Remote central locking issue
 

Hi All, I have a new (to me) 2004 2.7 Boxster.

When opened manually with the key, all the locks seem to lock and unlock as they're supposed to. I have no issues opening either boot with the buttons inside the car.

When blipping the key though it's another story.

99% of the time I get no reaction at all. The red LED flashes, so I'm assuming the battery and switch are good.

I've read about the "standby mode" and I've tried both unlocking with the key and then hitting the button and unlocking with the key and starting the engine within 10 seconds.

The most luck I've had is if I unlock with the key and blip the button, it WILL unlock/re-lock the car but only very very occasionally, and not for more than a few seconds at a time, before it goes back to not working again.

Any ideas?

Please do yourself a favor and out a new battery in the key.

Tried a new battery. No joy :(

From the service manual:

The hand-held transmitter radio remote control function is unavailable under the following 5 circumstances:

1. Empty battery

2. Radio transmitter outside lock-in range: If the transmitter is operated more than 256 times without reaching the associated receiver (vehicle outside range or vehicle battery disconnected), the vehicle will not recognize the radio transmitter. If the number of operations is below 1,024, it is possible to re-synchronize:

Switch on ignition with key and valid transponder.
Switch off ignition.
Remove ignition key from steering lock.
Operate transmitter within 6 seconds after the key is removed.


3. Interference due to other users on same radio frequency: The key may be used to unlock the door manually, but this will not disarm the immobilizer (alarm). To disarm the alarm, insert the key in the ignition and turn.

4. Energy-saving mode: After 5 days of inactivity, the vehicle's radio receiver is switched off. The radio receiver will reactivate after the vehicle is started.

5. Fault in hand-held transmitter or vehicle: If the LED on the hand-held transmitter stays dark when the transmitter is operated, this means the battery is empty or the transmitter is faulty. If the LED on the hand-held transmitter flashes and the alarm readiness lamp on the dashboard flashes, then the transmitter and receiver are communicating. If the dashboard readiness lamp stays dark and conditions 1 to 4 above are ruled out, then there is a system fault with the vehicle.

What I can contribute: I had two keys that flashed but neither locked nor unlocked the vehicle. I had the keys repaired. The info was: "Many flux residues ex works. Often leads to conductivity and component drift with age."
HTH

Locking unlocking issues - from the remote fob
 

I'm having similar issues. Worked when I got the car in the Summer but then stopped. Replaced batteries in both fobs and no joy. Did get it working for a little bit but the car is not used often and then stopped working again. Never seen this issue on any other cars I have had even on my old Audi A2's of a similar vintage. Is there a flow of things to try in order I can follow to isolate the issue? Thanks.

It is common (after these years) that these keys suddenly stop working. I bought the car with two non-functioning (but fast flashing) keys and a brand new one. I had the two "defective" ones repaired. There are specialists for this, "Smallblock345" did that for me sucessfully, he has a business for these things and can give much more detailed information.

Perhaps replace the ignition switch. Cheap part.