V70: 1997 Immobiliser gubbed, need help

[ChristineV70]

Car died up north. AA guy tried to fix on the spot and in the process the immobiliser has now failed.

It's currently at a Volvo dealership in Inverness (hours from me) and they have said the immobiliser is gubbed, and that since they don't make them anymore, the car is essentially scrap as they are coded to the car and to get one from another Volvo has a low success rate of working. I've been told that I'll need to replace both the immobiliser and ECU, but they sometimes don't take and therefore might not work at all.

I have looked into:
1. Having them pull the ECU and immobiliser, sending it away to rebuild, then reinstalling
2. Possibly getting one from the breakers, but I have no idea what problems comes with that

Can anyone offer up suggestions, or more information on what I am actually facing with this issue? The car only has 45k miles on it and I am not happy at the idea of scrapping this near-mint car.

[doingitsideways]

Hmm...

I thought the immobiliser was built into the ECU?
Very unlikely for that to fail.

How did AA man kill it?
Too much voltage from a massive booster pack could theoretically wipe it out, but again unlikely.

Most common immob failure is the antenna ring around the ignition barrel not picking up the signal from the key, or the transponder in the key itself packing up.

Do you have a spare key to try?
If so, maybe post it to them to try?

[ChristineV70]

To be honest, I have absolutely no idea how it failed.

The original issue with the car, that led to it dying in the first place was that it was losing power going up hills, chugging in every gear (but more in the lower, felt like misfire), and eventually not being able to go about 3mph before it finally packed in. During that time the car always started first time, every time, without fail. It wasn't until the gent from AA had a go that it wouldn't start anymore.

I've been told that if there is an issue and you relentlessly try to turn over the engine again and again, that could have tripped the immobiliser.

The Volvo garage said the ECU is in working order, but as the ECU and immobilliser are coded together, I'll need both to have any chance of correcting the issue.

I heard of trying different keys, and both of mine are in the hands of the garage (black and grey). Do you think a new ignition may solve the issue? Or maybe a new set of keys?

[PNuT]

I would say the Volvo garage are most likely incorrect, but it is possible you have a different variant to anything I have come across...

as a general rule up until 1999 model year the engine ecu & immobiliser were not linked....

after that some of them definitely were linked....

I suspect you will need assuming the immob is dead a new one of them & the ignition key/barrel to get you up & running

[ChristineV70]

Originally Posted by PNuT

as a general rule up until 1999 model year the engine ecu & immobiliser were not linked....

after that some of them definitely were linked....

I suspect you will need assuming the immob is dead a new one of them & the ignition key/barrel to get you up & running

This is what I understand as well, what I'm being told is that since Volvo no longer make the immobiliser unit for a 1997, I'd need to salvage one. But, because they are coded to the ECU, it won't work and would be "rejected", which is why you need both units.

I'm not trying to come across like I know anything about this subject. I really don't. How would I go about getting a new immobiliser that the car would accept? And then it would definitely need a new ignition? Is it better to just take both out and have the ECU rebuilt and make it "free running"? That a new thing I was told about yesterday, but don't know the ins and outs about either.

Thanks to you both for your responses. I really want this to work. I love my Volvo and can't bear to see the thing scrapped.

[PNuT]

If you have a 97 car & the ECU is fine then leave it alone...

what is the car actually doing? immobiliser faults usually allow the car to fire & then it will stall! is it doing that?

[ChristineV70]

Yup, the mechanic is saying the car starts and runs for about 30 seconds to a minute before it dies out.

Since we were up north when the car died, the only approved place they could take it was Arnold Clark in Inverness so, they can't put in after-market parts.

Any mechanic I've called (and I've called quite a few) say that they either won't touch it at all, or that I should rebuild the ECU and make it free running. I don't know if this info is right, which is why I've appealed to you folks.

[PNuT]

Not convinced it is the immobiliser as it should cut out after about 1 second!

what engine is in your car?

[martin_r_smith]

After reading your description of symptoms I'm thinking fuel filter. Has it ever been changed?

[SIAMBLUE]

Originally Posted by martin_r_smith

After reading your description of symptoms I'm thinking fuel filter. Has it ever been changed?

It sounds definitely like the fuel side, no way would anything else let it run for 30 seconds, sounds like fuel pump related, fuel pump primes on ignition but as soon as fuel pipes are empty pump cannot pump any more.

The 97 98 cars were the best of the p1 70 series, as they didn't have a stupid etm or me7 Ecu