Storing an Intelligent Key in Vehicle

[JRY]

Purchased an extra Intelligent Key to hide in my Ford Edge vehicle in case of loss of the original. O course entry can be made to the vehicle via the keypad device. The problem is that it must be stored in such a manner as to make it unrecognizable to the system. One way to do so is to wrap it up in MYLAR, a material which blocks the signals from entering or escaping. Party balloons are made of MYLAR and of course can be easily obtained. I don't know how many layers it takes, I just wrap the intelligent key up in the material, put a rubber band on it and hide it in the vehicle. It works!

[ls973800]

Several questions?

 

Couldn't you just take the battery out to prevent it from discharging over a period of time? Did you buy a replacement IA with an uncut key insert, or get one of the used ones on eBay, etc that already had the key cut but are about half the price of a new one?

 

Any trouble linking the key with the car or the other keys you have?

 

I'm asking because I just looked last week at picking up an extra IA key.

[omar302]

Linking an IA key is very simple following the instructions in the owners manual. done it several times without any incident.

 

An important note though, you cannot un-link an IA key yourself, it has to be done by a dealer or locksmith with the correct equipment. The maximum number of IA keys that can be linked is 4 only.

 

I made several tests previously & you can remove the battery, the IA key will still work, but only through the backup slot in the center console. Actually it would even be safer to remove the battery because otherwise, pressing the unlock button would disable the Alarm.

 

Check these 2 posts I made earlier:

http://www.fordedgeforum.com/topic/14049-spare-key/?do=findComment&comment=108786

http://www.fordedgeforum.com/topic/14049-spare-key/?do=findComment&comment=108877

[ls973800]

Thanks, omar302. I remember reading and participating in that post about the IA. I have mine hidden with a battery in it inside the car. I may consider taking the battery out and leaving it in the center slot like you had tested.

 

What do you mean when you said it could not be un-linked, that only a dealer or locksmith can do that? Do you mean if I purchase a previously used one, it has to be un-linked from whatever vehicle it had been set up for?

[akirby]

Once it's programmed to the vehicle there is no owner procedure to un-program it. You can add more keys yourself but only the dealer can wipe out previously programmed keys.

[ls973800]

Thanks. So I either have to buy a new one that has never been programmed, or get a used one and have it un-linked or de-programmed.

[akirby]

Nope. You don't have to unlink it. The IKT doesn't know which vehicles it's been programmed to. The links are actually in each vehicle. You can take a used IKT and have it programmed to your vehicle same as a new one.

 

If you had an extra IKT programmed to your vehicle and for some reason you sold the IKT to someone else you'd want to have the dealer wipe out that IKT from your vehicle so the person you sold it to couldn't use it on your vehicle. Otherwise it doesn't matter.

Edited March 20, 2014 by akirby

[ls973800]

OK, got it now, thanks. So it won't matter if I do pick up a used one, I won't have to have anything done to it and I will be able to re-program to my car.

 

That's good to know.

[akirby]

Yep. The only restriction is if you only have one working IKT then the dealer has to program a new one. If you have two working IKTs you can add a 3rd one yourself.

[JRY]

In response to Edge member: I was fearful that removing the battery from the intelligent key to render it inoperable would result in the loss of programming. Found it very easy to simply wrap it in Mylar and hide it in the vehicle. I purchased an extra key for $138.00 from the dealer where I purchased the vehicle and was suprised to hear that they wanted $75.00 to program it. I did it myself by following the instructions in the manual in less than 5 minutes! Charging that much to program a key that costs over $100 is adding insult to injury especially when it takes so little time and effort to do the programming.