Sometimes it happens that you need to start your car when the key is lost. This kind of trouble is rare, but it does happen, and the owner is essentially left alone with a stationary car. It’s one thing if this happened in a city, where it is possible to call a tow truck for help, but quite another thing if the key was lost somewhere in the forest or in the country. Here you have to rely only on your own strength.
In this article we will tell you how to start your own Priora without outside help if there is no key.
How can you start a Lada Priora without an ignition key?
Sometimes it happens that you need to start your car when the key is lost. This kind of trouble is rare, but it does happen, and the owner is essentially left alone with a stationary car. It’s one thing if this happened in a city, where it is possible to call a tow truck for help, but quite another thing if the key was lost somewhere in the forest or in the country. Here you have to rely only on your own strength. In this article we will tell you how to start your own Priora without outside help if there is no key.
Video
A video from the author Dmitriy Epishev demonstrates desoldering the microcircuit and resetting the data on the programmer.
Good day to all!
There are those who are ardent supporters of disabling the standard immobilizer
and there are those who are satisfied with everything, and I still exist.
I
am the one who has a standard active immobilizer + alarm system + difficulties.
Actually, it’s not so much the complexity as the misunderstanding of how all “this” should work.
I purchased a car with one set of keys:
training from Priora and a key fob with an LCD screen for the alarm system.
Alarm KGB FX7
, everything is standard: autostart, feedback, turbo timer and other gadgets.
Autostart worked, the key started the car, but it wasn’t enough for me, I wanted a key with buttons ( working
). By the way, only the driver's door was unlocked by the alarm; then you had to open it and press the ESP unit to open the other three. Those. the ESP unit controls only three other doors.
Immobilizer - the main problem
This device protects the car from theft and, accordingly, will not allow you to start the power unit, so to speak, in an alternative way. In order to bypass the protection, you will need some knowledge in electronics. You will also need to prepare the following tools:
- cardan joint;
- knob;
- Phillips screwdriver;
- extension;
- shaped screwdriver attachment.
First of all, to solve the problem with the immobilizer, you need to remove the battery. Then the instrument panel is dismantled - behind it stands the above-mentioned device. It is located near the heating control and next to the radio. The anti-theft system is a gray or black box, the size of which is 50 by 100 millimeters.
The immobilizer is dismantled by unscrewing the bolts securing it, but first turn off the power from it. To do this, it will be enough to pull out the block.
Now you have to reconfigure the immobilizer. To do this, you will need to remove all data stored in the ECU. To destroy information stored in the APS, a chip resistor is removed from it. The unit itself is connected to a regular computer, which must have special software (pack loader) that allows you to install the original firmware. After reinstallation, the chip is put in place.
Sometimes a memory (EEPROM) is installed in the immobilizer, from which information is not deleted under any circumstances. What to do in this situation? You will need to edit the file contained in it. Here in code 2-7 the numbers are erased and “FF” is written instead.
After this, the immobilizer will not be able to prevent you from starting the engine without a key. How to do it? We'll tell you below.
Preparatory work
It must be said right away that those Lada Priora cars that are equipped with an immobilizer cannot be started without interfering with its protection system. Therefore, a few words about what needs to be done. The first thing you need to do is turn off and remove the protective device itself. To do this, open the hood of the car and disconnect the terminals from the battery. Next you need to get to the product itself, disconnect the contact block from its body and ultimately dismantle it too. For those who don’t know, the immobilizer is located next to the heating control elements, behind the dashboard not far from the car radio. Now you need to “clean” the previously saved data from the ECU. To do this, the electronic control unit is connected to a regular laptop that has special software (can be downloaded on the Internet) and the unit’s firmware is reset (reset to its original state). After which it is possible to resort to alternative methods of starting the car. "Note! In some cases (latest car models), immobilizers with built-in memory are used. In this case, simply resetting the ECU firmware will no longer help. There will be an additional need to read and edit information directly in the immobilizer memory blocks. To obtain positive results, professional knowledge and skills are required. If there are none, or you are not confident in your abilities, we recommend turning to professionals.” After the preparatory work, we’ll talk about how to start a Priora without an ignition switch.
First option
First of all, it is worth recalling that only the owner of the car can use such methods with impunity.
