Key remote stopped working

[EuropaDrive]

Boxster base, no alarm system, key has 3 buttons. I had two working remotes until yesterday. One of them refuses to unlock the doors / frunk / trunk.

Both keys will still manually unlock and start the car. Windows go up or down if key is maintained in lock or unlock position from outside.

I replaced the battery (twice) as the first obvious step, although it was not that old and the red led still flashes when I press a button. It shows the same led flash pattern as the working remote, depending on which button I press.

I've tried a few things mentioned in other threads :

- reversed battery polarity to short / reset transmitter

- force-pressed the battery and press buttons

- ignition on for a few seconds, then press remote button

- disconnected car battery overnight

No luck.

Any chance that the remote has been "unlearned" ? Is there any way to check ?

Should I go to the dealer and see if they can reprogram it ?

Maybe it's flashing the led but transmitting garbage - or not transmitting ?

I still have the second working remote...but would prefer to have 2, if it's a relatively simple fix.

[Stl-986]

can't be reprogrammed unless you have the tag that came with it when you got the key. Only option at this point is to replace it and have the car coded to it by the dealer.

[shacky]

There are YouTube videos of possible replacement services. I can’t vouch for any of them but I would love to get second key and have both programmed.

[EuropaDrive]

Originally Posted by Stl-986

can't be reprogrammed unless you have the tag that came with it when you got the key. Only option at this point is to replace it and have the car coded to it by the dealer.

I have the whole file that the previous original owner gave me and I found this tag...It says "Key 2" in the back.

Don't have the other one.

So I guess my odds are 50% that this is the right tag for the defective remote ...

[Stl-986]

50/50. only way to know is take it to the dealer. chances are though the key fob is bad and will need to be replaced anyway.

[TeamOxford]

There is a chance that the internal circuit board has a broken solder joint that needs to be repaired. After several years of pressing the buttons, this is not an abnormal result.

I experienced an identical situation, and forum member “particlewave” repaired it for me at a nominal charge.

I’d contact him before laying out big bucks to the dealer for a replacement key.

Just sayin’.....

TO

[EuropaDrive]

Originally Posted by TeamOxford

There is a chance that the internal circuit board has a broken solder joint that needs to be repaired. After several years of pressing the buttons, this is not an abnormal result.

I experienced an identical situation, and forum member “particlewave” repaired it for me at a nominal charge.

I’d contact him before laying out big bucks to the dealer for a replacement key.

Just sayin’.....

TO

Good idea, I'll look into it before spending $$... I am an electronics technician, so I have all the tools and possibly the skills :-)

Will report back.

[TeamOxford]

Check out this thread, especially post #1 for some useful tips:

http://986forum.com/forums/diy-project-guides/66307-key-transmitter-repair-new-switch-didnt-fix-2.html

Good luck!

TO

[EuropaDrive]

Ok so I tried repairing the remote...Using the finest head on my soldering iron and a magnifying glass. Man, these solder tracks are microscopic!

I even managed to make it worst, the remote wasn't flashing the red led after the operation. Looking again, I had joined two adjacent tracks with a lead bead.

Removed it, il flashes again but still the car does not react.

Last step, I'll go to the dealership to check the programming. I am in no hurry, I have a second working remote and I really only need one. Plus I expect it's gonna cost a fair amount of money.

Thanks for all your help and wisdom !

[Stl-986]

new remote can be hand for $145 and depending on the dealer 1/2 hour or 1 hour of labor.

[Zordrack]

Would be nice to have a dealer like that here in NOLA.

In the same boat but with only one key.
Keyfob battery died. I replaced the battery. Now it flashes red but car doesn't recognize it.

Local dealer want's to keep the car for a "few days to a week" and charge for a complete diagnostics of the security system before attempting to program key.

Sadly that seems to be the general state of affairs with car dealerships around here.

[Stl-986]

They may want to but you can tell them all you want them to do is add a key and nothing else. and make sure you tell them to not delete any keys. If they wont, give PCNA a call to get involved that will solve the issue.

[Zordrack]

Thanks.
I'll give that a go. And yeah. I thought $750+ to program a key was beyond excessive.
Even for a dealership.

I'm curious though. What's the reasoning for not deleting any existing keys ?

[Stl-986]

once it is deleted you can't just add it back in without the tag like above and it isn't easy to tell which key in the system is the one you have or not. Been there. Here is what happened to me.

Go in for key programming apt. Drove the car to dealer. existing key obviously worked to start & drive the car. Reason for key is the same as above...buttons dont work anymore. Give key to tech. Tech programs key. Comes back and says all done but wanted to make asked if I knew the old key didn't work when I brought it in. Answer "yes I know the buttons dont work, that's why I brought it in for a new key" reply "Ok, just wanted to make sure" Drive home with new key. Go to start car later that day with old key and guess what...wont start. Call dealer, talk to SA, who talks to the tech. Reply: "tech deleted it cause you said it didn't work" "I said the buttons didn't work, how else did I drive to have it programmed if it didn't work" Took the SA 3 minutes to respond...he had to think about it. Calls me back an hour later "yea sorry, we deleted it and it cant be added back unless you have the tag"

[Zordrack]

Ouch.

Thank you for the warning.
Somehow I didn't put together that key programming would include ignition as well as central locking.

