My car key has a chip in it and the plastic 'loop' that connects to a key
ring has snapped off. I repaired it the first time with a kind of
plasticene that went rock hard and it worked - until my garage held it
the wrong way and snapped it again. It all works but I'd rather not have
a loose key in my pocket.
My main dealer wants £129+ to replace it - no chance.
Various firms like Timpsons say they 'may' be able to clone it at ~£40-
£60, but until I drive 15 miles to the nearest main shop to find out,
they cannot promise.
A local locksmith says he can get a blank, but would have to remove the
chip from the current key.
I thought I might be able to get a sleeve to put the key in or even cast
a resin mould around it?
Until then I have extemporised by cutting a hole in some fabric based
gaffer tape with a hole for the key ring.
Any ideas?
--
Jim S

Jim S wrote:
My car key has a chip in it and the plastic 'loop' that connects to a key
ring has snapped off. I repaired it the first time with a kind of
plasticene that went rock hard and it worked - until my garage held it
the wrong way and snapped it again. It all works but I'd rather not have
a loose key in my pocket.
My main dealer wants ï½£129+ to replace it - no chance.
Various firms like Timpsons say they 'may' be able to clone it at ~ï½£40-
ï½£60, but until I drive 15 miles to the nearest main shop to find out,
they cannot promise.
A local locksmith says he can get a blank, but would have to remove the
chip from the current key.
I thought I might be able to get a sleeve to put the key in or even cast
a resin mould around it?
Until then I have extemporised by cutting a hole in some fabric based
gaffer tape with a hole for the key ring.
Any ideas?

It would help if you mentioned the vehicle model, year etc and whether the
key fob contains buttons for remote unlocking.

A photo of the offending key would also be helpful. Alternatively we could
all make a bunch of ill informed suggestions on how best to fix it.

Tim

--
Please don't feed the trolls

On 15 Jun 2018 11:44:09 GMT, Tim+ wrote:

Jim S wrote:
My car key has a chip in it and the plastic 'loop' that connects to a key
ring has snapped off. I repaired it the first time with a kind of
plasticene that went rock hard and it worked - until my garage held it
the wrong way and snapped it again. It all works but I'd rather not have
a loose key in my pocket.
My main dealer wants ï½£129+ to replace it - no chance.
Various firms like Timpsons say they 'may' be able to clone it at ~ï½£40-
ï½£60, but until I drive 15 miles to the nearest main shop to find out,
they cannot promise.
A local locksmith says he can get a blank, but would have to remove the
chip from the current key.
I thought I might be able to get a sleeve to put the key in or even cast
a resin mould around it?
Until then I have extemporised by cutting a hole in some fabric based
gaffer tape with a hole for the key ring.
Any ideas?

It would help if you mentioned the vehicle model, year etc and whether the
key fob contains buttons for remote unlocking.

A photo of the offending key would also be helpful. Alternatively we could
all make a bunch of ill informed suggestions on how best to fix it.

Tim

Mitsubishi Space Star 2004
No buttons. No battery
Picture shows other key which was previously repaired with some kind of
putty bought on line.
--
Jim S

In article ,
Jim S wrote:
My car key has a chip in it and the plastic 'loop' that connects to a key
ring has snapped off. I repaired it the first time with a kind of
plasticene that went rock hard and it worked - until my garage held it
the wrong way and snapped it again. It all works but I'd rather not have
a loose key in my pocket.
My main dealer wants £129+ to replace it - no chance.
Various firms like Timpsons say they 'may' be able to clone it at ~£40-
£60, but until I drive 15 miles to the nearest main shop to find out,
they cannot promise.
A local locksmith says he can get a blank, but would have to remove the
chip from the current key.
I thought I might be able to get a sleeve to put the key in or even cast
a resin mould around it?
Until then I have extemporised by cutting a hole in some fabric based
gaffer tape with a hole for the key ring.
Any ideas?

I had a similar problem with one of my keys. One of the buttons of the
remote was broken. Dealer could only supply a complete key, which as well
as having to be cut had to be coded too. At hundreds of squids.

Found a firm on Ebay who supplied a complete new case for 13 quid. The
blade on mine latches into the body, so just swapped that along with the
electronics. A matter of a couple of minutes work. The remote control
electronics simply lifted out, but the separate coding chip was glued in
place. But came away easily enough.

