What does this part of the ignition switch do??

[Boeschbuilt]

Hi,
As most of you know I am working on a smart car with a motorcycle engine.
I am just sorting out the last few details before going to get everything powdercoated. I am making a new plate for the center console to go around the modified shifters and to hold the key.
The question is: What does this piece actually do? It would be nice if I can just live without it!
Any help is greatly appreciated.


This is the whole assembly


This piece

[tvengineer]

It is the RF Transciever that reads the key code...
RFID technology.. like the access cards that are on many buildings...
the part in question sends out a signal that query's the key fob for a serial number... if the numbers dont' match.. the car is imobilized..

Neat.... that you can look up the FCC ID and get this kind of information...

https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/oet/f...ive_or_pdf=pdf

[Kermit]

Haven't a clue but does it have a plug? Being Siemens/VDO I would think it is the reciever for the immobilizer. Wild guess, don't have a clue.

[Kermit]

Originally Posted by tvengineer

It is the RF Transciever that reads the key code...
RFID technology.. like the access cards that are on many buildings...
the part in question sends out a signal that query's the key fob for a serial number... if the numbers dont' match.. the car is imobilized..

Neat.... that you can look up the FCC ID and get this kind of information...

https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/oet/f...ive_or_pdf=pdf

YEAH! Do I get a prize?

I noticed the FCC part right after I hit submit reply.

[John_H]

It's the immobilizer. See

https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/oet/f...ive_or_pdf=pdf

Originally Posted by tvengineer

It is the RF Transciever that reads the key code...

beat me to it.

[Boeschbuilt]

Wow! You guys are smart...and fast.
Next question: I have been driving this car around for a while now and everything seems to work exactly the way it is supposed to without this part being plugged in.
The way it is shaped makes it a total P.I.T.A. to incorporate into the new assembly
If I leave it out, you still need the key to start the car. I think I am just going to leave it out of the equation.
Thoughts? Concerns?

[John_H]

The key codes are stored in the SAM. Does your setup require the SAM for proper operation? If not, you're good to go. You probably use some but not all of the SAM circuitry; the dependencies aren't obvious but if you're working without it... "What could go wrong?"

[Woody14619]

Wow... Thanks for posting this. This TOTALLY explains a problem I've been having this summer, and why it's vanished suddenly.

For chunks of the summer I have having times when the key symbol would appear on the car display and wouldn't let me start the car. It just randomly started happening in the spring, every few days. I just noticed it's been about a month since I've seen it do it.

The fob reader being where it is makes it directly in-line with the keys hanging off my keychain if its off to one side in particular. I have two other RFID fobs on my chain, one for work and one for my cabin. The cabin fob blocks my work fob if I hold both up to get in at work, so I moved it up on the chain enough that it's not in the way. Apparently it's affecting the car reader too, since I took the fob off about a month ago, which is when it stopped doing that. I just didn't put the two together until now. :P