Ok, so I had two trucks in process that I needed new key fobs for. I decided to try the ebay keys and see if I could program them using the forum rental Nanocom. First batch I bought was from this seller:


Their keys did not work, so I bought a second set from this seller:


Their keys did not work either.

To confirm it was not the keys, I took one of my existing keys from a different truck and programmed them to the target trucks with no problems. That confirmed both the Nanocom and the receivers were working correctly.

So then I proceeded to attempt to return the keys. The first seller said they could not provide a shipping label, it was an ebay error, they needed me to provide my own return label and they would reimburse me. I did so, and they contacted me with a address issue. After a few days I got a full refund.

Second seller provided a return shipping label and provided an immediate refund to my paypal.

I have now ordered replacement fobs from remotekey.co.uk. I have used them before with no issues. They are pricey at $150 ea, but I have not found a better alternative.

 

There are 315MHz and 433MHz versions of the remotes. Could be that they sold you 433MHz and you have 315MHz (which is stock for North American Discovery II).

 

I've seen those ~$25 remotes and been tempted. Is that what we're talking about here?

 

I haven't bought any for a while now but the last 29.00 wonder I bought worked fine. However I think they're mixing up the MHZ now and the vendors don't give a dang to verify the correct MHZ is being sold to the correct market.

 

With a ham radio operating in that frequency range or an you easily verify on which frequency the key fobs are transmitting. That's the first thing I would do before trying to program them.

 

These are what I bought. Could be that they send the wrong frequency, I did not have a way of checking what they actually were. Led's lit up when pressed though.

 

Updated original post, the first seller came through with a full refund.

 

Glad to hear that!

 

I just picked up a new-to-me '04 D2 and the previous owner did not have any remotes. He's been locking the vehicle using the drivers door with hardware store, plain copy keys. He's the original owner, but when his factory keys with the built in remote failed, he never replaced them and got rid of them over the past 17 years.

Question for the experts: what process do I need to go through if I want a working remote control option?

Thanks in advance for the input.

 

At this point your choices are the Uk keys, $150, guaranteed to work. Or used oem key circuit boards from ebay ($30 ish) + nanocom rental ($40 ish) + new ebay housing/key blanks ($8 ish) for a total of $80 ish.