Re-Programming VT Commodore Key

[styly]

Anyone with a brain won't be scared of clicking on any item of taoboa lol there is no Virus etc.. ha ha ha nothing at all, your matter if you are to scared and believe everything you read, i bought many different stuff on taoboa and never had any trouble so stop your stupid comment man.

Concerning your second stupid comment saying $15 scantool without any english on the page etc...
OF course it's a chinese ebay you think they care of saying anything about english... It comes with english menu they are the same guys making your **** computer or mac and everything else, everything is made in China, welcome to the reality man.

Now if you want to use locksmith and pay $300 it's your matter with this Dodgy 3rd party thing like you are saying, you can do it yourself.
What do you think locksmith is using, THE SAME devices lol

Next time don't even waste time commenting anything if you are that stupid

What forum "encrypts" it?
Why would anyone with half a brain click on it when you can mouse over it and see the url, a quick google search of item.taoboa (partial link url) shows plenty of info about viruses being picked up from the likes of mcafee, symantec etc etc.

Now from a non windows based machine all it shows is a $15 scantool without any english on the page... no language option to change. No harm in asking holden, if you are legit and own the vehicle you don't need some dodgy 3rd party thing.

 

[Jxfwsf]

And it takes you a few posts after pasting dodgy looking links getting all defensive and abusive to finally come out with an explanation... I think you are the stupid one if you can't even edit a pasted link.
Not everything is coming out of china idiot, there are still other countries making better products.
$300 at a locksmith? If you paid that you're sillier than I first thought.

 

[accentstencil]

That's one aggressive newcomer right there.

 

[Jxfwsf]

Hrm, I always thought chinese ebay was www.ebay.cn
don't see a .cn in your links

 

[styly]

Hrm, I always thought chinese ebay was www.ebay.cn
don't see a .cn in your links

The Chinese ebay is a metaphor, come on guys stop been idiots here.

 

[Joelene]

VT Commodore Remote Key

I have just re-programmed by VT Commodore (3 button) key following the battery going flat and button pads RS. You will need a working key and probably need to replace the head on this (which is probably due and still much cheaper that a new key).

Here is how;
1. Buy new key head shells for your keys (I got mine on ebay - great and cheap, about $10.00 !!)
2. Remove the screws and prise open your old key head (of the dead key) with a small screwdriver.
3. Use a blade / small pliers to remove the battery. Get a replacement battery and place it on the circuit board. Either try to solder (watch the heat), or superglue the contacts on the new battery. I just bent the contacts towards the battery first, then superglue.
4. Remove the screws and prise open the good key, so that the key blade is loose.
5. Start the car with the good key, then slide off the head, leaving the key blade in the ignition.
6. Slide on the head of the key you replaced the battery on. The car will program the key immediately. I left it in the ignition for a few minutes.
7. Remove the key and re-assemble.
8. Do the same for the working key, suggest you replace the key head with a new shell.

This process works! All up cost - $20.00 for two key shells. $3 for one new battery. TOTAL $23.
I am putting pics together in an instruction manual. Email [email protected] for a copy.

REPLY

I am pretty sure this doesn't work.

Firstly the VT Remote key is solidly glued and does not clip apart like the later VE Remote. The VE Remote DOES clip apart and also you can replace the battery easily as it is not spot welded in. Both take the commonly sourced 2032 button battery.

I have cut a solidly glued VT remote open though and it is almost impossible not to damage the printed board assembly or the buttons when doing so. If you do cut it open you need to ensure you only insert a Stanley blade about the depth of the key ring slot all round. Do not insert it past the depth of the buttons!

The battery is spot welded so the contacts need to be broken off. Again fitting a new battery will need some careful soldering. I haven't tried this so not sure if the code remains within the PCB when removing the old battery. I assume it does as the VE DOES so there is probably some EPROM there.

Then you can superglue the two halves back together or source a new remote shell from somewhere on the internet.

