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01Almost every automotive job starts with one question. What kind of key is this. The answer decides your tooling, your pricing and whether the job takes eight minutes or two hours. Car keys have moved through four clear generations and each one added a layer that the layer before it did not have. Learn to name the generation on sight and the rest of automotive work becomes far more predictable.
- A key that cranks and then stalls after about two seconds is an immobiliser fault, not a fuel fault.
- Transponder chips have no battery. They are powered by the coil ring around the ignition.
- Proximity fobs still contain an emergency blade, and the car still has a hidden door cylinder.
Covers Mechanical keys, roughly 1950 to 1995, Transponder keys, roughly 1995 to 2010, Remote head keys and proximity fobs, roughly 2005 onward.
Read this topic →There are three ways to produce an automotive key and knowing when each one applies is most of the skill. You can duplicate from an existing key, you can originate from a code, or you can decode the lock itself. Duplication is fastest and least accurate. Origination by code is the professional default. Decoding is what you fall back on when the code is unavailable or wrong.
- Duplication inherits wear. Originating to code produces a key that works every cylinder on the car.
- VIN to key code lookups require verified credentials and proof the customer owns the vehicle.
- The door cylinder is usually less worn than the ignition and easier to decode.
Covers Duplication and why it drifts, Origination by code, Decoding the lock.
Read this topic →Cutting a key gets the cylinder to turn. Programming gets the engine to keep running. Programming is where automotive locksmiths earn most of their money and also where they lose most of their afternoons, because the procedure varies by manufacturer, by model year and sometimes by build date within a single year.
- Onboard learn procedures often erase keys that were not present. Cycle every key the customer owns.
- Security access delays are a designed anti theft feature. Quote them in advance.
- Support the battery during programming. A voltage drop mid write can brick a module.
Covers Onboard procedures, Diagnostic programming and security delays, When the module has to come out.
Read this topic →Automotive locksmithing is mostly performed in a parking lot, in weather, with a customer standing beside you. The technical work is only half of it. The other half is arriving prepared, proving the car belongs to the person who called, and leaving the vehicle in better condition than you found it.
- Photo identification plus a vehicle document, recorded in writing, every single time.
- Wedge at the top rear corner of the door frame where the metal is designed to flex.
- Look for a hidden door cylinder before reaching inside the door.
Covers Proof of ownership, Opening without damage, Pricing and the scam problem.
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