I guess my SKIM died

I've spent a few hours in the forum doing research, after my Jeep refused to start this morning out of nowhere.

I thought I reconfirm my finding with you guys, in case somebody else has any idea - or ends up having the same issue.

I own a 2002 TJ here in Thailand, and we don't have any Jeep dealership in the country. The car is an import and I order all my spare parts on Amazon.com. Also we don't have any legit car dealership on the island where I live at - so nobody with ODB readers or anything at all.

As already mentioned my Jeep refused to start this morning.. it started but shuts down after 2 seconds.. and the yellow key light came blinking on. I thought ok.. key dead for some reason, let's use the other one I have (bought the jeep used 7 years ago) .. but same issue.. tried unplugging the battery for an hour.. same issue.. unplugged the SKIM reader for 15 minutes.. same issue. If I unplug the SKIM module, it does crank but not start at all, and there is also no key lamp in the dashboard on. I tried to locate the grounding for G302 but had no luck so far (if anybody has a picture of that).

I checked all fuses behind the glovebox, but I didn't see any post referring to any fuse for the SKIM anyways.

There is a very basic locksmith on the island, who confirmed that the chips in both keys are totally fine. So it's either the SKIM module or the ECU.. which seems in both cases I need a new ECU sind the old one wouldn't work with any used SKIM module, and I have nobody here who could reprogram anything or has the skills to do so.

Since I'm kind of stuck (literally) my only idea is now to get a new ECU (with SKIM disabled) somehow via express shipping from @Wranglerfix or if @mrblaine has any other ideas.

Thanks for any feedback

emailed @Wranglerfix already yesterday before making the post, but seems he's not working on Sundays.. fair, after saving so many wrangler lives each day ;-)

I've just disassembled the Immobiliser 2 unit, after reading stories about antenna cracks and stuff, if I can see anything.. but nothing obvious. That one spot looks like a crack in the board on the picture, but its actually just some glue covering. Can't get the board out, since it seems to be put in and soldiered to the antenna.. so no way of checking the antenna.











I thought, since I can't make it any worse, I simply soldiered a "backup antenna" to the pins, but surprise - didnt change anything



I've also measured if the black pin of the plug has ground, and it has.

So waiting for a brand new ECU now I guess

mrblaine said:

The freight may not make that feasible but we are glad to help.

Click to expand...

yeah its probably a few hundred bucks, so not worth it "just to know", but I appreciate the offer.

after 48+ hours on google I stumbled across a 2014 thai forum post from somebody, who has the exact same Jeep model as I have (only 10 days older - he posted his VIN). He had an issue with his ECU and some other thai guy sent him a new one, coded to his VIN. I did some digging with google translate and actually was able to contact that seller from back then.. he still had 3 ECUs exactly my ECU model (sticker match, look brand new, unused). Now he has only 2, since one is already on the way to me with my VIN programmed.






While I would have preferred to get one from @Wranglerfix , he couldn't confirm yet to have my software (since my Jeep seems made in Japan), plus shipping and customs would likely double the cost - and my Jeep is my only way of transportation.

Communication with the Thai guy was not easy (using google translate) and he didn't clarify about the SKIM / immobiliser .. he just repeated "it's plug&play coded for my car"... but he gave me full refund warranty, if it doesn't solve my issue.

After looking into tons of ECU posts on this forum for the past days, as I understand, if I install a "fresh coded ECU" with SKIM module unplugged, it should work without? (except the key lamp will stay on.. so just unplug the light bulb)

I'll keep you guys updated just in case somebody else from Thailand ever ends up here and needs help

just got the new ECU from Bangkok and installed it, with SKIM module removed. When I started it shut down the engine after 3 seconds, and was beeping 3 times and the key symbol came on again.

So I thought ok, that Thai guy probably wasn't able to remove the SKIM stuff from the software (since he told me he has no clue what SKIM is and only coded the correct VIN), and plugged in the SKIM module again - now I have the same issue as I had initially.

So I guess the Bangkok ECU had the SKIM function not removed and was intended to sync with one.. hence the 3 beeps.. once it got my (likely bad) SKIM connection back (no beeps), I ran into the same issue as before.. that the ECU is bound with the broken SKIM that wont read any key..

Will order another ECU from @Wranglerfix now without the SKIM .. luckily I get full refund from the Thai guy, so at least I tried. Price is kind of the same as wranglerfix but shipping and customs to Thailand will add up. Let's hope I get my baby back running soon, after all the work I've put in over the past few years.

I didn't expect that, but my ECU is working again. I've sent it to the guy in BKK with the screenshot from @bluescapegoat and he actually used HP Tuners to disable SKIM - for about $120.

While waiting for it to come back I googled "HP Tunters SKIM Jeep" and found tons of posts in the hptuners forum, that HP Tuners is unable to properly disable skim from crysler ECUs and that it never worked for anybody - ever. So I expected another fail and that it wont work, and money wasted and already prepared to finally fedex the ECU to @Wranglerfix .. but to my absolute surprise.. it worked.

After 1 Minute I get a beep and the key light goes on, but the engine keeps running. I tried few more times and it worked.. even after dis/re-connecting the battery.. I'm still worried to drive anywhere, since I'm worried I get stranded somewhere.. but I guess it's fine?


Bot now another fuckup.. once my SKIM failed I opened the ECU because I wanted to take a look if something fried.. without knowing that an ECU is vacuum sealed.. I re-sealed it with silicone but I'm now worried that my ECU wont last that long any more.. should I go ahead and buy a backup ECU from the thai guy for $500 (his last one, no re-stock) to use that one and keep mine as spare? Once his is sold there is no other available in Thailand and import customs is 100% .. so if I ever order a new VIN coded SKIM disabled one for $500 from the US at any later point I'll likely face likely $800 - $1000. How likely is that my ECU is gonna fail because I opened it?