An outsider risks being subject to criminal liability. You can start the car by working with the wires leading to the ignition switch well. It is important to understand that modern cars do not have three wires, but much more. All of them are responsible for one or another function, depending on the position of the key. There are three contact groups in Priora, each with sets of veins of different colors. For the most part, such an indication allows you to determine the purpose of each. So:
- green or black is grounding;
- yellow or red – nutrition (among other things, it is thicker than the others);
- orange comes from the starter.
Remove the grounding and carefully touch all other wires in turn. We need those that will give a spark upon contact. They are all connected together into a bundle and connected to the cable going to the starter. As a result, the engine starts. Next, the last mentioned wiring is disconnected and isolated.
It is very important here not to confuse what to connect to what, because otherwise there is a chance of burning not only the wiring, but the sensors and ECU.
Thus, if you do not have sufficient confidence in your own competence, it is better to contact a car service.
Where is
In the LADA Priora car, the automatic anti-theft system (APS) is structurally built into the electrical package unit (comfort unit). Depending on the year of manufacture of the car, its location may be different. In early Priora models, it was located under the center console (beard), which is located in the middle of the dashboard. Under the electrical package unit in these models there was an electronic engine control system (ECM) or an electronic control unit (ECU).
In subsequent modifications of the Lada Priora car, the comfort unit, in which the immobilizer is located, was placed on the left side of the mounting block by the designers. The latter contains relays and fuses. Due to the fact that the electrical package unit is fixed to the surface of the body, behind the mounting block, it is difficult to get to it.
According to factory technology, to dismantle the comfort unit, it is necessary to disassemble part of the instrument panel, which is long and difficult. But there is another way:
- Before performing any operations on the vehicle's electrical equipment, be sure to remove the contact terminal from the negative electrode of the battery. Remove the plastic panel from under the steering wheel by unlocking the mounting fasteners.
- The mounting block becomes visible, behind it the assembly with the immobilizer is screwed in a perpendicular position. Blindly, use your hands to approach the 3 wiring connectors of the electrical package unit and disconnect them.
- Using a bell wrench with a working head of 10, unscrew the 2 mounting bolts that hold the electrical package unit by touch. The bolts are not visible, they are located behind the fuse box.
- Carefully remove the assembly; it can only be removed in one position.
How to start a Priora directly through the starter
Hello, dear car enthusiasts! Many of us, motorists, have at least once in our lives found ourselves in a situation where the car starter stubbornly refused to fulfill its intended purpose.
According to the well-known Murphy’s law (in common parlance “the law of the falling sandwich”), such troubles happen at the most inopportune moment - you have to go, and time is running out. In such cases, there is nothing left to do but start the car without a starter or close it directly and hit the road.
Before closing the starter directly, diagnostics are recommended
Before taking decisive action, it would be a good idea to try to identify the causes of starter failure, because some of them can be eliminated on the spot.
The most difficult starter failures include:
- starter relay fault
- Solenoid relay malfunction
- Bendix wear
- burnt out starter winding.
If you have diagnosed one of these complex breakdowns, you can immediately begin to look for a way to start the engine with a non-working starter. These methods are few, but they work flawlessly.
The essence of the first simple and reliable way to start a car without a starter is that several strong, sympathetic neighbors in the garage rest their hands on the trunk of the car and, on command, begin to accelerate.
While you are driving, you turn on the ignition key and first gear. The more active the pushers are (in terms of acceleration speed), the faster the engine will start. This method of starting a car is called “push-start” and is the most popular among car enthusiasts.
The second most popular and effective auto-folk method to “revive” a car engine is towing. It consists in the fact that your car is towed by another car for some distance using a cable.
You need to exercise maximum caution in this case: first, keep in mind that when your car starts, it will definitely begin to accelerate. Secondly, when the car in front of you stops, do not forget to stop your car. Finally, do not turn off the engine when you get out of the car to unhook the cable, otherwise you will have to repeat the entire procedure.
How to start a car without a pushrod and a cable? Just close the starter.
You can try to bring the car back to life without using brute physical force. To quickly complete the task, you need to have an idea of how to close the starter directly.
Let's figure out how to start the starter directly or, in auto-folk language: how to close the starter with a screwdriver, wrench, pry bar or other suitable means at hand.
It is worth mentioning right away that a screwdriver and a wrench will only help if the cause of unsatisfactory operation of the starter is a malfunction of the solenoid relay.
