being stored in that area though, I wouldn't even attempt it.

This vehicle had an intermittent no start- key wouldn’t turn. Also, the key would sometimes turn but no crank.  When the key would turn but no crank, occasionally a light or two would flicker on the instrument cluster.  It uses the BMW style key with H92 blade and the Land Rover exclusive EWS4.5 system. At first I thought it might be the steering lock but it ended up being the instrument cluster. 
With the used cluster plugged in the vehicle would not start. The 8 leg EEPROM in the pictures was read off the original cluster and written to the new/used cluster. The vehicle then started and the miles were also correct. 

The RL66 should be a 93LC66 and the R56L should be a 93LC56. The L in the part number indicates that it's capable of operating at a lower voltage (2.5 V). The difference in the two is that the 93C66 holds 8 kb of data and the 93C56 only holds 4 kb. If you look at your RL66 dump and no data is being stored in the latter half of the file, the L56R will probably work. If there's anything being stored in that area though, I wouldn't even attempt it.

I was at a shop yesterday to make a key for a different vehicle. While I was there they asked if I would take a look at this 2016 Honda Civic, the immobilizer light was flashing and the vehicle wouldn’t start. I walked over to the vehicle and saw they already had their Maxisys Elite connected, so I thought great I don’t need to get mine since that would be my tool of choice for this scenario. I didn’t get any info and I didn’t really ask any questions because I wanted to make an initial assessment so I knew what questions to ask. 
I want to share the diagnostic process I used to repair this vehicle thinking that it may help others. 
The first thing I did was go into immobilizer setup and attempted to perform an “all keys lost” programming. I was pretty certain it wasn’t going to work but I was looking for a specific response from the vehicle. I got what I was looking for- “immobilizer system not normal” if you get this message you can try to program the keys as many times and with as many different keys as you want and it will never work. 
Next I grabbed my antenna tester out my pocket and tested the immobilizer coil. It was putting out a signal. 
After that I went to diagnosis and did an auto scan on all modules. There were no codes in the ECM or immobilizer system but there were codes in the ABS/TCS/VSA, EPS, and a few other systems. I started checking the codes in each system one by one. I would read the codes, clear them, cycle the Key, and read them again to see which ones came back. 
The ABS system had a hard fault for “internal failure”. I ask the technician if he had checked the ABS system. “Oh ya, I put a new ABS module in it.”  Did you run the replace function in Immobilizer setup?  “What’s that?”
Then I went to the main screen on Maxisys, selected hot functions, then Immo, then immobilizer setup, then MICU,VSA replace. I followed the screen prompts and when I was done the immobilizer light was off and the vehicle started. After that I went back to the ABS system cleared and rechecked codes. Surprisingly the internal failure code was still there but my job was done. 
Normally I wouldn’t even take a job like this, the only reason I even looked at it was because I was standing next to it and they already had their Maxisys hooked up to it. If you’re going to tackle a job like this you need the right combination of tools, knowledge and luck. As the saying goes sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good!  
The only thing better than fixing somebody else’s car with your Maxisys, is fixing somebody else’s car with their Maxisys!  

L300 has a tsb for bcm replace and says to not program the bcm unless you call in first and do "VCI".  What GM will tell you is to remove the IPC first and program bcm,  then install ipc.
If you don't follow this tsb you will brick the new bcm... (personal experience)

PCM=Powertrain Control Module. It's supposed to be a single module that controls both the engine and transmission. In practice, most people don't really know what either term means and the distinction is unimportant, so the two terms are typically used interchangeably. Things get muddied further by people using ECM and ECU to mean electronic control module and unit, respectively, so PCM is often used to prevent any ambiguity about which particular module is being discussed.

PCM=Powertrain Control Module. It's supposed to be a single module that controls both the engine and transmission. In practice, most people don't really know what either term means and the distinction is unimportant, so the two terms are typically used interchangeably. Things get muddied further by people using ECM and ECU to mean electronic control module and unit, respectively, so PCM is often used to prevent any ambiguity about which particular module is being discussed.

Honda type 1 immo boxes are matched to the PCM. Matching requires a red key, a black key, and a programmer. AD equipment will do it. Honda type 2 keys are stored in the PCM and the antenna requires no matching. I worked on one a few weeks back where the customer replaced the ignition and ring with one from a parts store. The keys wouldn't program, and I scanned them to discover they were blank T5 chips. I cloned the original into them and discovered that connecting to the car was never required. Honda type 3+ require component matching.
AFAIK, ALL Ford antenna rings are plug and play and require no matching.
Now we start getting into an area where it's a matter of degree. Nissan antenna rings, BCMs, PCMs, and steering locks aren't plug and play per se, but they only require reprogramming the keys to make them work. Nissan prox programming slots require no matching. Ford PCM and PATS3 vehicles also only require key programming. Many GM BCMs, immobilizer/antenna rings, and PCMs can be matched by OBP. Remember that in many situations you can get the car running, but the programming isn't complete or correct. Many PCMs and BCMs hold the VIN and you'll get a VIN mismatch which may or may not matter where you are. BCMs often hold remote programming, tire pressure monitoring information, and configurations for a vehicle's features or lack thereof. On older GM you can put in a used BCM and OBP it to get the car running, but you'll find the airbag light is on and the radio and remote controls don't work.
The older the vehicle and the less the module does, the better your chances of success. This thread was started to say that if it's GM and has a high-security keyway, you have almost no chance.