The fliers they sent with the new parts suggested they also offer a key
fixing service at a very good price for some models. Of course that might
depend on them being able to get the spares for yours. I'd ask them and
see. But also check Ebay for your model.

http://www.keyrepair.co.uk


--
*Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Friday, 15 June 2018 12:44:12 UTC+1, Tim+ wrote:
... we could
all make a bunch of ill informed suggestions on how best to fix it.

Why change the habits of multiple lifetimes? I suggest gaffa tape and
gorilla glue, not necessarily in that order.

On Fri, 15 Jun 2018 11:40:36 +0000, Jim S wrote:

My car key has a chip in it and the plastic 'loop' that connects to a
key ring has snapped off. I repaired it the first time with a kind of
plasticene that went rock hard and it worked - until my garage held it
the wrong way and snapped it again. It all works but I'd rather not have
a loose key in my pocket.
My main dealer wants £129+ to replace it - no chance.
Various firms like Timpsons say they 'may' be able to clone it at ~£40-
£60, but until I drive 15 miles to the nearest main shop to find out,
they cannot promise.
A local locksmith says he can get a blank, but would have to remove the
chip from the current key.
I thought I might be able to get a sleeve to put the key in or even cast
a resin mould around it?
Until then I have extemporised by cutting a hole in some fabric based
gaffer tape with a hole for the key ring.
Any ideas?

Look for a specialist car key place. My son had a similar problem with a
BMW key, and they sorted it out quite cheaply. It helped that they were
only a mile down the road!



--
My posts are my copyright and if @diy_forums or Home Owners' Hub
wish to copy them they can pay me £1 a message.
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK: http://www.mirrorservice.org
*lightning surge protection* - a w_tom conductor

"Jim S" wrote in message
6...
My car key has a chip in it and the plastic 'loop' that connects to a key
ring has snapped off. I repaired it the first time with a kind of
plasticene that went rock hard and it worked - until my garage held it
the wrong way and snapped it again. It all works but I'd rather not have
a loose key in my pocket.
My main dealer wants £129+ to replace it - no chance.

you're lucky

When I asked how much a new key would cost for my Micra (a second one for
spare as when I bought the car I was only given one) it was in excess of 300
quid

the guy behind the counter seems genuinely surprised when I said that I'd
pass

tim

On Fri, 15 Jun 2018 06:11:03 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

On Friday, 15 June 2018 12:44:12 UTC+1, Tim+ wrote:
... we could
all make a bunch of ill informed suggestions on how best to fix it.

Why change the habits of multiple lifetimes? I suggest gaffa tape and
gorilla glue, not necessarily in that order.

Is there enough space to drill a new hole for the keyring in the
remaining plastic?
--
Dave W

On Fri, 15 Jun 2018 13:20:16 +0100, Jim S wrote:

=====snip====


Mitsubishi Space Star 2004 No buttons. No battery Picture shows other
key which was previously repaired with some kind of putty bought on
line.

The *attached* picture was a nice surprise! It hasn't appeared as part
of the quoted text in the edit window so hopefully, it doesn't get
reposted with this reply (BICBW).

--
Johnny B Good

On Fri, 15 Jun 2018 19:36:51 +0100, Dave W wrote:

On Fri, 15 Jun 2018 06:11:03 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

On Friday, 15 June 2018 12:44:12 UTC+1, Tim+ wrote:
... we could
all make a bunch of ill informed suggestions on how best to fix it.

Why change the habits of multiple lifetimes? I suggest gaffa tape and
gorilla glue, not necessarily in that order.

Is there enough space to drill a new hole for the keyring in the
remaining plastic?

Not in the one which is really broke.
I'm thinking of making a plasticene mould and casting a replica in resin to
include the bit I have. I need to find a strong resin with a slow setting
time to give me time to fart about before it sets.
--
Jim S

On 15/06/18 16:08, tim... wrote:
My main dealer wants £129+ to replace it - no chance.

you're lucky

When I asked how much a new key would cost for my Micra (a second one
for spare as when I bought the car I was only given one) it was in
excess of 300 quid

the guy behind the counter seems genuinely surprised when I said that
I'd pass


Years ago a friend lost her car keys to a pickpocket on a bus, and as it
was covered on household insurance she put a claim in, and a VW
dealership garage got involved.

They wanted to send a courier to her workplace, to pick up her passport
to take somewhere else along with the car, so that they could get the
immobiliser system recoded with new keys.

Understandably, she refused.

--
Adrian C

On Fri, 15 Jun 2018 13:20:16 +0100, Jim S wrote:

=====snip====


Mitsubishi Space Star 2004 No buttons. No battery Picture shows other
key which was previously repaired with some kind of putty bought on
line.

