Important: Old immobiliser fobs won't be available for much longer
- Thread starter Johnny C
- Start date
Hi it seems that they are still available. I ordered one today from Porsche Centre Leicester. They now deal direct with the makers of the fob. It seems the make them on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The OPC has sent my fob off to them (registered post) they should get it tomorrow, 'make' a new one, match it to my old one and return to OPC (hopefully) by Wednesday. Cost about £49.
ted walker
New member
I have the same. What happens if the battery in it goes flat is there any way of overiding it ???? If you lock the car with the key can you unlock it with the key and start the engine ????
924nutter
PCGB Member
Are we talking about the rectangular key that has four gold contacts in a line that fits into a narrow slot? If so here's an interesting thing. It is my belief that these immobiliser key may be re-badged after maket immobiliser fobs. My reason for believeing this is that having had a Porsche alarm retrofitted on my 944s, I sold it a few years later and bought a 928s4 that had a branded immobiliser fitted. It was not Porsche branded but dammit I can't remember the company's name. It was indentical in operation, except that on my 928 it never failed to operate whereas on my 944 it did. It had the same number of bleeps and the same tone, and I was completely at home with it from the moment I bought the 928 and didn't need its operation explained to me by the previous owner I was so used to it. The immobiliser fob was identical to the Porsche fob except for the Porsche branding. Obviously my suggestion would be to contact this company and see if they have fobs. Sometimes there is some method whereby the owner can program a new fob themselves. For example there was a certain sequence of ignition key operations to follow to programme a new fob on my cobra alarm, but after reading your comments probably not on a cat 1 alarm. I feel stupid not being able to remember the name of the immobilser company but it may give you renewed hope because I wouldn't mind betting the fobs were interchangeable. May be an internet search might turn up the name.
924nutter
PCGB Member
Indeed, and again if we are talking about the same thing, an internet search has rung a bell with me. The manufacturer of the alarm is Gemini. An italian company who make thatcham approved immobilisers. I am not saying the fobs are available from Gemini, but at least you have another avenue of investigtion. I hope you have good luck.
924nutter
PCGB Member
Hamilton & Palmer might be a good place to make enquiries. Gemini definitely manufacture the alarm/ immob, all the Gemini leaflets and bumph came with my 928, and I have found their website for people to refer to and make comparisions. It is possible that H&M (lucky their name isn't Simms and Palmer[
]) are the U.K. agents for the Gemini?
]) are the U.K. agents for the Gemini?
edelschmetterling
New member
Hamilton & Palmer have maintain and monitored both my tracker and alarm since ownership. They still seem to stock, worth giving them a call should you have a service/ repair. Lovely people and they come to you too.
On the same subject my Jan 95 993 cab came with only one key and immobiliser fob (similarly sellotaped). Being paranoid about losing them and having no replacements, I asked the OPC to price a second set. I now have a second key which they cut at no extra cost so total outlay £44.41,which is worth it for the peace of mind. However the replacement fob was going to be serious money, so much so that I can't remember the figure, but when I mentioned that I'd read here that they were available from H & P for about £20, the parts man helpfully said "Just bring it in when you have it and I'll programme it."
However I find the immobiliser a total PITA, just as it was with my beloved 968CS, ferreting about in the dark trying to locate that tiny slot. So my question is, given that the car has key-operated central locking, and no alarm AFAIK, how difficult would it be to have a remote fob operated alarm system fitted which would incorporate an immobiliser and bypass the existing immobiliser?
Then I could plip the remote fob, open the door(s) and start the car on the key, without all that palaver with the immobiliser fob, but still have at least as high a level of security. Incidentally I would leave the original immobiliser receptor in place and keep the fob just in case a future owner wants it back to original spec - not that I intend ever to get rid of it.....
However I find the immobiliser a total PITA, just as it was with my beloved 968CS, ferreting about in the dark trying to locate that tiny slot. So my question is, given that the car has key-operated central locking, and no alarm AFAIK, how difficult would it be to have a remote fob operated alarm system fitted which would incorporate an immobiliser and bypass the existing immobiliser?
