Clutch replaced but Immobiliser light solid and wont start, Help

[Brigsy]

Scrap that pic above, this one is for ems3134 and gives some more info

 

[Leo182]

If anyone cracks this on here I swear you'll be getting a beer on me🍺!!

Absolutely wrecking my head!!

 

[Mr Trailer Man]

Have a look in the fusebox, 3 brown relays in a row E, G, J.

J is the immo relay, swap that with the top one E, that's the low speed AC fan so not important at this time.

 

[davo172]

Probably disturbed the white plug in the engine bay fusebox when removing the battery

Tell him to stop being a f**king chopper and actually fix something and be a mechanic. Useless c**t

Bet he's plugged the obd reader in and it says no faults so car must be perfect!

(Today's definition of a "mechanic")🙄

 

[Leo182]

Bet he's plugged the obd reader in and it says no faults so car must be perfect!

(Today's definition of a "mechanic")🙄

He's a decent guy and he's definitely not like that! some would have give up long ago I'm sure but this lad is one of those who doesn't like to be defeated!!

It will probably end up being something really daft because its French !

 

[Mr Underhill]

I’ve been through this Renault diagnostic nightmare too - non-Renault tools spitting out codes left and right. Your fault codes (DF002, DF057, DF135, DF235, DF236, DF152, DF076) are interconnected, likely triggered by the car not starting rather than being the root cause. I had 20+ codes on my Clio, different ones each scan, but none were the actual issue. Renault electrics are a dark art, but here’s what I’d do based on my limited, but similar experience.

I'd start with DF057 Immobiliser System Fault as this is why your red immobiliser light is solid and the car won’t start. It points to a communication issue between the key, transponder ring, immobiliser module, or ECU. I had a knackered transponder ring on my track car - kept removing/refitting the cowling, and it’d start sometimes, and not others. It was just loose.

Then try:

• Spare Key: Use it to rule out a faulty transponder chip in the main key.
• Immobiliser Module: Look at the module (near the fuse box) for loose connectors.
• Battery Reset: Disconnect the battery for 10–15 minutes to reset the system.

DF236 is the crankshaft sensor near the flywheel. A faulty sensor stops the ECU from firing the engine.

• Check its wiring and connector for damage or looseness.
• Test or replace it (cheap part and common issue).

DF235 Fuel Pump Relay could stop fuel delivery, keeping the engine from starting.

• Check the fuel pump relay (swap with an identical one) and its fuse.
• Listen for the fuel pump hum when you turn the key to “on.” If silent, check pump wiring.

DF152 a CAN bus fault messes up communication between the ECU, immobiliser, etc.

• Inspect wiring near the gearbox and ECU for damage or loose plugs.
• If wiring’s fine, a Renault specialist with CLIP can diagnose module issues.

Secondary Codes (DF002, DF135, DF076)
These (air temp sensor, camshaft sensor, injector circuit) are likely false positives from the immobiliser or CAN bus fault. Clear them after testing the above and see if they return.

I found my issue by switching off “smart scan” on my diagnostic and tried connecting to each module. Couldn’t connect to the ECU, which pointed me to a worn wire under the main fuse to the starter motor. Took two weeks and help from @Brigsy , but it was my rough hands disturbing a frail wire during work.

Check all wiring touched during the clutch job - something’s likely been knocked. I've found it's always something that i've done, so start from the beginning.

Failing all that, get it out of his garage and to a Renault specialist who has the right gear and knows what they are doing.

 

[lemonnobby]

Check the 12v battery. Any decoder ring faults in uch what does the live data say in uch.
Is the immobiliser light stuck on?
Them faults you have on the screen makes it sound like you have a broken wire with ignition on do you get the throttle body working?

 

[barnesautos]

If you want to determine if the ring around the key barrel is any good , swap that first as it’s cheap , also with codes all clear , disconnect it and then try to start it again and see if all or similar codes return , indicating that the key is not being seen like @Brigsy has suggested.
It’s a little diagnostic I have done in the past just to confirm your on the right path with code popping up if something is removed from the circuit .

I have also seen a bad 12v feed wire in the loom that feeds pin 66 , so if that’s power is not getting to the ecu it’ll never start .

 

[Leo182]

Bump.

Firstly I'd like to thank every single one of you who's posted to try and solve this.

Here's the update.

Mechanic has had another look at at and he's got a auto electrician to take a look and they have found no issues with the wiring or the work around the clutch, re checked the earth straps and even added another but still nothing.

Auto electrician reckons its the immobiliser or the ecu, can immobilisers be bypassed? thought he'd mention that as a temp solution but he didn't.

Anyone any other ideas? car has been sat now for like 2 weeks and it's becoming a joke now, mechanic jas been sound to be fair to him can't say a bad word about him just a very very odd situation.

 

[Rojer]

Ask your mechanic to call Mick at Diamond and see if he can help. Otherwise its probably best to get the car to a Renault specialist for further diagnosis.

 

[Louis]

Bump.

Firstly I'd like to thank every single one of you who's posted to try and solve this.

Here's the update.

