Alrite guys hope you can help I cleared my cel light with a cheap fault code reader, everything went okay and it cleared the code but now the car wont start but i can hear the fuel pump priming. Do i need to reset the code on the keypad or has the handset done something with the immobiliser. Would really appreciate your help on this one cheers.

 

Resetting the ECU won't affect your immobiliser. The only time you generally get an immobiliser problem is when you swap ECU's and your keys don't match up to the keycodes on the ECU in which case you just get your keys sync'd up by a dealer or someone with the appropriate equipment. I think you have a different problem.

Does the engine turn over but just doesn't fire??

 

When you turn the key it doesnt start to turn over it just acts like the immobiliser is activating. The old keycode for the pad is still working so im stumped. Also since i bought the car if i open it and dont start it for more than 30 seconds the immoboliser arms which is a right pain when i am getting the kids into their car seats.

 

In which case it sounds like the alarm is working fine. 30 secs is exactly what you get to fire up the engine. The mere fact you can switch the alarm off via the keypad is a good indicator all is well.

If you lock and unlock the car via the keyfob do you get the red LED by the clock lighting up for those 30secs? I take it while the LED is lit you try and fire her up and it doesn't turn over??

Have you been doing stuff under the bonnet?? Have a look at the fuses behind the Keypad. See which one is for the immobiliser. Check engine bay fuses by the battery as there may be a starter motor fuse or relay gone. Can't think what else it might be. I can't see either how your hand-held diag device could bugger the immobiliser up.

If you were closer i'd try and help you out by plugging my laptop into your car, do a reset via that and see what happens. Very odd.

 

Thanks for your time and advice mate I was thinking that my battery might be drained or discharged because it does happen sometimes. If the battery was dead would the alarm still work because the lcd clock fades out when i try to start the car within the 30 seconds time limit. I am going to try a starter pack or jump leads i currently have the battery lead off for a hour to see if that helps.

 

If the battery is very low the alarm and central locking may still work as it needs very little power to operate. If your clock fades and goes off on trying to start then clearly there isn't sufficient battery power to turn the engine over. Also check for bad earths as that will definately cause you charging and startup problems.

I hope it's as simple as a dead battery or bad earths. Good luck.

 

Alright pal charged the battery all night put it back on and still the same. Left the black lead off for over an hour and still nothing. Booster starter pack didnt work also tried jump starting off my dads 900 amp M5 battery. Checked all the fuses and they are okay I think it must be something to do with the immobiliser because the clock still faded with the jump leads on. Really starting to do my head in now the closest Subaru dealer is 50 miles away. Do i ring Sigma or do i ring the company who made the fault code reader because at the end of the day if i didnt use it the car would have started i dont think that its just a coincidence. Sorry for bother you again but i am at a loss. Not sure what alarm it is but the key fob is black and grey with 3 red leds at the top.

 

Just check and make sure none of the leads have come off the back of the starter motor or starter motor solenoid, and all your earths, specially the one from the gearbox housing to the starter, are OK.

If all that checks out then the only other thing it could be is the immobiliser. However, i still don't see how a reset will affect the immobiliser.

Here is a test for you. Attach a heavy duty lead to the positive side of the battery. Put the ignition on and touch the other end of that heavy duty lead to the back of the starter where the positive lead comes off the starter solenoid and bolts to the starter. If the engine fires and runs for a bit and then dies your issue is with the immobiliser. If it runs and doesn't die then it's not the immobiliser and could be the starter solenoid. If it doesn't fire at all then more likely it's the immobilser.

It does seem a bit of a coincidence that you got this problem straight after a reset but then i've had a lambda sensor go while my car was being MOT'd and it had been working perfectly before that. Just bad luck.