Guy on LZ reckons that disabling the EKA on nanocom ( as well as disabling the passive immobilisation) means that the car no longer requires the EKA in it s alarmed state ( obviously) but also no longer requires a fob signal - it will simply accept the key to restart from an alarmed state.

What do we think? Plausible? Still not sure I want to disable EKA until I see it in LR documentation with my own eyes

Just did a search and found Richard's 2017 experience about the lengths he had to go to to de-activate the alarm - so now I have the full picture... if your microswitches go down in the background, with EKA disabled, then you end up removing the door card and grounding wires, hoping at the same time you're not super-locked.

Yes that's right. Until I hear it from someone that knows for definite (and not just a man on the internet) I'm leaving it enabled.

Martin turned all the immoblisation off on mine..

Starts no matter the situation..

Still locks with the key though!!

But what will it do when a microswitch in the door latch fails so it sets the alarm off? Normally, once the alarm has been set off you would be asked for the EKA but if EKA is disabled does it not ask you for it or does it not accept it if you enter it?

Immobilisation being turned off just stops passive immobilisation (and most people have turned it off), there is also an option to turn off the EKA, it is this that we don't know what it does.

The LZ bloke reckons that EKA disabled disables EKA, and crucially, removes the need for a fob press to de-activate the alarm - so the mechanical key in the door (assuming micro-switches work) will de-activate the alarm etc. Says he has two P38s running this way - I'm just not sure that he's really tested it ie no flat batteries/ failed micro-switches have stress-tested the set-up. If you have nano and post v36 BeCM then disabling EKA just seems to be inviting trouble.

romanrob wrote:

removes the need for a fob press to de-activate the alarm - so the mechanical key in the door (assuming micro-switches work) will de-activate the alarm

But it will anyway. The fob press is only needed if passive immobilisation is enabled and you wait more than 30 seconds between unlocking the car and trying to start the engine. On later (from around mid-97), this is done for you automatically by the coil around the ignition switch causing the fob to transmit when you put the key in ignition. If the car has been locked with the key the alarm and immobiliser are set and will be unset when you unlock with the key (or fob). Assuming both the keyswitch and CDL switch are working of course. It is only a problem when it has been locked with the fob and you then unlock with the key (usual scenario when the battery has gone flat). In this case it only opens the drivers door and doesn't unset the alarm and immobiliser so it then needs the EKA entering to take them off. With the EKA disabled what happens in this case is the important thing?

He's saying then just the key is reqd....but as I say, not sure if he's really tested it, or just crossed his fingers. He says in another post he trickle charges the batteries. So I doubt he has had the flat battery type scenario anyway. He also has diesels rather than V8s

They're also saying that the becm will accept eka enabling, but I doubt it would take the edit in an alarmed state.

There must be LR documentation on this, but I haven't come across it yet

If you're interested: https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/ignition-key.357463/

If all he has done is turned off the EKA and Immobilisation and then locked it with the key, it will work fine (until a microswitch dies). Pre V36 BeCM won't allow you to connect if it is in an alarmed state whereas V36 and later will (otherwise you wouldn't be able to connect to use a Nanocom to enter the EKA). However, that is how it works with a petrol and he admits he has a diesel which is different in the way it syncs to the engine ECU. He also doesn't understand what passive immobilisation does either so basically he's the 'expert on the internet' that has done something on his car but hasn't had a problem. Yet.....

East way to check is to force it to need the EKA. Open the drivers window, close the door and lock it, wait for the alarm light flashing to slow down (to show it is set), put your hand in through the open window, pull up the sill locking button and open the door. You will have then simulated a door latch with a failed keyswitch and it will need the EKA code. What happens if you have turned off the EKA in the BeCM I've no idea as I'm not brave enough to try it to find out.

Well, I'm the kind of useful idiot rr.pub needs, so I took one for the team, using the sill button/ open window method to get to engine disabled. v37/ GEMS.

First off I did it with EKA enabled, just to be sure when I disable the engine I could get back with a. the Fob, and b. the EKA code, and yes, all fine - dash message "engine disabled enter the EKA or press the remote". Since I hadn't gone battery flat then the fob signal didn't need synching. I tried to change the EKA to "disabled" in the BeCM while the engine was disabled, but it didn't accept the change in that state.

Then I disabled EKA, wrote settings, came out and went back in again - EKA disabled. Locked the door with the fob, opened with the sill button. Turned the ignition on, this time "engine disabled, press the remote". BUT, when I went into the BECM at this point the EKA option is marked "enabled". After entering the EKA code, and going into BeCM/ Alarm the EKA setting had now reverted to "Disabled". So it appears that the BeCM always leaves the backdoor open for EKA entry, even if the EKA option has supposedly been disabled, and it doesn't actually ask for the EKA on the dash.

And as a supplement to test the key blade only theory... with EKA enabled, simulated engine disabled, the key in the door unlocks only the driver's door, and does nothing to cancel the engine disabled message on the dash - as expected then. With EKA disabled - the key in the door opens all 4 doors, and does actually cancel the engine disabled state, and the car drives away...

So it looks as if you CAN disable EKA in the BeCM, but still be able to enter the EKA (even if not asked for) - but allowing the key in the door as an extra option to getting going. The only difference with a flat battery is that the remote most likely is out of synch too - but that gives you EKA and key in the door as recovery options still.

Interested to see if others get to the same conclusion

Nice one Rob, very interesting definitely worth knowing. You're still stuffed if one of the microswitches fails though.....

True - I will still be keeping the nano in the glovebox, for sure