The car also DOES NOT charge the battery. It is a standard PRIMARY button battery used in all sorts of devices like alarm clocks, toys, etc. PRIMARY means it cannot be charged. The battery should last about 10 years. Mine lasted 14.

If you buy a new VT- VZ remote key it MUST be programmed first. The car DOES NOT program the key. The car merely verifies the key for the immobilser. The only place that can program a new key is your Holden dealer or a locksmith who sells you the remote. They have an encoder. You must supply your old remote key and it will or should have sufficient power left in the battery for them to extract the code into their encoder then re-program the new remote key BEFORE it is put into the ignition.

Once programmed the new remote needs to be inserted into the ignition and a test performed whilst the engine is running whilst cycling through each button in turn so that the new code is accepted. So this is the only "programming" the car does and it is a verification rather than a programming of the key.

The VT-VX is the same programming whilst the VZ even though it looks like the same key is a different program. The VZ being "half a VT-VX range and half a VE range, ie looks like a VT-VX shape but has the engine and other features of the VE, the remote has more programming.

The VZ key needs to be programmed 1,2,3 for 3 remotes or more. This then enables the key to be customised depending who drives the car. Like the radio buttons and headlight illumination might suit one driver but not the other so each key will operate differently in the car.

My pricing has produced the following; Holden dealers tend to charge around $180. I think this is largely because they call the local locksmith who charges them then they just add a margin.

Mr Minit is anywhere between $120 and $160 depending what the franchise is. If they are in a big complex they will have higher rent....

Local locksmiths however will supply the genuine remote anywhere from $100 upwards, program it then test it and verify it in your car with the engine running to ensure that the code is accepted. There is no cheap solution!

 

[Joelene]

Hope this was helpful!

 

[Brett_jjj]

REPLY

I am pretty sure this doesn't work.

Firstly the VT Remote key is solidly glued and does not clip apart like the later VE Remote. The VE Remote DOES clip apart and also you can replace the battery easily as it is not spot welded in. Both take the commonly sourced 2032 button battery.

I have cut a solidly glued VT remote open though and it is almost impossible not to damage the printed board assembly or the buttons when doing so. If you do cut it open you need to ensure you only insert a Stanley blade about the depth of the key ring slot all round. Do not insert it past the depth of the buttons!

The battery is spot welded so the contacts need to be broken off. Again fitting a new battery will need some careful soldering. I haven't tried this so not sure if the code remains within the PCB when removing the old battery. I assume it does as the VE DOES so there is probably some EPROM there.

Then you can superglue the two halves back together or source a new remote shell from somewhere on the internet.

The car also DOES NOT charge the battery. It is a standard PRIMARY button battery used in all sorts of devices like alarm clocks, toys, etc. PRIMARY means it cannot be charged. The battery should last about 10 years. Mine lasted 14.

If you buy a new VT- VZ remote key it MUST be programmed first. The car DOES NOT program the key. The car merely verifies the key for the immobilser. The only place that can program a new key is your Holden dealer or a locksmith who sells you the remote. They have an encoder. You must supply your old remote key and it will or should have sufficient power left in the battery for them to extract the code into their encoder then re-program the new remote key BEFORE it is put into the ignition.

Once programmed the new remote needs to be inserted into the ignition and a test performed whilst the engine is running whilst cycling through each button in turn so that the new code is accepted. So this is the only "programming" the car does and it is a verification rather than a programming of the key.

The VT-VX is the same programming whilst the VZ even though it looks like the same key is a different program. The VZ being "half a VT-VX range and half a VE range, ie looks like a VT-VX shape but has the engine and other features of the VE, the remote has more programming.

The VZ key needs to be programmed 1,2,3 for 3 remotes or more. This then enables the key to be customised depending who drives the car. Like the radio buttons and headlight illumination might suit one driver but not the other so each key will operate differently in the car.

My pricing has produced the following; Holden dealers tend to charge around $180. I think this is largely because they call the local locksmith who charges them then they just add a margin.

