[BKJKU]

Hey guys, so I just got a 2015 Rubicon about a month ago and decided to get a VW style switch blade key. The salesman told me the keys don't have chips and that I can get them cut anywhere from any blank and I should be fine. turns out the salesman doesn't know jack and I discovered on my own that the keys do have chips. I discovered this when I pulled the guts out of my oem key and swapped the electronics over to the new switch blade key. To my surprise the car would start, then die after a couple seconds. It took me a while to realize that there was nothing wrong with the car and it was the key.

Anyways, to get to my point, how do these things work? There is no physical connection between the key and the chip, is it wireless or something in the ignition senses the chip near by? I'm only asking because I got my switch blade key cut (for free from my Jeep dealership I should add, awesome service!) and with my new key the car starts and stays running 90% of the time. 10% of the time it seems the chip isn't being detected. It will start up then stall after a couple seconds. While this isn't a huge issue, it's annoying and I don't want to be stranded outside one day when I can't get my car to start because of the key. Any idea what's wrong? I see a lot of people running these same switch blades keys on their dodges and nobody seems to have issues.

thanks!

Bry

 

[DisturbedMaggot]

I believe the best way to describe them is a proximity key, similar to the idea of how an RFID tag is read, only with super tight tolerances.

I know when these keys first started coming out, aftermarket alarms needed to have a special module attached to the inside of the steering wheel, basically almost stuck to the actual ignition cylinder.

My suggestion, assuming you didn't damage any of the internals of the key when you disassembled it, is reposition the internals closer to the key than not. Not 100% sure exactly how the keys are read, but that's my thought for what might work.

Also, FYI that stall after a couple seconds is normal if it doesn't detect the key, anti theft! haha

 

[BKJKU]

Thanks for the reply! Considering the amount of laughable and total lack of security features on the Jeep, I find it rather pointless that they would even bother with a proximity key.

You could be right that the chip isn't close enough to the reader if that's actually how it works. The key itself is longer than the OEM one and the plastic casing is also longer positioning the chip a good 2cm back. No go on re-positioning the chip though. It's integrated into the keyless remote and the installation position of the buttons is fixed.