A FOB mystery

[mikehkang]

I have a 3 button fob for my 2001.

I can start my car no problem. However, the fob buttons only work sometimes.
My old fob that I lost used to work without hesitation. The one I am using now, when it works, works after I hold and press the button for about 2~3 seconds.

I have replaced the battery. I am currently using a 2032 that I bought from ebay. Is this a battery problem? (I am going to the RadioShack tomorrow to get a fresh battery.)

Also, if I remove the fob cover and press the small black buttons directly, should the buttons work?

Has anyone else experienced intermittent fob problem?

Thank you in advance.

[tonycarreon]

i think i remember a thread like this awhile back.

i have a similar problem. FOB 1 works fine. FOB 2 only unlocks the frunk and starts the car. will not lock/unlock the doors or the rear trunk. i believe someone said the problem is probably the internals, not battery (i replaced the battery and even switch key batteries with no change.)

[Meir]

When I first bought my car, both of the remote gave me problems, one was not working at all.
I removed the cover and notice that the buttons are “melting”.
Browsed the internet a little bit, found similar buttons and ordered them.
For my luck they were a perfect fit.
I replaced all 6 buttons on the two remotes. One is working like a brand new.
The other works as well (the LED turns on when I press), but it dosent do anything in the car (and the LED lights up different).
I think it needs reprogramming, but I’m not sure if I can do that without having the barcode of the remote.

Any way, this is the part you need.




this is how it looks after I fixed it.

[mikehkang]

Originally Posted by tonycarreon

i think i remember a thread like this awhile back.

i have a similar problem. FOB 1 works fine. FOB 2 only unlocks the frunk and starts the car. will not lock/unlock the doors or the rear trunk. i believe someone said the problem is probably the internals, not battery (i replaced the battery and even switch key batteries with no change.)

Thank you for the reply Tony.
It sounds like a few buttons are gone.

[mikehkang]

Originally Posted by Meir

When I first bought my car, both of the remote gave me problems, one was not working at all.
I removed the cover and notice that the buttons are “melting”.
Browsed the internet a little bit, found similar buttons and ordered them.
For my luck they were a perfect fit.
I replaced all 6 buttons on the two remotes. One is working like a brand new.
The other works as well (the LED turns on when I press), but it dosent do anything in the car (and the LED lights up different).
I think it needs reprogramming, but I’m not sure if I can do that without having the barcode of the remote.

Any way, this is the part you need.

Thank you for the info Meir.
My buttons look clean.

May I ask some questions?
1. Did the LEDs used to lit up BEFORE you replaced the buttons?
2. The FOB that wasn't working at all, is that the FOB still not working? Just want to confirm.
3. You said, "the LED lights up different." Do you mean that the LED lights up different in comparison to the same button from working FOB? Or, compare to the different buttons on same FOB?
4. Must the electronic part, the part shown in your second picture below, be inside the FOB housing for the buttons to work? Or, can it be removed from the FOB housing and still work?

Thank you,

[jcb986]

If you had a 2 button remote, you need to stay with a 2 button. This is want I was told by the Porsche Dealer.

[Meir]

1. Did the LEDs used to lit up BEFORE you replaced the buttons?
- Some times yes and some time no. If the LED is on, the remote must work.
So if you press the button and the LED is flashing fast but nothing happens it is not the button.

2. The FOB that wasn't working at all, is that the FOB still not working? Just want to confirm.
-yes it is steel not working. After fixing the buttons, I researched about how to program it to the alarm. The only way to do it is at the dealership with the barcode of the fob, and I don’t have it.
(Coming to think of it, I did it a year ago when I was still a rooky and wasn’t aware of the forums. maybe I will post it and see if someone can help. I also have the Durametric tool now, so maybe I can use it to program the fob. Mm…)

3. You said, "the LED lights up different." Do you mean that the LED lights up different in comparison to the same button from working FOB? Or, compare to the different buttons on same FOB?
- The non working fob will flash in a sequence of two flashes when i press and hold any button on it.
The working fob will flash fast at all time when any button is pressed.
This is why I think it needs to be reprogrammed.

4. Must the electronic part, the part shown in your second picture below, be inside the FOB housing for the buttons to work? Or, can it be removed from the FOB housing and still work?
- No. you can still use it when it is outside the plastic housing.
In fact, when I replaced the buttons I pressed them couple of times in front of the car, just to make sure it works before I put it back in the housing.

[mikehkang]

Originally Posted by Meir

2. The FOB that wasn't working at all, is that the FOB still not working? Just want to confirm.
-yes it is steel not working. After fixing the buttons, I researched about how to program it to the alarm. The only way to do it is at the dealership with the barcode of the fob, and I don’t have it.
(Coming to think of it, I did it a year ago when I was still a rooky and wasn’t aware of the forums. maybe I will post it and see if someone can help. I also have the Durametric tool now, so maybe I can use it to program the fob. Mm…)

3. You said, "the LED lights up different." Do you mean that the LED lights up different in comparison to the same button from working FOB? Or, compare to the different buttons on same FOB?
- The non working fob will flash in a sequence of two flashes when i press and hold any button on it.
The working fob will flash fast at all time when any button is pressed.
This is why I think it needs to be reprogrammed.