But that really does make perfect sense.
Just didn't think about it in that way.
Somehow in my mind they ended up being independent systems.

[Homeoboxter]

Seeing this keyfob gives a headache to many of us, just wondering isn`t there an easy way to work around it? Just by deactivating the immobilizer and adding a generic remote controlled system hooked up to the central locking unit? My keyfob also stopped working and don`t feel like spending hundreds on that and I`d save trips to the dealership too if possible.

[Stl-986]

absolutely. Done it in 2 cars myself. Prefer to have the buttons on the keyfob work though. It work to activate/deactivate the immobilizer would just be a keyless entry/frunk/trunk pop. Can't bypass the immobilizer

[Homeoboxter]

Originally Posted by Stl-986

absolutely. Done it in 2 cars myself. Prefer to have the buttons on the keyfob work though. It work to activate/deactivate the immobilizer would just be a keyless entry/frunk/trunk pop. Can't bypass the immobilizer

What did you use? I`m thinking of just buying a generic keyfob and swap the board with the buttons into the original fob, or mate it with the key. Should be doable. Probably the immobilizer can be deactivated too, but I guess that`s not necessary if you move the modul from the key over to the new fob.

[Stl-986]

Originally Posted by Homeoboxter

What did you use? I`m thinking of just buying a generic keyfob and swap the board with the buttons into the original fob, or mate it with the key. Should be doable. Probably the immobilizer can be deactivated too, but I guess that`s not necessary if you move the modul from the key over to the new fob.

Huh?
You can't just swap anything. The pill has to be programmed to the car and the board that has the buttons also has to be programmed to the car.

As far as just adding keyless entry I only use DEI products in cars. Been using them for 20+ years. too many videos & instructions online on how to do this. Viper or Avital is what I use depending on the car and how many buttons I need.

[Homeoboxter]

Originally Posted by Stl-986

Huh?
You can't just swap anything. The pill has to be programmed to the car and the board that has the buttons also has to be programmed to the car.

As far as just adding keyless entry I only use DEI products in cars. Been using them for 20+ years. too many videos & instructions online on how to do this. Viper or Avital is what I use depending on the car and how many buttons I need.

Sorry, I wasn`t clear about what I meant. There are cheap alarm and remote control systems for motorcycles that I used to use, with two keyfobs with buttons that you can use for whatever you want to depending on where you connect the wires coming out from the receiver. Can be used to start the engine remotely for instance.

Like this one:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/352926540117?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item522c0fa155:g:3UEAAOSwAUBeFwJG&amdata=enc%3AAQAFAAACgBaobrjLl8XobRIiIML1V4Imu%252 Fn%252BzU5L90Z278x5ickkWpEuxXwAiCNKyBQsQ5%252Fe63H yV14MZVFpbsdzCIpd2z9NbZoiCUUJjV9NYMiTY%252Fwoyf9hi gCKoMZKon4i21%252B9ybduecNJ3zxLiD4JvTdysXhA25iSY5q 3urxT6Au5hfzVpgmSbFR8bGw4xyxPqQngRh%252BJ%252BRcXa 2mf4Rjb2ohDK6XUUm2UO5g406YkgZCUTz0q6hcu5i2yWqASPVQ S%252BAUvNJc4PoDIfPRBW%252Bz49otlWH7AGV3c9YA7qrPwS A7ScHz6wg%252FJ80VxBzbgcf0n%252BL2INGz%252F2IGeK%2 52FDErKzaQ%252FXtJ6mNTRQspJoE8grD0NtlC1KXa7SYIBw%2 52FnrbvGHEVLRH%252BJVVY2wm8ttxhuWaYGpsd5AVcqYWYsqS bj9PAEdXdMv30xfVfQjvo2ijKGhfFL32CLKYXFIziuSGLOpV5o cAoYid9B2p5QA%252B0lkGBbxXsGc8VrTWhT%252BaGhotTiEB 4Sc%252FvKe7CpfoP6EDkpWI6prbzj9Ppf1q2Kv3pd%252FyZN Oe4zbniCB79BtH7LluO9r%252FkRMM0BCoC3lx0Zh4%252BdHx ySVZgs7kBD8bVD7IG2%252FRY03lIH0djtJT4VQEDYMp69ZoL9 u1wPEicpQuSahGI%252BrrfPH27LLxUZaxApatxX57xuvK%252 Fs6ppgxzEJcCgnE1aU7ulifP1TBLQxykuYZFnWH6Tu9xSppmx8 s5kk2A%252BvP74U5b3ut1B7dKEP3ikSRzDelJk18O9K%252FV GC6ZLH8gjcZUdPPq%252FJS7wgYsNKP%252B67Jn9HovfR8uki RmXp783gv5tU9305D%252B%252FozPwe%252Bh2jfbNRc5U7gX k7QU%253D%7Ccksum%3A35292654011718bccf1c9e324b2d8a 19653b9ac8d101%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A2334524

So the idea is to get rid of the immobilizer and just hook up a unit like this to the central locking unit to be able to operate the doors, trunk/frunk remotely. Probably it would require some time to find out how to marry the two units based on inspecting the circuit diagrams, but should be doable.

If you swapped the circuit boards inside the keyfobs you could keep using the original key. And you no longer would have to deal with the 20 year old outdated alarm system that just gives you headache because of it`s complexity and overpriced elements.