The Safrane.Info Forum!

Hi guys,

Just as i was beginning to bond with the car i have went out to start it and it just won't start.

It is not even attempting to turn over, no clicking noise from the starter motor either.

All the electrics, lights work fine so i don't suspect a flat battery.

The service light sometimes is flashing when i turn the ignition, other times it gives the "electronic ignition locked, impossible to start message". Is there anything that can disable the engine in this way. I've went through the process of locking and unlocking the car quickly so its not that.

Any ideas?? Any help is greatly appreciated.

The more i have fished around, the more this is looking like a killer immobiser issue.

Got an auto spark coming out tomorrow to look int ito but he has warned me it is astronomical costs to sort if it is immobilser. This may be the end of my safrane :(

The car has been faultless, no sings of anything playing up whatsoever.

Ph1 or ph2? If its a ph2 the immobiliser is part of the ECU.

I know this will sound stupid but have you tried disconnecting the battery for half an hour? Have you checked it with a voltmeter? Those are the only things i can think of - i've never heard of this issue with the safrane. Have you tried your spare key? - It could be the transponder chip is faulty in your daily key.. OR the signal pickup look by the ignition barrel has come unplugged.

I know the cost might be expensive if it is the ecu but you should bare in mind, many other cars in this price range have more service / maintenance costs than this and will cost a lot more to keep running per year than a safrane. That said, they can be expensive but many owners will just pay the costs simply to keep their safrane.

it's a phase 1

There is a guide in the handbook on how to temporarily disable it but i understand this might only work once and for all i know it may have been done before.

I've unplugged the battery for 15 mins .

Only got the one key with the car unfortunately.

So you unlock the car with the plip on the key and get in,turn on the ignition then nothing?does it always tell you the electronic ignition locked, impossible to start message??
I have the battery disconnected in mine when its in the garage,when i reconnect it i always have the plip it closed/open before i get in.
Problem is if its the ecu you could be in trouble and would need to find a 2.2 with all the stuff e.g ecu/decoder box,keys etc,i have a set or 2 but they are from a V6.See what an chap says tommorrow,hopefully it isn,t bad news.....

Yep that's exactly it. i'm not feeling too good about this..

It has kicked in before if the car has been unlocked for a certain period of time, but all i have to do is lock and unlock again to get going againl, this is different because it is kicking in without even trying to turn over the engine.

sadly i don't have a driveway, i live in central Edinburgh so nowhere to store it so it may have to get scrapped because of this daft immobiliser.

Ps, what is the plip? Is that just the button on the key?

The Plip is the black key parts as you say,don,t give up yet,maybe it can be sorted cheap if you find out exactly what it needs,maybe i can sort out the parts.
IF you get to the stage of scrapping it let me know,but i can,t buy the car as you are so far from me but would be interested in a few parts,grille for a start!but see if you can get it sorted first.

thanks, i really hope it can be sorted as the car is great otherwise. I'd be gutted to see it die so prematurely.

car started first turn of the key this morning.

auto spark reckons it may have been the battery and has replaced that as a precautionary measure, however i'm not convinced it was the battery as everything else came on fine like the lights, heater, stereo etc. Could a failing battery really cause the immobiliser to kick in??

I'm just relieved that the car is working again for now and i hope the problem doesn't present itself again but who knows, these things can have a habit of reappearing again.

Good news!



Yes it can. Most immobilisers will recognise a voltage drop and treat it as someone tampering with the car and thus disable the engine from starting. On some renaults it will let the engine crank it just won't let the engine fire (what the point of cranking is i have no idea). Anyway that would mean that you'd had a sharp voltage drop for some reason... what that is i've no idea.

As for the lights etc working, that doesn't mean squat it seems. I've had working lights, working everything but like you, no cranking. Charge up the battery or replace and it would instantly crank. Compared to the starter motor, the lights draw relatively little current.

Fingers crossed for you...