Then I could plip the remote fob, open the door(s) and start the car on the key, without all that palaver with the immobiliser fob, but still have at least as high a level of security. Incidentally I would leave the original immobiliser receptor in place and keep the fob just in case a future owner wants it back to original spec - not that I intend ever to get rid of it.....
Hi Richard,
My 993 came with exactly this setup when I acquired it - i.e. the old slot still there on the dash but a remote fob that locks/unlocks the central locking and also operates the immobiliser (oh, and the alarm - my car does have an alarm). The immobiliser/alarm is a PA1000 from H&P and I believe the PA1000 was fitted as standard to all UK 993s - so I guess there must be (or must have been) some way to upgrade it to "remote fob".
I think a call to H&P will uncover more info. . .
My 993 came with exactly this setup when I acquired it - i.e. the old slot still there on the dash but a remote fob that locks/unlocks the central locking and also operates the immobiliser (oh, and the alarm - my car does have an alarm). The immobiliser/alarm is a PA1000 from H&P and I believe the PA1000 was fitted as standard to all UK 993s - so I guess there must be (or must have been) some way to upgrade it to "remote fob".
I think a call to H&P will uncover more info. . .
38F3E1
PCGB Member
As a point of interest I had a 96 Targa that had a PA1000 fitted and there was no slot in the dash only the remote fob. From memory the car came with 2 remote fobs plus the red master box for reprogramming.
My current 993 is a 96 Coupe and has a PA2000 fitted. 2 remote fobs no red master and no slot on the dashboard.
My dim and distant memory seems to recall there was a PA100 option. Was this the slot in the dashboard version?
Ian.
My current 993 is a 96 Coupe and has a PA2000 fitted. 2 remote fobs no red master and no slot on the dashboard.
My dim and distant memory seems to recall there was a PA100 option. Was this the slot in the dashboard version?
Ian.
On her ladyship's recently acquired '96 targa we received one PA1000 fob and one key (no slot in dash). Also no sign of the red master... so while it was in for the "big check over" we got them to fit a new circuit board (or some such - under the driver's seat) and they supplied two new (HP) fobs - and another key cut. With madam's propensity for losing stuff, (like keys) having just one fob/key made me very nervous![]
]
I had already had a new fob from H & P last year, just before Christmas was left stranded in a supermarket car park as I couldn't get the immobiliser to dis-arm and had to get trailored home, phoned H & P in the new year and had a discussion with a very helpful lady who suggested it was the slot in the dashboard at fault, after dismantling half the dash (no need to as it turned out) I found I could pull out the slot and cut off the old unit and solder on the new one colour to colour (easy). Battery re-fitted tentatively placed fob in slot and hey presto, key was a little stiff to so a new one was ordered using my VIN number, joy of joy everything back to normal. []
]
I've just come across a PA 2000 circuit board with two remotes on eBay at 9-apart, so wondered whether I could buy it and have my system upgraded. I got onto H & P where an extremely nice, helpful lady explained that my car appeared to have just the immobiliser setup with the little USB-type key. If I wanted a replacement key they could supply at £54 plus VAT, and code it on being given the 5 digit number. The number could be read from the old key at the OPC (if they still have a reader - and OPC Glasgow does) or I could send the old one to H & P and receive both by return. Alternatively I could find the control box in the car and the sticker with the number might be on it.
She also told me all about the remote systems and their Thatcham registration (and if I understood her correctly, both 1000 and 2000 are no longer registered as they sell so few now that it's not worth the annual fee, which may be significant for your insurer!). They still have a couple of PA2000 systems and the unit price including delivery and VAT is £378, or they will fit it at a total of £510, given a couple of weeks notice as they have to get the (retired) engineer in to do the job.