You can recognize it by the characteristic clicks coming from under the hood when you turn the key. This sound indicates that the retractor relay has been turned on, but the Bendix drive gear cannot crank the engine crankshaft. There is no other way out of this situation except to bypass the starter and apply voltage to the windings.
So, to close the starter you will need a large screwdriver or a wrench with a “jaw” corresponding to the distance between the power terminals of the solenoid relay, with which you will simply need to close them.
But first you need to set the gearshift lever to neutral and tighten the brake to full. The key in the lock must be in the appropriate position. Under these conditions, the screwdriver (key) will act as a retractor relay.
In these simple ways you can start the car without briefly racking your brains over the question: how to close the starter.
The only point in this technology is that when starting the starter directly on the contact ignition system, make sure that the coil does not fail.
Using a crawler
Such a device is most often used when an alarm system with automatic start is installed. The principle of operation of the crawler is that a separate block is used, inside of which a chip or standard key is installed. The unit is located in the dashboard or inside the car under the pillar trim made of plastic.
The signal from the chip or key will be read by the antenna of the unit and transmitted to the ignition switch. Control is carried out using a separate relay. If necessary, the unit can be programmed in a mode in which the immobilizer is excluded from the circuit. So, the Priora can be started with a key without a chip, but the APS will receive information from the crawler.
One of the popular options for such devices is the BP-03 Starline model, which works with any security systems.
In addition to key crawlers, keyless ones are also used; they reproduce the signal from the chip, and the operating principle is the same. The main disadvantage of using a keyless crawler is that the standard alarm system remains on board, so this option is only suitable if a security system with automatic start has been installed.
Scheme, theory and practice
Let's see what the wiring diagram of any electric starter looks like. Contact B is constantly supplied with voltage.
Starter and its external circuits
In the diagram we see three “positive” contacts and one negative (8), which is always connected to the body. What needs to be closed:
- Before closing the starter, locate the S terminal. It is often made in the form of a petal;
- How to distinguish contacts B and M: the first will have a potential of “+12”;
- You need to close contact B with terminal S. This is done briefly and after turning on the “neutral”;
- Contacts M and B cannot be closed.
We move from theory to practice. On a VAZ-2114 car everything looks simple.
Terminal B here is covered with a rubber band, and petal S is in contact with the terminal in plastic. The plastic plug is removed before “shorting”.
Closing the starter contact with a screwdriver
Make sure that the metal of the screwdriver does not touch the relay body when closing. Otherwise, we will simply close the “+” contact to “ground” (dangerous). All work is carried out with the ignition on.
- B – Bold, “thick” wire;
- M – Motor (electric motor);
- S – Start.
How to start and operate LADA correctly in cold weather?
Techincom recommends: advice from a LADA service technician on the correct start-up and further operation of Russian cars at low ambient temperatures.
1.How to properly start cars with a manual transmission and AMT (robot)?
Let's start with the fact that before you start using the car, you need to read the instructions for its operation. There are answers to simple and even complex questions. If you have a car with a manual transmission, then you need to lighten the load on the starter and start the car with the clutch depressed. It will be much easier for the car to spin the engine without a gearbox. After the car starts, you can remove your foot from the clutch after 10-20 seconds. The transmission oil in the box is thicker and now the car will easily warm it up too. If you have a car with a robotic gearbox, then your engine will not start until the brake pedal is depressed. If you were unable to start the car the first time, then remember that you do not need to constantly “turn” the starter, because it may simply burn out. It is necessary to let it “rest” and keep the key turned for no more than 10 seconds. After this, you need to return it to its original position and pause for 20 seconds. After 3-4 attempts, it is best to pause for 10-15 minutes and try again.
2. What additional devices help make starting a car easier (preheaters, mobile interior heaters from 12V, thermal blankets)?
Liquid-type preheaters built into the cooling system cope well with low temperatures. They work by internal combustion and heat up the antifreeze. For the engine, this is the same as starting in warm weather, only the inlet air temperature is different. A 12-volt mobile interior heater will not help. It can cause even more harm because the electronics may burn out. The thermal blanket keeps the engine cool when you leave the car for an hour or two. If you leave your car outside overnight, a thermal blanket will not help. The car engine will cool down completely overnight.
