my 96 fiat punto wont start, and i cant find my brown key i never got it when i bought the car, any help....

What makes you think the key is in trouble?.
Tony.

well all i have is the blue key and the mechanic said that he needs the brown key to reprogramme the car or something. i got a new ecu unit and connected it but this did not work any suggestions, could the mechanic simply remove the immobiliser

simply fitting a new ECu wont work as it will just have another immobliser code in it

thats what the red key is for :chin: its the master key for an immobliser

if its a 1.1 or a 1.2 then the only way you can get round it is to get a new lock set (£££) or an uncoded ECU chip which are about 40 quid, and involves taking the ECU case apart and sloting a new chip in, it takes about 10 mins

the chip will also make the car perform better

i'll say that to the mechanic and see what he says,any other options,
that you know of.as im really stuck at the moment, back to college next week need the car.where would i be able to come across a chip like that

I take it that the ECU was new, not from another car, if this was the case then the mechanic should have disconnected the immobiliser before fitting ECU, car would have run ok then. Ask mechanic to disconnect immo and try it.
If ECU was secondhand then the ECU needs to be "virginised".
If ECU was new and wont work without immo, I can read the immo codebox and give you the required key codes to get replacement keys coded. (can also virginise the ECU if required).
Tony.

no the ecu unit i got was from a 95 punto, i was lead to believe that these ecu units came without immobilisers and that all i had to do disconnect the old one and connect the new one and the car should work

Depends on the source, if its a one off from a scrappy then its used.
If its from a source which erases them (virginised) then it should have been ok ie as new. Have a look where the cover plate is glued down original glue was green, if its a mixture of colour or clear then its been erased. Ask the original supplier. I can sort it out for you if you cant get any luck.
Tony.

yeah got it from a scrap yard,i'll check when i get home and i'll get home. the only thing is i live in ireland so i do, might prove to be a bit akward

You have post offices in Ireland, so just make up a parcel and send it off.
Tony.