The *attached* picture was a nice surprise! It hasn't appeared as part
of the quoted text in the edit window so hopefully, it doesn't get
reposted with this reply (BICBW).

X-Face by definition is in the header, so I wouldn't expect it to show
in a FU.

Agent doesn't show them so I had to resort to this
https://tinyurl.com/ydb3vgkl

--

Graham.
%Profound_observation%

Jim S wrote:
My car key has a chip in it and the plastic 'loop' that connects to a key
ring has snapped off. I repaired it the first time with a kind of
plasticene that went rock hard and it worked - until my garage held it
the wrong way and snapped it again. It all works but I'd rather not have
a loose key in my pocket.
My main dealer wants £129+ to replace it - no chance.
Various firms like Timpsons say they 'may' be able to clone it at ~£40-
£60, but until I drive 15 miles to the nearest main shop to find out,
they cannot promise.
A local locksmith says he can get a blank, but would have to remove the
chip from the current key.
I thought I might be able to get a sleeve to put the key in or even cast
a resin mould around it?
Until then I have extemporised by cutting a hole in some fabric based
gaffer tape with a hole for the key ring.
Any ideas?

You can sometimes get aftermarket replacement cases on ebay

"Jim S" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 15 Jun 2018 19:36:51 +0100, Dave W wrote:

On Fri, 15 Jun 2018 06:11:03 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

On Friday, 15 June 2018 12:44:12 UTC+1, Tim+ wrote:
... we could
all make a bunch of ill informed suggestions on how best to fix it.

Why change the habits of multiple lifetimes? I suggest gaffa tape and
gorilla glue, not necessarily in that order.

Is there enough space to drill a new hole for the keyring in the
remaining plastic?

Not in the one which is really broke.
I'm thinking of making a plasticene mould and casting a replica in resin
to
include the bit I have. I need to find a strong resin with a slow setting
time to give me time to fart about before it sets.

Sugru should be perfect for that.

On 16/06/2018 00:49, FMurtz wrote:
Jim S wrote:
My car key has a chip in it and the plastic 'loop' that connects to a key
ring has snapped off. I repaired it the first time with a kind of
plasticene that went rock hard and it worked - until my garage held it
the wrong way and snapped it again. It all works but I'd rather not have
a loose key in my pocket.
My main dealer wants £129+ to replace it - no chance.
Various firms like Timpsons say they 'may' be able to clone it at ~£40-
£60, but until I drive 15 miles to the nearest main shop to find out,
they cannot promise.
A local locksmith says he can get a blank, but would have to remove the
chip from the current key.
I thought I might be able to get a sleeve to put the key in or even cast
a resin mould around it?
Until then I have extemporised by cutting a hole in some fabric based
gaffer tape with a hole for the key ring.
Any ideas?

You can sometimes get aftermarket replacement cases on ebay



The 'chips' in the keys are often a small lump maybe 3x3x8mm. In the
original keys these are buried in the plastic. In 'copies', the blanks
have a hole you slide a chip into and a plug to close it off. When they
make a new key, they cut the blank, program the chip, and pop it in the
hole.

If you could 'dig' the chip out of the plastic, you could simply pop it
in a new blank.


We lost some keys- two sets from different cars (long story). We used a
local company who came to the house, rather than the main dealer. It
worked out much cheaper.

--

Suspect someone is claiming a benefit under false pretences? Incapacity
Benefit or Personal Independence Payment when they don't need it? They
are depriving those in real need!

https://www.gov.uk/report-benefit-fraud

In article ,
Brian Reay wrote:
You can sometimes get aftermarket replacement cases on ebay



The 'chips' in the keys are often a small lump maybe 3x3x8mm. In the
original keys these are buried in the plastic. In 'copies', the blanks
have a hole you slide a chip into and a plug to close it off. When they
make a new key, they cut the blank, program the chip, and pop it in the
hole.

On mine, the replacement case was identical to the original. If it was a
copy, a very very good one. Looked to me like OEM. So the coding chip
position and fixing was the same.

If you could 'dig' the chip out of the plastic, you could simply pop it
in a new blank.

Just glued in place with mine.

Also the blade detached from the old case easily. Of course not all might
do this. So no need to have a new one cut here.


We lost some keys- two sets from different cars (long story). We used a
local company who came to the house, rather than the main dealer. It
worked out much cheaper.

Pretty well par for the course with anything a main dealer does. With
their vast hourly rates.

