Faulty Key Fob?

[jramsden68]

Hi, one of my key fobs appears to have stopped working. I changed the battery in the key fob just in case, but it still does not work (the spare key fob however does operate as expected).

When the button on the key fob is pressed the red light still lights up (as if it is transmitting something), but the car will not respond.

Has any one seen this before, and did your OPC do any tests on the key fob? My local OPC said they can only programme a new key (and provide a new remote fob at the same time). They stated that they can not test the operation of a faulty key/remote fob (apart from standing next to the car and pressing the buttons as I did).

[The car can still be locked/unlocked etc with the key in the door lock]

Thanks, Jason

 

[beershark]

Hi Jason,

Just had a similar problem.

Remote light was still flashing strongly but car didnt respond. Thought it was a car problem as the alarm has been playing up.

They tested the remote, diagnosed it as faulty and replaced it at around £170 (still waiting for the bill).

New one working, old one returned and faulty!

Hope this helps!

Rob

 

[jramsden68]

Thanks Guys .... my key is just over 3 years old .... didnt expect it to fail.

I thought that OPC could test it (in the same way that they test a new one??) and then replace a part that costs a few pence ... looks like its a disposable item and another £170 to be shelled out ....

Jason

 

[danofesher]

Same happened to me. At about 2 years old the remote stopped whilst near the OPC at silverstone. They put a new battery in and charged under £3. A year later exactly the same happened so I put a new battery in. No luck though. Guildford tell me the fob electronics are £85 and they charge 0.5hrs labour to programme the key to the car, so that all adds up to about £170. I'm using the spare and when it packs up will buy two fobs and argue the programmong charge down (0.5 hours seems excessive to me). With a bit of luck we'll get to hear of someone who can provide a replacement service at a more sensible price.

BTW, someone told me that some manufacturers' fobs will lose their code if the battery isn't replaced within about 15 seconds. I'll try that but only when I'm at an OPC so that if it fails they can replace it for free!.

 

[jramsden68]

.... so can you just buy the electronics separately and just put them into the key fob (or maybe they are linked somehow). My key still works fine.

I think I may do the same, and use the spare until that fails, then replace the two of them.

Jason

 

[danofesher]

ORIGINAL: jramsde1

.... so can you just buy the electronics separately and just put them into the key fob (or maybe they are linked somehow). My key still works fine.

I think I may do the same, and use the spare until that fails, then replace the two of them.

Jason

If you undo your key you'll see that the little board that operates the remote and the battery are in one part of the fob and the key and the gizmo for the immobiliser are in the main part of the key (hence you must be able to just change the remote without altering the immobiliser function, which also explains why the key has no problem starting the car even though the remote has failed)