P1571 - Immobiliser -Anyone got a Durametric in North Hants?

I've just had to recover my 996 C2 from the top of a multi-storey car park where, having returned from doing the weekly shop with my three year old in a hurry to pick up my five year old from school, the car wouldn't start. The starter just was totally dead. There was a gym nearby so I recruited a couple of burly blokes to push start me but the car was having none of it. It normally push starts very easily, as I used to have a small lithium battery in it which frequently let me down, so I got good at this. There was also a mild smell of burning electrics starting to permeate the car so I gave up. I called the wife and she came and gave me a tow as far as the bottom of the multi-storey when the F*%king rear crossmember pulled off the back ends of the chassis rails on her Citroen. I had to put the tow rope around the rear beam instead to get home. Anyway - does anyone know of common causes of suddenly dead starter motors? The voltage on the (three month old) battery is fine, all the normal dash lights come on, but when turning the key the last bit for the start, nothing happens. The starter has been fine since a rebuild about three years ago and the addition of a new solenoid. The cables don't look corroded but I can't vouch for them not having fretted through the insulation somewhere. I couldn't smell burning electricals in the engine bay, so could it perhaps be the starter relay? If it is, does anyone know which relay on the relay board behind the rear seats I should be swapping out? Many thanks in advance for any helpful hints. I've tried Google and there isn't as much out there on this one as you would think.

The starter relay is no 7 in the image below ... But im afraid its not that .. the relay powers the solenoid on the starter .. a bump start and it's not needed .. the engine spinning over via in gear will bypass the starter entirely . Basically moving an engine by the starter motor or in gear down a hill will do the same thing . Burning smell is never good .. it's a wiring short ... melted wiring and the smell is the plastic insulation .. you don't get that on a bump start . You could use the relay as a test point to see if you are getting the feed from the ignition switch with a voltmeter ... do you need a wiring diagram ? if i had the car in at work .. Fault codes .. i would think there should be something listed .. check the fuses .. dme is what im thinking but i tend to check every fuse these days with a small gadget i have just to be safe .. it takes a minute or two so it's what i do . Alarm control unit under the passenger seat .. not wet is it .. cabs suffer from this or indeed any car that has a water bottle rolling around the passenger side that gets split under the seat . Ill have a smoke and a ponder but thats all i have for now .

The kids' water bottles are sometimes rolling around, I'll look for evidence of one leaking into the alarm module well. The car is a coupe and it's watertight generally. I tried swapping the relay over with another from another position and it made no difference. Also, I could hear the relay click when I turn the key, so presumably it's working. I'm going to check the engine earth in the morning, and perhaps try running power directly to the starter to see if it's the starter or the wiring to it that's failed. However, given the ignition also seems to be disabled given the fact it won't bump-start, perhaps it is the alarm module..

Immobiliser fault.

Just used my code reader on it and got P1571 - immobiliser. I'm going to take the passenger seat out in a minute to have a look at the alarm module in situ, then I'll take it out and use some electrical contact cleaner on the connector. Does anyone have any further advice?

If it is moisture related giving it a blast with the wife's hairdryer usually helps.

I've got the seat ount and it's all dry down there, and looks like it's always been that way. I've discovered the aftermarket tracker next to the DME box behind the rear seat. Can anyone offer any tips for how to remove this to discount it as a problem and not cause further immobilisation problems?

Tracker is now removed. I traced all the wires and there was nothing that looked like it did anything other than provide power to the tracker battery, so I cut the wires just before they splice into the loom. It's nice to have lost another kilo from the rear of the car, however there is no effect on the starting problem. Does anyone know how to prove/disprove is the ignition switch is at fault in providing the alarm module the 'all clear' that the correct transponder is in the key?

I've also checked the fuses in the driver's footwell and they're all good.

Is there anyone in the North Hampshire area with a Durametric that would be prepared to plug it in and give me the detailed fault codes?

I've just removed and opened up the alarm module and there is nothing in there that would account for the electrical burning smell - no scorch marks, no evidence of moisture, and no residual electrical burning smell, so I'm guessing Demort is right and it's a short somewhere in a loom or in the ignition switch, unless of course the burning smell was just me having a mild stroke and the alarm module really is kaput.

Check your mail, I might be able to help.

https://youtu.be/hND_6Q_-Q4w

I assume you have tried locking the car with the key then unlocking it and trying to start it ? Also do you have a spare key you can try ? The burning smell is what worries me .. Can your tester talk to the alarm control unit .. if so any codes or values you can read on it ? You can talk to the dme so that's ok .. Alarm CU we are unsure of .. there is a code reader unit ( black box ) on top of the ignition lock .. never heard of it coming unplugged .. well unless someone was working there but worth a look i guess . It can be software related but i would have to assume some strange battery charge fault or flat battery .. its pretty uncommon to get this kind of fault . To check or try and code the transponder part of the key back onto the car would need a capable tester and the IPAS codes .. you can get then from any OPC but you will need to take in the V5 to prove you own the car .. You need these codes to code on either new keys or reteach the transponder on an old one .

K888ETH has come to my rescue and got me going again! What an amazing and generous guy. He drove up from Andover with a laptop with some software on it that could read the codes. The first code we found was 39 - which relates to the signal converter. He then cleared the codes and the car started! We then recorded a bunch more codes that I'll post up here shortly, but the main one was the W lead - which I believe is the lead from the alarm module to the DME. Anyway, the car is starting, the alarm module doesn't appear to be toast, and I'm over the moon. Many thanks to those who made suggestions, particularly Demort, without who's help so many of us would be truely stumped.