--
*CAN VEGETARIANS EAT ANIMAL CRACKERS?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 16/06/2018 00:49, FMurtz wrote:
Jim S wrote:
My car key has a chip in it and the plastic 'loop' that connects to a key
ring has snapped off. I repaired it the first time with a kind of
plasticene that went rock hard and it worked - until my garage held it
the wrong way and snapped it again. It all works but I'd rather not have
a loose key in my pocket.
My main dealer wants £129+ to replace it - no chance.
Various firms like Timpsons say they 'may' be able to clone it at ~£40-
£60, but until I drive 15 miles to the nearest main shop to find out,
they cannot promise.
A local locksmith says he can get a blank, but would have to remove the
chip from the current key.
I thought I might be able to get a sleeve to put the key in or even cast
a resin mould around it?
Until then I have extemporised by cutting a hole in some fabric based
gaffer tape with a hole for the key ring.
Any ideas?

You can sometimes get aftermarket replacement cases on ebay

+1, it was a trivial and very cheap replacement job for my Renault
Master. (In that case the problem wasn't a broken loop, it was that the
two "domes" for lock and unlock had broken away, so that you needed a
pointy thing to operate the two microswitches.

---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

On Sat, 16 Jun 2018 14:36:36 +0200, Martin wrote:

On Fri, 15 Jun 2018 11:40:36 GMT, Jim S wrote:

My car key has a chip in it and the plastic 'loop' that connects to a key
ring has snapped off. I repaired it the first time with a kind of
plasticene that went rock hard and it worked - until my garage held it
the wrong way and snapped it again. It all works but I'd rather not have
a loose key in my pocket.
My main dealer wants £129+ to replace it - no chance.
Various firms like Timpsons say they 'may' be able to clone it at ~£40-
£60, but until I drive 15 miles to the nearest main shop to find out,
they cannot promise.
A local locksmith says he can get a blank, but would have to remove the
chip from the current key.
I thought I might be able to get a sleeve to put the key in or even cast
a resin mould around it?
Until then I have extemporised by cutting a hole in some fabric based
gaffer tape with a hole for the key ring.
Any ideas?

Use waterproof putty.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Waterproof-.../dp/B006FXFZR4

That looks a bit like the stuff I used before - i.e. the stuff in the photo
that the garage managed to snap off
I think Loctite do one. It certainly would be less hassle than casting one.
--
Jim S

Johnny B Good Wrote in message:
On Fri, 15 Jun 2018 13:20:16 +0100, Jim S wrote:

=====snip====


Mitsubishi Space Star 2004 No buttons. No battery Picture shows other
key which was previously repaired with some kind of putty bought on
line.


Before you faff about with repairing your current key have you
looked on eBay?


https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?m...%2Fwww.ebay.co.
uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F261907270464

Tim

--

"Jim S" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 16 Jun 2018 14:36:36 +0200, Martin wrote:

On Fri, 15 Jun 2018 11:40:36 GMT, Jim S wrote:

My car key has a chip in it and the plastic 'loop' that connects to a key
ring has snapped off. I repaired it the first time with a kind of
plasticene that went rock hard and it worked - until my garage held it
the wrong way and snapped it again. It all works but I'd rather not have
a loose key in my pocket.
My main dealer wants £129+ to replace it - no chance.
Various firms like Timpsons say they 'may' be able to clone it at ~£40-
£60, but until I drive 15 miles to the nearest main shop to find out,
they cannot promise.
A local locksmith says he can get a blank, but would have to remove the
chip from the current key.
I thought I might be able to get a sleeve to put the key in or even cast
a resin mould around it?
Until then I have extemporised by cutting a hole in some fabric based
gaffer tape with a hole for the key ring.
Any ideas?

Use waterproof putty.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Waterproof-.../dp/B006FXFZR4

That looks a bit like the stuff I used before - i.e. the stuff in the
photo
that the garage managed to snap off
I think Loctite do one. It certainly would be less hassle than casting
one.

Sugru needs no casting.

On Sat, 16 Jun 2018 18:52:59 +0100 (GMT+01:00), Tim+ wrote:

Johnny B Good Wrote in message:
On Fri, 15 Jun 2018 13:20:16 +0100, Jim S wrote:

=====snip====


Mitsubishi Space Star 2004 No buttons. No battery Picture shows other
key which was previously repaired with some kind of putty bought on
line.


Before you faff about with repairing your current key have you
looked on eBay?


https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?m...%2Fwww.ebay.co.
uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F261907270464

Tim

Thanks Tim. I've ordered a couple. I don't quite know how it will work, but
at that price.....
--
Jim S