Before I start, I did search, but I am VERY short on time and the search was less than spectacular for results for "key wont turn". My wife took the 01 Disco II to drop the kids off. When she got back in the key would not turn at all. Her dad then came out to check it out (I usually dont let anyone around my vehicles if Im not there) and I am unsure of what was all done but Im sure the buttons on the key were pushed to lock and unlock, who knows what else........ When I finally got there the alarm was on. When I turned it off using the button on the key the red led in the dash just kept blinking. I would then arm it with the key and unarm, still blinked. After trying the key in the door to lock and unlock I got the same thing. Finally I disconected the battery and tried again. The light finally stopped blinking but I still could not get the key to turn the ignition. Is the alarm system still activated somehow? Is there a way that I can disarm it myself? Its freezing here in WI right now and the truck is outside, praying for a quick easy fix!!

Thanks for any ideas,

 

I'm not one to give advice, but try to reset it by locking and unlocking three times in a row. Either with the fob or manually.

 

Thanks Brandon! Just saw it in another thread & was doing just that when you replied......I will give you credit for this one, good advice.
Happy Holidays!

 

Just one question......what triggered this? I could lock and unlock without any problems, what actually armed it?

 

I ask the above question again only because the same thing just happened again tonight in the same driveway, wife driving. What makes the system arm itself and immobilize?? She is not locking it when she gets out of the truck, its in her parents driveway. When she gets back in the led is flashing and we cant turn the key. I tried the lock/unlock three times again, many times, and got nothing. It worked the first time that this happened on the first try. Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

I saw your post and wanted to show you the answer I had posted in regards to another similar question yesterday. I see you are in a cold weather climate and batteries have a chance to loose some of their effectiveness in cold weather.

My DiscoII seems to be very sensative to the condition of the battery so here is my approach:

I had the same problem in the past and after checking everything I could think of (searching for loose wires, etc...) it turned out to be a battery with low voltage.

The battery was not low enough to cause the vehicle to not start but it was low enough to cause intermittent security system issues.

I put a new battery in and have not had the issue even once since.

I would get your battery tested accurately and try to swap out the battery first and see if this solves your issue.

Seems to me that these trucks are very sensative to low voltage conditions.

I could be totally off base with this but I thought it might help.

 

Thanks Art. I will swap it out tonight and post the results.

 

Battery was VERY drained. Will have it tested tomorrow as this is the 2nd time in 3 weeks this has happened.

 

Gave the battery a full charge over night and had it tested, was good. Put the battery back in and still nothing. I have done 2 days of searcing on this site and multiple others and have tried all the tricks with the key and locking and unlocking, nothing is working. I have a friend at a dealership that is looking in to finding the 4 digit code that you can use the key for resetting the alarm, hoping he can find something out with my VIN#. The truck has been sitting in the middle of my inlaws driveway, gotta get it out today!! Last idea I have is changine the battery in the key fob, not sure it will make a difference or not. Any other ideas?? VERY frustrated now.

cheers........

 

actually what arms and disarms is the key in the lock feature of the latch. that disarms the system. if that sensor is broken it won't read the signal. If the remote works then it will disarm the system. if the vehicle isn't locked the vehicle will start. but if it doesn't turn then its seized up and needs to be replaced. What we do at the dealership is to replacee the cylinder from a locksmith. we take it out and send it to them and they install a new one and away we go. The trick to take it out is to remove the lower cover with a philips screwdriver and then take a long flat screwdriver and a hammer and bang the shear bolts out. you have to tap them to loosen then up. They originally had a head on them but they shear off at a specific torque for security feature. once they are loose you can disconnect the entire ignition switch at the fuse box and other two connectors and take it to a locksmith to get reset.