Lost Keys

[cass3958]

Following a topic that came up recently I thought this might be of assistance to others who might have lost keys or who did not have keys supplied when they bought their car.

First of all the S type Jaguar was issued from new with two keys. The first fitted the driver’s door lock and the ignition. This is generally a broad headed key to differentiate it from the second key which had a small head and was for the lock on the boot and the glove box.

Each key is an FS key and has a specific FS number stamped on to the key which corresponds with a number stamped into the lock somewhere. If you have lost a key you can have a new one cut to the correct FS number but only if you know where to find the FS number on your keyless lock barrel. The FS numbers are stamped in to the barrel of the lock mechanism but to get to the number you have to remove the barrel.

First the driver’s door. Possibly the hardest to get to as in involves removing the door card and dismantling the door handle from the door. There are two studs on the handles with small 3/8 nuts. Remove the nuts and the door handle comes off the outside of the door with the push button. Remove the barrel from the button and you will find the number stamped on the side. No photos of the door handles. Sorry.

The ignition barrel key as stated should be the same as the door key but over the years these could have been changed for a number of reasons. To remove the barrel from the ignition switch it is easier to remove the whole switch from the dash. Unscrew the chrome retaining collar on the front. Disconnect the wiring on the back and the ignition switch comes out of the hole. One the side of the ignition switch there is a small hole and by putting a small screwdriver or punch into the hole and pushing down on a sprung loaded clip the barrel will pop out of the front of the switch. Again the FS number is stamped on the side of the barrel. Should you ever need to change the ignition switch you can always use this method to change the barrels over retaining the original ignition key which matches your door lock.

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The boot lock should be the same as the glove box and as the glove box is the easiest I will do that one first. If the glove box is open swing the door down and look at the back of the chrome lock. On the side that is now facing into the glove box you will find the FS number stamped into the chrome.

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As this is facing into the glove box it is difficult to see so you can either remove the door from its hinge or the lock from the door. The latter is how you would check for the number if the glove box door was locked so is the easiest way to see the number. If the door is locked remove the chrome retaining collar on the outside of the glove box door lock and the lock will push in through the hole and the glove box door will open up. There is nothing else holding the lock mechanism in the hole but it is a tight fit to a tap with a small hammer whilst pulling the handle will knock the lock out of its hole. Really simple. With this FS number you should be able to get a key cut for the boot but if the locks have changed and you have two different keys from the glove box and boot then we move on to the hardest.

The boot lock is the hardest and if it is locked there is no way to remove the mechanism to get to the FS Number so you have to hope the Glove box number is the same. If the boot is open then you have to remove the mechanism from inside the boot. Remove the chrome plinth. The lock mechanism is held in with three bolts and is connected to the levers with a circlip. The mechanism has the lock barrel with the handle to open the lock underneath it. If you look down the side of the barrel at the bottom there is a hole either side with a retaining pin running through. I found if you go from left to right it is easiest due to the splines on the pin being on the right. Take a small punch and tap it in to the left hand side to push the pin out of the right. Once the pin is out the FS number can be found stamped into the side of the barrel again.

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If the boot is locked and the FS Key from the glove box does not fit the only options would be to break the lock by hammering a screw driver into the key slot and turning the lock to open the boot. You do not have access to the pins location when the Plinth is in place. The second option is to drill the lock out but either method will destroy the lock and it will have to be replaced using the method above. I would assume that as there are a limited number of FS Numbers if you were to contact somewhere like SNG or David Manners they might be able to supply you with a lock number to match either your glove box or your ignition/door lock FS number.

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This company can cut keys for you to any FS Number https://www.replacementkeys.co.uk/union ... AHEALw_wcB
I have just gone through my boxes of many things and taken out all the old locks I had for the boot, glove box and ignitions barrels and had new keys cut so I can sell them as working sets. If anyone is interested I have two glove box locks and keys, one boot lock with keys and one ignition barrel with keys.

[Glyn Ruck]

It should also be pointed out that these lock barrels are very simple. Any competent locksmith can disassemble them & configure them to any suitable FS key. My boot/trunk & glove box keys were not unified. I took them to a locksmith & in a few minutes he disassembled the lock barrels. Cleaned & lubed them & unified the tumblers to my original key. Same can be done for door/ignition which he also serviced. I also have multiple sets of new keys cut for the car. I then buffed the stainless face plates of the barrels to an as new shine & refitted.

Original Keys & Fob ~ much of the chrome has worn off. (Union Wilmot Breeden FS Series Keys)

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[cass3958]

As Glyn said the locks are easily altered to fit any key but the way the locksmith achieves this is not pretty.

The way the lock works is there are five brass plates or wafers in the barrel which are sprung loaded. When the teeth of the key enters the barrel the brass plates are pushed up or down so they all line up flush to the barrel allowing the barrel to rotate. You can see this in the photos of the barrels already on this post. If the wrong key is inserted the brass plates are not flush and stop the barrel from rotating.

There are two methods used by the locksmith to fit the key to the lock.

First all the locksmith does to match the wrong key to the barrel is to put the key in the barrel so the brass plates are sticking up and then they file them flat. Not rocket science. The original key will still work along with the new key.

The second method was to use crushable wafers. The barrel is fitted with new wafers and then a tool is used to crush the wafers to the right sizes to fit the key.

Both these methods reduce your security as the brass plates will have been damaged and possibly weakened. Not that the locks were very secure in the first place as brass is a very soft material.

The act of sticking a screwdriver in to these barrels and turning it so the lock opens is down to bending or shearing off the brass plates when you turn the screwdriver with force in the lock. This is similar to the crushed wafer method but making the barrel fit a screwdriver shape rather than a key shape.

The original FS numbers were actually quite small. they range from FS01-FS99 and FS876-FS955 meaning there are only 177 different FS Key numbers used on Jaguar cars. As there were two different FS keys supplied to each car that means that every 89th car made had the same FS keys as the 1st car made.

Of the 24993 S Type Jaguars made, 284 of them would have had the same set of keys and you wonder why so many cars were stolen in the 1960s and 70s. As a young Bobby we were always looking for car thieves with large bunches of keys on them so we could arrest them for going equipped.

[Glyn Ruck]

In my case all the locksmith did was change the position of the original wafers/brass plates to suit the key. No butchering of the wafers & no new wafers required that I remember ~ I did have a few spare barrels that he might have switched plates from ~ can't remember. Merely a change in wafer/brass plate position in the barrel did the trick IIRC. These things are not precision by any means. No filing etc. done on mine. Only repositioning.

Maybe I got lucky.

[RollyTG]

Very timely indeed thanks. I just received new keys for my "new" boot lock and spares for my ignition key (from Replacement Keys UK)and found myself wondering if the ignition lock and the door lock are supposed to be keyed the same. So I came on here to look and find that you have anticipated my question. Pretty impressive! I now know that my ignition key and door key are indeed the same and both work. Thanks.

[cass3958]

My pleasure.
I found Replacement Keys UK superb. Very professional and quick turn around. I will add them to the recommended suppliers.

[Glyn Ruck]

For interest as Rob explains in his excellent post above.

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Different UWB Key profiles

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