Flip keys for RVR

[Taz]

So my key fob finally broke its small ring hole so it wont stay on my key chain anymore, and went in to get a replacement and thought fuck it ill upgrade to a flip key while im at it.
30min later talking to the mister minit guy we figured a lot out about my car. The remote inside the key is completely dead/wired out of the equation so the keyhead is essentially just a key. What whoever has done previously with the car is wire a mongoose alarm system in over the existing stock system and completely cut it out of the equation. Its a very old style apparently and isnt really a programmable key. As in i wont be able to get a flip key because all flip keys dont support aftermarket signals/chips etc. Which sucks cause i really wanted a flip key.
The only other thing i can think of is to get a hold of a flip key shell, gut it and jerry rig my circuit board in my fob so that its in line with the buttons on the flip key. I dunno seems like a fuck around. Or its either rip out alarm and get something completely new installed which would be pretty silly considering cost.
At the same time i mean the guy did seem to know what he was talking about and pursued what seemed to be every avenue but (and no offense to him) he is just a shopping mall key cutter. Is anyone here in the business or been down this road before and can verify what this guy is saying? Is an old mongoose alarm system un-programmable into any flip key at all? Is there another, easier way to do this or am i destined to rock a key and remote separately till i die?

 

[evo-gsr]

Spend money on go fast mods instead.
Fuck wasting it on shit like this.
My 2c.

 

[Ian91]

Hate to say it, since I’m a real locksmith, but he is right. All of that aftermarket flip key stuff is to replace oem remote keys. There’s no support for aftermarket alarms due to the small ammount of them compared to oem systems.

The first thing I wanted to do when we bought the key diy system was to duplicate my mongoose remote into a flip key but it’s not possible.

 

[4piknup]

Wire the factory central locking back in and ditch the mongoose

 

[Taz]

I havent given up hope. The only other thing i can think of is to jerry rig something up. the chip board in the current fob is pretty small. I reckon i can buy any flip key that can cut my key onto it, and that the buttons roughly line up with my board and gut the board from it and put mine in. Essentially just using the shell and cutting the key. Wouldnt be more than 100-150 bucks to do. Not carrying around a separate key and fob i cant attach to my key chain and im not paying the same or more just to replace a fob if i can make a flip key work instead. Might even have a FOB shell at work i can use for free, but id have to cannibalise another or jerry rig the key part as it'd already be cut for another car. Ill investigate more tomorrow but yea, fuck carrying them both around im bound to lose or damage the FOB as it is.
If i successfully pull it off Ian ill rig one up for you too.

 

[Ian91]

If you search eBay it shouldn’t cost more than $20 haha plus getting it cut but if anyone charges more than $20 for that they are ripping you off.

I was going to do the same thing, just haven’t come across a flip shell that my mongoose circuit board will fit in and line up the buttons.

 

[Taz]

i measured my board, and i can get away with 30mm wide if i relocate the battery which im expecting to do, the only hurdle is the buttons.

 

[Ian91]

30mm is pretty wide, might have to look at something like a ve commodore flip key or something like that. You can easily hit the roll pin out and change the key blade over to suit.

 

[Taz]

Success! bought a key friday rocked up today, and the shell is a perfect fit. Couple of very minor mods to the inside of it but definitely able to make it work. buttons are perfect, very very snugly fits my board inside it and yea very pleased. Just need to properly secure it and fit it and get a blade cut and im laughing. only 15 bucks for the shell, and whatever the key cut is. Fingers crossed it survives the final transplant

 

[Ian91]

Pics?

 

[Taz]

when i get home/when i have mocked it all up completely. This is all also on the assumption i can get another key blade to suit this shell.

 

[Taz]

all i had to do was cut out the internal walls that housed whatever board it originally took (took 10 seconds) cut down the silicone board (another 2 seconds) and the only thing left to do is solder an extension on the battery side of the board as the battery need to be moved and cant be on original connections, and hot glue the board in place and get the key cut. Im really making it sound more complicated than it is, the buttons line up, the board didnt have to be tampered with its really a work of art for the first shell i ordered ill get pics up when i can

 

[Ian91]

Sounds good, I just want to see what remote shell you used and what your old board looks like so I can work out if it’ll work with my mongoose remote lol

 

[Taz]

Well i stopped by bunnings on the way home and got a glue gun to get this thing sorted, and an hour later its all finished (apart from the key being cut which ill take into hopefully get done tomorrow after work.
Its sloppy as fuck inside and not how id really like it but it works like a charm. I initially tried to solder wires onto the board and battery, but after filing back both and attempting to solder for 30min trying to stick the solder i gave up and just shoved plenty of stripped wire between them and glued it all in place. Seemed pretty secure after a few drop/wiggle tests to try and dislodge it out of place. Time will tell. I suppose with not soldering the battery replacing it down the track is a case of gluing another one in.
In total i de-walled the inside of the flip key so my board would fit in, and glued everything in place. Not much else to it, was all a nice, snug perfect fit and on the first shell attempt too.
Here are some progress photos, and the final product. I will note that i flipped the board around, not only because it fitted more snugly into the case, but now the red LED is actually in line with the hole in the case, and can be seen lighting up when the buttons are pressed, an unexpected bonus. And although it looks like it might, i assume you that the battery would not have fitted in its original position on the board, the case very very slightly tapers to the top, but enough that it simply cant be jammed in up top where the board needs to be on top of the buttons, no matter which way its flipped. Battery had to be where it is. I ended up gluing everything in place, including the silicone pad so it didnt keep moving or falling out when assembling and testing the key, unnecessary but convenient step.
All in all im only 15 bucks out so far, here is the link to the ebay item i purchased
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Toyota-2-button-Flip-Remote-Key-Shell-Hilux-Rav4-Corolla-Camry-Yaris-Prado-Echo/272680299269?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
Overall very happy with how it turned out, and even if its impossible to cut a key i still got away replacing the FOB part of my key for 15 bucks instead of the 160 i was quoted.

 

[Ian91]

Let me know if you have any issues getting a blade sorted and I can organise one for you.

 

[Taz]

cheers mate, also i forgot to mention my board is 30mm wide, and is a snug fit as long as yours isnt wider than 31mm that fob should be a nice fit

 

[Ian91]

Thanks, won’t work for me because mines a 3 button remote, unless there was a 3 button style too? What did you search for? Cheers

 

[Taz]

There were plenty of 3 button ones as well mate, many more than 2. Just ebay "flip key shell" and a bunch will come up i got lucky first try hopefully youll pick a winner first up as well.

 

[Taz]

Can't get a key cut for it at mister minit.the correct mitsi blade doesn't fit into my fob and apparently can't be modified for it (looked like it could with a bit of effort but w/e) if I supply a cut key and a sample blade to fit my fob think you could try sort something out Ian?

 

[Ian91]

Pm me a good pic of your key blade and I will cut a blade which you can fit into your flip knuckle in the remote, it might not fit 100% but you’d be able to adjust it to suit I’m sure.

Even if you knock the roll pin out and give me a pic of the end of the existing blade where it fits into the flipper, then I can gauge if our blade will fit or be made to fit