She said the original immobiliser-only system was actually the most secure and given the cost of fitting a PA 2000, I thought a second key was the way to go, so went looking for the serial number. Under the driver's seat I found this box:
This is clearly nothing to do with H & P and I've no idea where their control box might be - perhaps behind the dash. It's not under the passenger seat because the box there says Motronic(?) so must be the ECU. The German name here means Alarm system control unit and there are triangular stickers on the door windows saying Alarmed Immobilised (which I hadn't been convinced by), so I deduce that it has an alarm after all! (Elementary, my dear Watson. [8|]). The part number is almost identical to the one in the PET, which has the last two digits 03. Not sure what FKW means, but presumably date of manufacture, at 8.6.93, which sounds about right given that it's listed in the PET for the 993 as option M534 (Theft security system). The date of manufacture of my car was Dec 94, so I can only think that the option then was for a non-remote alarm system from the factory and the remote system was either a more expensive option, or introduced later. Certainly the handbook explains how the alarm works via the central locking, and the LEDs on the doors flash as described. There's another LED under the handbrake which seems to be for the immobiliser. Funny that the options on the build label don't seem to include an alarm, but perhaps it was standardised for the UK (C16). In summary I seem to have a working alarm and an immobiliser, albeit non-remote, so I think I'll just live with it and get a spare immobiliser key. At least the car can't be stolen with one of those frequency-grabbers....
She also told me all about the remote systems and their Thatcham registration (and if I understood her correctly, both 1000 and 2000 are no longer registered as they sell so few now that it's not worth the annual fee, which may be significant for your insurer!). They still have a couple of PA2000 systems and the unit price including delivery and VAT is £378, or they will fit it at a total of £510, given a couple of weeks notice as they have to get the (retired) engineer in to do the job.
She said the original immobiliser-only system was actually the most secure and given the cost of fitting a PA 2000, I thought a second key was the way to go, so went looking for the serial number. Under the driver's seat I found this box:
This is clearly nothing to do with H & P and I've no idea where their control box might be - perhaps behind the dash. It's not under the passenger seat because the box there says Motronic(?) so must be the ECU. The German name here means Alarm system control unit and there are triangular stickers on the door windows saying Alarmed Immobilised (which I hadn't been convinced by), so I deduce that it has an alarm after all! (Elementary, my dear Watson. [8|]). The part number is almost identical to the one in the PET, which has the last two digits 03. Not sure what FKW means, but presumably date of manufacture, at 8.6.93, which sounds about right given that it's listed in the PET for the 993 as option M534 (Theft security system). The date of manufacture of my car was Dec 94, so I can only think that the option then was for a non-remote alarm system from the factory and the remote system was either a more expensive option, or introduced later. Certainly the handbook explains how the alarm works via the central locking, and the LEDs on the doors flash as described. There's another LED under the handbrake which seems to be for the immobiliser. Funny that the options on the build label don't seem to include an alarm, but perhaps it was standardised for the UK (C16). In summary I seem to have a working alarm and an immobiliser, albeit non-remote, so I think I'll just live with it and get a spare immobiliser key. At least the car can't be stolen with one of those frequency-grabbers....
scaramanga
Member
Has anyone found a new source for the black Porsche stickers that are stuck on to the key fobs ?
I bought a set of new key fob plastic housings but they don't have the "Porsche" logo stickers anyone
I bought a set of new key fob plastic housings but they don't have the "Porsche" logo stickers anyone
ditto as kevin, i've just got a new controller, and two new remotes. If you've only got one, or your remotes are wearing out, i'd get in while you can, and H&P, still have access to Jim who remembers how it all works! I believe if you are lucky enough to have the right system you can just get remotes, or even refurb kits, for worn cases / switches etc.
Cheers
Jon
Cheers
Jon
kingroon
New member
Purchased two Fobs from Hamilton & Palmer last week for ~£50 a piece, which I didn't think was so bad given that they could charge a lot more, being the sole suppliers..!!
Very speedy service, and fortunately had the Passenger Seat out so finding/reading the Immobiliser Serial Number was simple..
Very speedy service, and fortunately had the Passenger Seat out so finding/reading the Immobiliser Serial Number was simple..
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