3. How to properly light a battery (connect terminals to terminals or partially to the engine housing)?
There is no big difference in where you hook the negative terminal. The main thing is not to connect plus to plus and minus to minus. The only thing is that it is better to turn it off when “lighting up”. A sudden drop in voltage can negatively affect the donor vehicle. This is recommended by the manufacturers.
4.What is not recommended to do until the car interior warms up (do not play loud music, etc.)?
It is not recommended to play music loudly. Speaker membranes are more fragile in the cold and can simply break. In addition, touch screens may not respond as quickly as they would in a warm car. Windows can also simply freeze. In this case, if you forcefully try to lower the glass, then uneven distribution of the load can lead to the fact that one of the elements may break or burst. In the cold, everything is fragile and it is better to warm up the car.
5. What restrictions on car operation exist at subzero temperatures?
Of course, in winter, failure of some components and assemblies is more likely. At especially low temperatures, the same rubber parts are more fragile and they are ready to withstand less loads than in the warm season. For example, the LADA XRAY has power steering and in severe frost you should not actively turn the steering wheel immediately after starting the engine. You need to gradually apply the load. As for the suspension, if the car has just left the parking lot, it is necessary not to put a sudden load on the struts. The fact is that at that moment they had not yet developed, and the oil inside had not yet warmed up. So where you calmly passed speed bumps in the summer, you need to drive carefully during severe frosts. Otherwise, part of the suspension may quickly fail.
6. What parts of the car are at risk in severe frost?
Particular attention should be paid to such things as mud flaps and plastic bumpers. In severe frost, the rubber is not so elastic and can tear at the points where it is attached to the car. Close attention should be paid to the safety of plastic bumpers. Please note that in winter there are a lot of cars with holes. This is the result of parking in a snow pavement. If in summer the plastic is more flexible and can withstand a light impact on the curb, then in severe frost even a light touch can make a crack or even tear out a piece of the bumper.
7. How are new LADA models prepared for operation in severe frosts?
The new model line is perfectly prepared for use in severe frosts. From personal experience, I can say that starting the LADA Vesta at a temperature of -32 took about 5 minutes from the moment the key was turned until the windows were completely heated to start driving safely. Only the steering wheel is cold, but you can drive with gloves. Heated windshield in new models is a necessary function for operation in Russia. There are also no questions regarding heated side mirrors, glass and heated front seats. They heat up quickly and keep a good temperature. It is also worth noting that the thermal insulation in both cars is excellent. The cabin is comfortable even in strong headwinds.
We close the starter “in French” (special cases)
Access to the starter is always open from under the bottom - you just need to remove the crankcase protection. An example is in the photo below.
It is difficult to reach the starter from the engine compartment. In the best case, it is closed by a filter (VAZ), in the worst case, by a battery. You can remove the filter, but what about the battery?
Starter installation location (circle)
Everything is done so that the starter can be changed, repaired, but not short-circuited.
What does terminal S look like?
On Renault cars, the terminal looks like a threaded outlet. The nut screwed onto it is “white”, although it itself is made of copper (see photo).
Starter Renault Logan, phase 1
We have already talked about the VAZ - they use a plug. If you remove it, you can see the “petal”.
The starting method using a screwdriver is not the best. The problem is limited access.
50 Amps
The pull-in relay on the “Ten” consumes 50 Amps. For budget Lada models the current is 30 A, for many foreign cars it is higher. This means that a current of 40-50 Amps will flow from terminal B to terminal S. Think about the dangers of this.
We are going to short-circuit the starter with a screwdriver, but at the connection points where the current will flow, it may “stick”. In this case, without unnecessary panic, remove the negative terminal from the battery.
To remove the minus terminal, you need a 10mm open-end wrench. Keep it with you.
Are further blockages possible?
After unlocking, the immobilizer can lock the car again in the following cases:
- When the battery is disconnected.
- 10 seconds after the ignition is turned off.
After turning off the ignition, you will need to enter the code again. If you enter it incorrectly 3 times in a row, the next attempt will be possible after five minutes. Please note that all of these steps are not suitable for decoding a code solenoid valve or computer. Entering the emergency code will only allow you to start the engine.
conclusions
Let's look at diagram 1 again. If the key is not turned to the Start label, terminal S is “hanging in the air.” This can be done for any car, even if the circuit has an additional relay. This means that it will not be necessary to disconnect the standard wire from terminal S... And in the case of a VAZ, the disconnection is carried out in order to gain access to the terminal.