Mechanic has had another look at at and he's got a auto electrician to take a look and they have found no issues with the wiring or the work around the clutch, re checked the earth straps and even added another but still nothing.

Auto electrician reckons its the immobiliser or the ecu, can immobilisers be bypassed? thought he'd mention that as a temp solution but he didn't.

Anyone any other ideas? car has been sat now for like 2 weeks and it's becoming a joke now, mechanic jas been sound to be fair to him can't say a bad word about him just a very very odd situation.

Don't think they can be bypassed easily.

Mines available and can be out tomorrow to you

 

[Leo182]

Don't think they can be bypassed easily.

Mines available and can be out tomorrow to you

Will keep you in mind Louis, hoping it doesn't come to that, besides would it sort it out? who knows!!

 

[colesy]

FWIW i drove my 172 to a car show once came back to it to drive home and the ecu decided to brick itself. Replacement ecu/uch/key and it fired straight up so it does happen.

 

[Leo182]

If you want to determine if the ring around the key barrel is any good , swap that first as it’s cheap , also with codes all clear , disconnect it and then try to start it again and see if all or similar codes return , indicating that the key is not being seen like @Brigsy has suggested.
It’s a little diagnostic I have done in the past just to confirm your on the right path with code popping up if something is removed from the circuit .

I have also seen a bad 12v feed wire in the loom that feeds pin 66 , so if that’s power is not getting to the ecu it’ll never start .

Can you or anyone else tell me where this is exactly? mechanic hasn't checked this and doesn't know where to find it!

 

[Leo182]

Can you or anyone else tell me where this is exactly? mechanic hasn't checked this and doesn't know where to find it!

Bump.

The lad is looking at it again tomorrow If anyone can tell me where to find this, I'll pass it on.

Thanks.

 

[Louis]

Bump.

The lad is looking at it again tomorrow If anyone can tell me where to find this, I'll pass it on.

Thanks.

Looks like it's behind the ECU

 

[Flob]

Has he had the white connector apart and cleaned? It lives under the fuse box. Mine was corroded and caused an immobiliser problem.

Car would crank for a few moments then stop. Solid red light on dash.

Pull fuse box out, physically disconnect/unplug the white connector and use IPA/contact cleaner and 1500grit sand paper to clean terminals. Blow out with an airline to dry, use silicon grease to seal when pluggung the connector back in.

 

[Flob]

Ill have photos somewhere if you need.

 

[Leo182]

Ill have photos somewhere if you need.

Please post them Pal, sending all on this thread to the guy on WhatsApp !!

 

[Leo182]

Auto Electrician is taking another look tommorow, he said he's got some wiring to still check but after that he reckons the ecu may have shat itself because the battery has been off for a bit.

Flob, if you could post them pics that would be great Pal and anyone else anything that would be of interest would be much appreciated, getting a bit silly now ! If only I'd known in hindsight a simple clutch job would cause this amount of trouble!!

 

[Leo182]

If anyone can post up anything else at all for the Auto electrician to maybe look at tommorow be much appreciated, probably covered most things already on here but you never know!

Ta.

 

[Leo182]

Bump! Still struggling with this, as I said If anybody can think of anything else to check please post up, many thanks!

 

[Mr Underhill]

Bump! Still struggling with this, as I said If anybody can think of anything else to check please post up, many thanks!

Specialist now. You’ll just be going around in circles.

 

[Leo182]

Specialist now. You’ll just be going around in circles.

Aye I know what your saying, got a couple more wires to check then you could be right

Would a Clip bring up the exact reason why it aint starting??

 

[Mr Underhill]

Aye I know what your saying, got a couple more wires to check then you could be right

Would a Clip bring up the exact reason why it aint starting??

The Clip will provide the correct codes and help isolate the problem, but it still requires someone who understands how to read them and knows what they’re doing. Diagnostics is a black art.

Two “auto” electricians looked at mine, and both scratched their heads. It took weeks to sort out, and luckily, I had it on the drive. Armed with a wiring layout, countless YouTube videos, and a few Hyundai master techs helping me understand the schematic, I eventually narrowed the problem to one area. Brigsy then pointed me in a specific direction, and I finally found the issue—which was, of course, my own fault. It was like going back to college! 🤣 I had the entire loom out, unwound it all, sent the UCH for diagnostics—you name it, I did it. None of that was the issue. People try to help, but you often end up down a rabbit hole. Someone like Mick at Diamond or Alex at AW Motorworks would’ve solved it easily.

 

[Leo182]

The Clip will provide the correct codes and help isolate the problem, but it still requires someone who understands how to read them and knows what they’re doing. Diagnostics is a black art.

Two “auto” electricians looked at mine, and both scratched their heads. It took weeks to sort out, and luckily, I had it on the drive. Armed with a wiring layout, countless YouTube videos, and a few Hyundai master techs helping me understand the schematic, I eventually narrowed the problem to one area. Brigsy then pointed me in a specific direction, and I finally found the issue—which was, of course, my own fault. It was like going back to college! 🤣 I had the entire loom out, unwound it all, sent the UCH for diagnostics—you name it, I did it. None of that was the issue. People try to help, but you often end up down a rabbit hole. Someone like Mick at Diamond or Alex at AW Motorworks would’ve solved it easily.

