AR V6 electrics

[David May]

On the theme of costly A-R V6 electrics, a note of warning for potential buyers of donor engines. The later high-spec cars almost all come with an immobiliser as standard, so if you are cannibalising a donor, don't forget to get hold of the immobiliser module and all the keys (especially the master key.) Without an original key and the immobiliser you will not be able to coax the engine-management module to enable starting, and without the master key you will never be able to change the keys or the immobiliser module (unless you are a car-thief or work for Bosch Australia!)

I have found no obvious way of disabling it, and new 164 Q4 ECUs are only supplied from the factory with the immobiliser
enabled. The full cure (a new ECU + immobiliser + key-set) costs around £515 + £50 + £45!!

Dave M

[Stratos]

David,

Do you know what date the engines started having this?

[David May]

I only researched Italian spec. A-R164 24V cars and it appears that immobilisers started to appear as standard on the Q4 models from around 1994, on all except Japanese market cars.
Its not something you can easily see from the outside unless you know where to find the immobilier module. The antenna coil around the ignition key body is fairly visible.

Dave M