We removed the filter, disconnected the plug, and tried to close it...
If the engine filter cannot be removed or access is blocked by the battery, we do it differently - we use only the crank.
It is better to close the contacts not with a screwdriver, but with any wrench (see photo). It is desirable that the handle be insulated.
12 Volt voltage is not dangerous, but errors can result in blown fuses. Good luck.
For those who do not understand everything: the filter must be removed from the mounts, but not from the “corrugation”. The filter housing is placed on the battery.
Forced starting of the starter
This method involves shorting the starter contacts, and to implement it you will need the help of another person and a long screwdriver (a wrench will also work).
The idea is to use the metal part of your chosen tool to connect the power contacts of the starter in order to transfer voltage directly to the winding. The sequence of actions should be as follows:
- Ask your assistant to sit behind the wheel of the car so that he turns the key to the extreme right position (including the ignition).
- Remove the contact plate (chip) from the starter.
- Use the tip of the tool to short-circuit the contacts.
Before using this method, check the condition of the transmission.
The slide must be in a neutral position. Make sure that the car is on the parking brake (the handbrake should be raised).
What to do if there is no key
There are several more options. The first involves starting the starter from inside the car. To do this, you will need to remove the plastic panel that is located under the steering wheel of the car. The next step is to separate the wiring harness going to the ignition switch.
Find the wire that goes to ground (could be black, green, or yellow with a black stripe). It is possible to determine the required conductor using a tester. Connect one tip to the wire being tested, and the other to the car body. If the display shows zero, then that's what we need.
Strip the neutral wire, insulate it and move it to the side. Power to the starter on the VAZ-2114 is supplied through a red or yellow wire. To avoid confusion, check with a tester.
Next you need to determine the conductor that is responsible for the starter. To do this, connect the supply wire with the remaining ones in turn. From which the mechanism will work, we will continue to work.
Connect the remaining bundle to the positive wire, and then close it with the starter terminal. If you have determined everything correctly, the engine should start. Keep in mind that you cannot connect the wires for a long time, so as not to discharge the battery.
As with the first method, the gearbox must be in neutral.
Some information about the ignition switch device
Lada Priora cars use anti-theft locks that block the next start of the starter and connect the key to the standard anti-theft system. The device is located directly under the steering wheel in a special way (four screws with tear-off caps that prevent unscrewing) and is fixed to the steering column.
The engine is started using a key that is inserted into the lock cylinder.
The device is powered by a battery, and a special relay marked “K4” is responsible for ensuring proper protection of the electrical circuit. The starter locking is achieved by a locking rod that is retracted and prevents the key from being removed in all its positions except the zero stage (position “0”). With one key position, only electrical circuits are activated. In a different condition they are different. For example, at the first mark, some on-board equipment is activated (windshield wipers, power windows, dashboard indicators, etc.), and the next time you turn the key in the ignition switch, an additional power circuit is activated, and the engine starts.
Push launch
This is a classic way to start the engine on almost any car. It should be used when other methods are powerless. To do this you will need to do the following:
- Place the gear lever in neutral.
- The driver gets behind the wheel.
- Two assistants are pushing the car.
- Once the car has accelerated a little, engage first or second gear.
- Turn the key to engine start mode.
This method can be used while towing a car. But remember that when you start the engine, the car will accelerate significantly and may drive into the bumper of the towing car.
other methods
If the immobilizer has blocked the engine of a Grant or other cars from starting, you can contact a service station, where they can either turn it off completely or install a lineman. The latter can apply voltage to certain terminals and thereby close the necessary contacts. Such a device deceives the ECU, and the engine starts successfully.
Professional technicians can interfere with the operation of the electronics by disconnecting the immobilizer itself from the car’s electronics. But if you do this yourself, you can harm the entire system.
Why does the starter refuse to turn?
The most common cause of starter failure is a malfunction of the solenoid relay. This can be determined by the characteristic click that is heard from under the hood after you turn the ignition key. This sound tells you that the relay is engaged and the overrunning clutch is unable to turn the crankshaft due to lack of power.
To summarize the article, we note that now you know how to start the engine when the starter does not turn. We looked at three methods, and one of them will probably work when trying to start the internal combustion engine.
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