You've been there then! so you know exactly how i feel

What was your issue mate in the end?

 

[Mr Underhill]

You've been there then! so you know exactly how i feel

What was your issue mate in the end?

I drove the car to the beach, but on the way back home, the wiper washers stopped working.

I got it onto the drive and checked the fuses inside the car and under the bonnet. All were fine. I had a spare washer squib, so I switched it out.

Still no washers. Then I went to start the car, and it wouldn’t even turn over.

You’ll have to read my thread for the saga that ensued! 😂

Ultimately, a poor wire (an earth issue) near the UCH was causing the washer motor to stop working. Completely unrelated was my ham-fisted approach to lifting the fuse box out, which disrupted a flaky wire going to the starter. I’ve learned, though, that there’s a different approach to finding faults like this—a procedure, for want of a better word. The old saying, “A little knowledge is dangerous,” rings true.

 

[Leo182]

I drove the car to the beach, but on the way back home, the wiper washers stopped working.

I got it onto the drive and checked the fuses inside the car and under the bonnet. All were fine. I had a spare washer squib, so I switched it out.

Still no washers. Then I went to start the car, and it wouldn’t even turn over.

You’ll have to read my thread for the saga that ensued! 😂

Ultimately, a poor wire (an earth issue) near the UCH was causing the washer motor to stop working. Completely unrelated was my ham-fisted approach to lifting the fuse box out, which disrupted a flaky wire going to the starter. I’ve learned, though, that there’s a different approach to finding faults like this—a procedure, for want of a better word. The old saying, “A little knowledge is dangerous,” rings true.

Oh dear, Clios really are a PITA when they go wrong! I'll have a read of that just to make myself feel better and to see there is light at the end of the tunnel!

 

[Mr Underhill]

Oh dear, Clios really are a PITA when they go wrong! I'll have a read of that just to make myself feel better and to see there is light at the end of the tunnel!

Nah, it’s just all cars, a lack of knowledge and it’s usually always something that happens right at the start. Tracing back your steps is difficult when you have 39 other people sending you off in a million different directions. They mean well though and it’s usually something daft. Your car is easily fixable in the right hands. Buy your mechanic mate a crate of beer 🍺

 

[Louis]

Isn't it worth just buying an ecu/uch set and trying that first?

 

[Leo182]

Isn't it worth just buying an ecu/uch set and trying that first?

Louis, maybe maybe not, truth is until EVERYTHING has been exhausted ( yes near that point!) I don't really want to throw £100+ on it and find out it doesn't sort it - I do get, well it's still broke and I've literally had everything looked at though!

A Clip my help us out here but I don't know, maybe that wouldn't throw owt up either.

I will be back to you though If need be make no mistake begging for that ecu!!

 

[Louis]

Louis, maybe maybe not, truth is until EVERYTHING has been exhausted ( yes near that point!) I don't really want to throw £100+ on it and find out it doesn't sort it - I do get, well it's still broke and I've literally had everything looked at though!

A Clip my help us out here but I don't know, maybe that wouldn't throw owt up either.

I will be back to you though If need be make no mistake begging for that ecu!!

I'm not even trying to sell you mine by saying this 😂

How much are you being charged for all this?

 

[Leo182]

I'm not even trying to sell you mine by saying this 😂

How much are you being charged for all this?

Don't be saying that Louis... I'll probably be begging you for it soon 😂

We've not sorted that yet but my have to remortgage the house or do a bit of onlyfans haha!!

 

[barnesautos]

Can you or anyone else tell me where this is exactly? mechanic hasn't checked this and doesn't know where to find it!

It literally lives on the key barrel.
A black circular electronic coil that reads the chip in the key when inserted into the ignition and ignition turned on.

 

[Leo182]

Further update.

Its still knackered which is very frustrating however the mechanic has had a key man out who knows his stuff and he's checked it over andvcan find no issues with the wiring etc, he reckons its a immobiliser/ecu problem so he's going to wipe/clear the ecu to hopefully fix the problem but he did say it's nor guaranteed to solve it.

I've told him to go and do it as it's the quickest and least hassle for me jist hoping that sorts it.

Fingers crossed, been a right saga this has!!

 

[Krarl]

It's his issue not yours you soft t**t

It went there running, it's now not working. Make that fucker sort it

 

[Brigsy]

Get it out of there and to a specialist. Wiping ecu sounds very vague, id expect any non renault ecu guy to c**k that up.

 

[Mr Underhill]

Get it out of there and to a specialist. Wiping ecu sounds very vague, id expect any non renault ecu guy to c**k that up.

Me thinks that Rabbit hole is about to get much deeper 🤣

 

[colesy]

The amount of hours spent on this think I would’ve just bought the ecu set off @Louis.

 

[Leo182]

It's his issue not yours you soft t**t

It went there running, it's now not working. Make that fucker sort it

Chill out man ffs he's been sound tbf to him ans it will get sorted eventually I'm sure one way or the the other!