Not having much luck lately, am I? First of all, big thanks to 1234dist for the messages and instructions to try and resolve this issue. It has us both foxed.

Recently, the keyfob on my 414 was repaired when it failed. That was down to cracked solder joints on the battery holder. The repair worked and all was well until I got home and the fob just stopped working after I'd locked the car. The first attempt to fix it was to resolder the joints, to no effect. I've tried two brand new fresh out the packet batteries in the fob (not at the same time) to no effect.

1234dist suggested I try an EKA code (none came with the car) that should factory reset things. No joy, even though the car beeped in response when it should have.
I tried unplugging the main battery, no joy.
I tried using the fob reset, five different methods in fact, no joy
I forked out £20 to get the EKA code for my car and inputted it using three different methods, no joy.

So now I'm stuck. The key fob is not talking to the car at all. Whenever I put the EKA code in as per the instructions I can get the alarm light to extinguish on the dash but it illuminates as soon as the key goes in the ignition and the immobiliser activates.

I am baffled by this. I've got a company to call tomorrow who repair key fobs. I've also spoken to our local specialist Rovetech who can supply a new fob and programme it to the car but need me to get the car to them. No prices on either of these services got so far.

What I'm concerned about is that even though the fault appears to be in the fob itself, it might be a gremlin hiding somewhere else in the system. Any suggestions welcome on this one, I expect I will not be the last person to encounter these problems.

If it's not the fob at fault, logic suggests that the problem lies with the immobiliser and that's incorporated within the ECU I believe?

I've been given two more things to try. I know the driver's door lock isn't working as it should, the key will operate the central locking but all the while I've had it the button never has on the driver's door so it's possible that I've not quite put the code in properly due to a dicky door solenoid/loc. It's possible this is stopping the EKA code from working. I've also been given yet another method for getting the car and fob to behave by using a sequence of fob button presses and key in ignition positions to try and reset it all.

It'll either be nothing and cheap to resolve, or it'll be something serious like the ECU has imploded which will likely mean game over for this otherwise brilliant little car. Have I mentioned I hate electrical problems yet? Because I hate electrical problems.

Before I send the fob off for repair, or at least confirmation it's not the fault I'll get all the methods I've tried together and publish them here to show which ones haven't worked on this car. Other people have, I'm learning, encountered cars as troublesome as mine is being and more often than not it's down to the fob and batteries being finicky. Frustrating to fix but rarely expensive.

Good luck - this is a most frustrating problem but then it's meant to stop people stealing the car so being easy to get round wouldn't be great either!

You may need the services of 'Bobby Brown' the reprogramming guru. He's on this and several other rover forums.

PM me if you need his mobile number.

Hi guys, my rover 400 cannot start because my immobilizer is broken, please does anyone know how to bypass the immobilizer and start the car. Any help appreciated. Kind regards.

Good luck Vulgalour, this problem can be really annoying!

I had two times when I was baffled by something similar.

the first time, it was by chance I was parked next to a military transmitting tower. My fob got jammed by the signals from the mast. In the end I called breakdown service and no sooner had we got away from the mast and got the car home that everything was working as normal again!

the second time was recently when I took the rad out I disconnected the bat negative leads from the body. It seems somehow some minor power was still getting to some systems in the car and when I reconnected everything the fob locked the car and then would not unlock and the immobiliser was jammed on.

I have had this a few times in the past and its something to do with the car needing to re-learn the coding from the fob, or its channel frequency or something like that. Seems to happen after a battery disconnection sometimes.

So what I do is unlock the drivers door with the key so the central locking opens everything. Then I disconnected the battery (properly) for ten minutes. Then reconnect and shut bonnet.

Without opening the door I press the lock button on the fob (usually I hold it somewhere near the windscreen) about 5 times in a row until the car reacts and locks the doors and sets the immobiliser. When I then unlock it with the fob again, car will start as usual.

Works for me but assumes you have a working fob......

time to start looking for new ecu, 5as and fobs on ebay.

I'm going to be speaking to Rovetech to get a price to fix this and go from there. I have tried yet another method of resetting the fob/system that has failed to yield a result. Now, however, the car goes BEEP on entering the second digit of the EKA code where before it waited until all four had been entered, I have no idea what that's about.

Rather than fanny about with second hand parts and more key wiggling and button codes and shamanic dances I'm just going to swallow the bitter pill that is passing the car to a professional. Providing I can afford their bill, that is.


Have I mentioned I don't like electrics?

There ought to be a self-test somewhere for the lock barrel and sill switches, along the lines of the door switches with the MFU. So I checked last night. Blowed if I could find any mention in my manuals. In fact, by the time immobilisers came along, the manuals had stopped even describing the MFU self tests.

When you get this done, you definitely need to get a spare working fob programmed to your system!

Agreed!