Lucky Eddie

A ignition / electrickery question pleas if I may for my first post here.

My grown son has a ~ 2006 Falcon sedan.

The ignition barrel cane loose in its plastic housing inside the steering column and eventually fell out!

Ford quotes about $1600 odd to repair it saying it required ~$1100 for a replacement steering column.

Son thought blow that and went and bought a used steering column from a wrecker for his model.

Took it home - and took out his old column and installed the new one.

When doing so he put his existing key barrel into the replacement column, so that the key reader within the column would match up with his cars engine computer, and he wouldn't have to swap all keys for the car and put in new door locks etc to match.

The key fob now unlocks the car doors fine.

The dash gauge cluster has some power to it because the electronic odometer comes on and displays the right mileage for the car.

When you turn the key on however - you get no ignition lights and the engine will not crank.

Is there something has to be done to re set the engine computer to recognize its own OEM key reader in the column?...

Something obvious he has missed?

He is going to disconnect the battery today and give it an hour or so then re connect the battery in the hope the engine control computer in the hope it will re connect with its key reader and key in the replacement column with original key and barrel and work as it should.

Just wondering if anyone knows if there are any possible computer error codes that may have been thrown, and will he need a engine scanner / diagnostics program and dongle etc to re flash his engine computer to clear any codes?

There is no Red Light with Hand symbol showing on the dash to indicate a theft attempt code thats been recognized by the engine computer and shut it down but then there are no dash lights displaying at all bar the electronic odometer reading so thats no guarantee there isnt a code been thrown.

He has checked the fuses and fusible links etc and tried swapping fuses into the ignition circuit in case one was blown when the key barrel came out of the column.

The plastic receptor in the steering column for the key barrel is also the steering lock and they get brittle with age and our hot sun which is why his key barrel came/fell out.

This has us baffled.

If he has to buy a scanner / diagnostics connector dongle and software program to re flash his own engine computer - can anyone suggest the best one to get?

I myself have had one of the US made "auto enginuity" brand ones for my F 250 - which is a on OBD11 compliant engine and computer...

I'm assuming his falcon will be OBD11 compliant and he could buy any one of a number of scanners / diagnostics programs that would work.

Thanks in advance guys - this one has thrown us a curve ball!

Something so simple shouldn't be so damn hard.

Cheers & beers!

CatSkinner

It could be a matter of a reset of the securities, but I'd also be questioning the integrity of the barrel. I'd think the engine would crank with no fire if it were a security issue.

__________________
Prius repellant, just add gas.

Lucky Eddie

I must admit I was thinking the same thing - that it should at least crank maybe.

That said my searching of the site, I came across a post with a vid link to how the whole Key fob transponder and Key reader thing work together with the engine computer.

The transponder inside the plastic key fob apparently has no power source of it's own, but has a wound copper coil, and the key reader section within the steering column has a wound copper coil ring - that when the key is inserted create4s a magnetic field around the transponder in the key fob with ts copper wound coil - the magnetic field of the key reader imparting a small electrical charge in the transponder in the keys wound copper coil...

Then the key reader within the steering column, can read the signal broadcast by the key transponder.

At least that's how the Video link showed it.

The key reader within the steering column - is connected to the cars computer.

If the key reader isn't perhaps creating the required magnetic field to activate the key, or the disconnecting of the key reader from the computer trips a tamper proofing computer code, then from what I understand the engine computer shuts down both the ignition & engine starter circuit, as well as the fuel supply / injectors.

This is to stop anyone "jumping" the starter motor terminals, and getting the engine to start.

I think it will be necessary to have the cars computer re flashed to re set the ignition tamper codes and re connect the key reader in the steering column and cars computer.

That's my understanding of it at the moment, - however I'd be very happy to be corrected if there's something / obvious simple that I have overlooked?.

The old "eliminate the simple thing first" mantra - its easy to get wound up in computers and codes etc and sometimes overlook the simplest of cures (Remember the TV Show "the IT crowd" - have you tried turning it off and on again?")

Well We've tried that... now we are stuck.

Cheers

Lucky Eddie

Fixed.

2 problems!

1. a blown ignition fuse
2. Computer re flash of tamper code.

Cheers

CatSkinner

Nice to hear!

__________________
Prius repellant, just add gas.