Mr Minit is anywhere between $120 and $160 depending what the franchise is. If they are in a big complex they will have higher rent....

Local locksmiths however will supply the genuine remote anywhere from $100 upwards, program it then test it and verify it in your car with the engine running to ensure that the code is accepted. There is no cheap solution!

You say that your pretty sure that the instructions in the above post dont work, but it actually does work with VR through to VY keyfobs. They never lose their memory once theyre programmed (unless the board inside the fob gets damaged), the battery is only used for the remote feature, so you can pull them apart and fit a new battery and they'll go for another 10 years.. Don't know anything about the VE keys though.

 

[Joelene]

You say that your pretty sure that the instructions in the above post dont work, but it actually does work with VR through to VY keyfobs. They never lose their memory once theyre programmed (unless the board inside the fob gets damaged), the battery is only used for the remote feature, so you can pull them apart and fit a new battery and they'll go for another 10 years.. Don't know anything about the VE keys though.

REPLY
Yep, in the context of the original post you are probably correct. I however took it that the post was about re-programming a key when in fact no key can be "re-programmed" in this fashion.

The post refers to simply replacing the shell and battery on an exisiting remote which is already "programmed".

The procedure described merely verifies the key in the ignition that is already programmed. It is not "re- programmed"

I was referring to buying a new remote and trying this procedure. It won't work. The locksmiths I spoke to and also friend, service manager at Holden said "the keys are not programmed by the car" the key has to be programmed first by an encoder by first taking the code from the original key then transferring it to the new unprogrammed key, then inserting it into the ignition, the engine run above 2500 rpm for more than 30 seconds whilst each button is verified. The code is then verified and the new key is accepted.

The code also does not last forever. But most likely being EPROM (Erasable, Programmable, Read Only Memory) it must have a power source to retain memory. In this case the power required is so small that the power left in the battery even though insufficient to open a door will certainly be enough to provide and retain the code for a while but eventually it will die and the code with it.

The PCB will also have some capacitance which in itself is like another miniature battery and is a small charge that keeps the code there when the battery is removed. It will however be exhausted in maybe minutes or hours and the code will be lost forever.

It will then require a visit to the Holden dealer to get the the info from the car computer.

I think however that if you do just change the shells and the battery no verification should even be required. It should just work as the code has not been changed.

I also wanted to reiterate that VT remotes don't simply prise apart with a blade. They are moulded and need to be cut open unlike the later VEs which do pop open with a blade and the battery (the same type) is fully replaceable.

 

[Brett_jjj]

I buy brand new genuine blank keyfobs from ebay and I program them myself with my tech 1 or tech 2 scantool.. I also do this service for free for any JC member in my area that owns a commodore, they just gotta supply the new blank key and security code..(I get them to enter their own security code themselves so I dont see it).. I use the Tech1 for my VS and Tech2 for my VY. These are the exact same scantools that holden dealers use and program keys with. Basically you just put a new blank keyfob in the ignition, enter the vehicles security code into the scantool, and it programmes the new blank keyfob to the vehicle. No encoder needed or transferring of codes or starting the engine and running it etc etc, although yes, they can also be programmed by transferring the code as well, but you need a working keyfob to copy the info from in the first place, so thats no good if you've lost your keys or if the board or chip is damaged...
As for them losing their programming, Ive got 3 old keys here Ive had for over 5 years that ive removed the batteries from, and they all still disarm the immobiliser and allow the vehicle to start, so no, they don't lose their programming unless the chip or board gets wet or otherwise damaged..
Ive also replaced the batteries in them before, 30 seconds with a soldering iron and its done..
On a different note, any JC member in my area can contact me and get free scantool diags done with tech1 and tech2.. Gotta love these people who buy a cheap $300 tech2 kit and want to charge everyone a fortune for a diagnostic check or some other simple task.. They must think theyre a holden dealership..(cant stand greedy people)