4. Must the electronic part, the part shown in your second picture below, be inside the FOB housing for the buttons to work? Or, can it be removed from the FOB housing and still work?
- No. you can still use it when it is outside the plastic housing.
In fact, when I replaced the buttons I pressed them couple of times in front of the car, just to make sure it works before I put it back in the housing.

Thank you for the prompt reply.

My situation is that all three buttons light up the LED. However, each button lights up its own unique sequence of Morse code like pattern.

Please let me know if Durametric tool will reprogram the fob for you. Perhaps it is time for me to rent/buy one.

Thank you again.

[mikehkang]

Could the faulty ignition switch cause my FOB problem?
Anyone?

[Meir]

Originally Posted by mikehkang

Thank you for the promt reply.

My situation is that all three buttons light up the LED. However, each button lights up its own unique sequence of Morse code like pattern.

Please let me know if Durametric tool will reprogram the fob for you. Perhaps it is time for me to rent/buy one.

Thank you again.

I will try it this weekend.
I will also look again at my non working remote and see if I also have the “Morse code”
I will post results next week.

[Meir]

Well, I checked my bad fob, and it flashes slow every time I press and hold one of the three buttons.
The Durametric software dosnt have an option to program a new fob.

[Paul]

FOBs cannot be programmed even by a dealer without the barcode tag that came with the key.

[mikehkang]

Originally Posted by Meir

Well, I checked my bad fob, and it flashes slow every time I press and hold one of the three buttons.
The Durametric software dosnt have an option to program a new fob.

Thanks Meir.
In my case, three buttons show different LED flashing patterns and still does not work.

[mikehkang]

Originally Posted by Paul

FOBs cannot be programmed even by a dealer without the barcode tag that came with the key.

Thank you for your input Paul.
A question - when you say, "the barcode tag that came with the key", I assume "the key" here is the set of the original keys, right?
I do have a barcode from the previous owner but have only one.

Thank you.

[Meir]

[QUOTE=Meir;270029]When I first bought my car, both of the remote gave me problems, one was not working at all.
I removed the cover and notice that the buttons are “melting”.
Browsed the internet a little bit, found similar buttons and ordered them.
For my luck they were a perfect fit.
I replaced all 6 buttons on the two remotes. One is working like a brand new.
The other works as well (the LED turns on when I press), but it dosent do anything in the car (and the LED lights up different).
I think it needs reprogramming, but I’m not sure if I can do that without having the barcode of the remote.


Yes, thats what I tought.
At the moment I don't have a problem with that.
I'm the only driver on the car and the spare key works fine except the fob part.
I will fix it one day, but it's on the bottom of my "to do list" at the moment.

[mikehkang]

In the interest of collecting "useful" information, I want to share with you guys what I found so far in my quest to have my lazy fob to work consistently.

BTW, I have confirmed that my Ebay purchased 2032 battery is fully charged.


Allegedly, following three different ways worked for someone, at least once.

### 1 ####
1.1- Lock the doors from the outside by using the key in the door lock.
1.2- Unlock the drivers side door using the key in the door lock.
1.3- Within about 10 seconds or so, open the door and insert the key into the ignition. DON'T START THE CAR!!
1.4- With the key still in the ignition, push the unlock button on the key.
1.5- Voila, you should be good to go.


(The following is a copy from Fixya.com. I don't think it was copyrighted so here it is.)
The key fobs do get stuck in the on position, especially if you leave them in your pockets all day long. The buttons get stuck in the down/pressed position causing the battery to wear down and eventually the remote itself needs to be re-programed.

Also, could check the battery in the keyfob, its possible that they need replace it and re-programming. Check this ways:

### 2 ###
- If the key had gone faulty, the key code must be re programmed on the vehicle computer. This can be done only using a PIWIS tool, available at the dealer or at a qualified Porche garage.
Try also the following reset:
* turn ignition on,
* turn off.
* remove the transponder from the column
* push any button on the fob within 6 seconds.

This procedure will reset the key synchronizing again with the vehicle computer.


### 3 ###
- If you put the battery upside down you risk to short the key remote and break it. When the key fob is falshing slower it means that is not synchrronised with the car.

Try also the procedure below:
* Unlock your car using the key
* Open car door ( if alarm goes off, put key in the ignition to stop the alarm).
* Press unlock button on remote and the remote will resynchronize with the car.

If it does not work, then you have either two faulty remotes, if you are not, you have a faulty control module or a problem with ECU.



The above methods did not work for me.
In fact, using method #1, I **SOMETIMES** get the car to sound after the step 1.4 but not all the time. Either way, the fob does not work.

I guess I will be visiting the dealer soon.

I hope above methods help some one in the future.

MHK