No ignition or electrics. Intermittent problem

toman

Member
Hi Guys, I'm hoping someone can help me with this...on two occasions in the last 10 days my car has not unlocked with the remote key so I have done the following

1, opened the door manually
2, switched the ignition
3, switched ignition off
4, locked the car remotely
5, opened the car remotely

And all has been fine.

The above happened for the second time this morning when my daughter was setting off for work but when she returned to the car tonight it would not unlock remotely again but when she turned the ignition on all the ignition light died and there was no power at all !

She tried again numerous times for approx 10 minutes and there were no lights......not even the side / headlights, so she called me and I thought the battery had died or she'd left something on in the car so was en route with a power pack when she told me she had tried again and it had started normally.

Has anyone else experienced this or do you guys have any ideas ?

Thanks !
 
First try replacing the remote battery. Second check all the car battery connections are tight especially the secondary positive to the left of the main positive connector. Third check the main earth behind the left headlight for internal corrosion (threads on here to add a second earth), Fourth how old and good is the battery, may well be past it so get the correct rated one for the car.
To check if it a main earth problem, temporarily put a jump lead between the engine block and the body side of an engine mount, just make sure it will not get caught in any moving part.
 
Hi,

The Fob battery was changed a few months ago, I have no idea how old the battery is (do they have dates on them ?) and I'll do the rest of what you suggest tomorrow...Thanks !
 
Hi Guys, I'm hoping someone can help me with this...on two occasions in the last 10 days my car has not unlocked with the remote key so I have done the following

1, opened the door manually
2, switched the ignition
3, switched ignition off
4, locked the car remotely
5, opened the car remotely

And all has been fine.

The above happened for the second time this morning when my daughter was setting off for work but when she returned to the car tonight it would not unlock remotely again but when she turned the ignition on all the ignition light died and there was no power at all !

She tried again numerous times for approx 10 minutes and there were no lights......not even the side / headlights, so she called me and I thought the battery had died or she'd left something on in the car so was en route with a power pack when she told me she had tried again and it had started normally.

Has anyone else experienced this or do you guys have any ideas ?

Thanks !
My car also does this intermittently
 
Hi Stevec, have you looked for a solution or just lived with it ? I could live with it I suppose but do not want to be stranded (especially my daughter) anywhere...been out to the car earlier on and had to do the 5 steps again so not sure if this is intermittent now !

Thanks
 
Hi. I changed ignition barrel and transponder receiver on my car. As the ignition barrel locked out on me. The forgetting of the remote key seems to be a common issue, every time i follow the re teach procedure and the car behaves normally. If you are having ignition problems i would suggest having the ignition switch part changed, not the key and barrel(drivers door lock as well to keep one key) as i changed.
Best of luck
Steve
I would re check all battery connections in boot as well as connections under front passenger side floor panel. I would also check battery output voltage (above 12v) and if possible try a different battery on car. Has the battery been chsnged? Is it of the correct ampage? Your service book will provide you of all info on this via the option codes.
 
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I am not an expert on the radio remotes, but my take on the "amnesia" is once the battery voltage drops to a certain level, rather than be exact on the frequency the receiver is expecting it drifts causing the out of sync. When the new full battery is inserted the signal again becomes "pure" and harmony is restored. Although there is a slight chance this could also be indicating a failing CCCU.
The "dead" car has to be a main power issue. To rule out ignition switch items that are permanently live should work i.e. hazard lights, side lights ,12v socket and alarm. If none of these work it has to be the battery, battery connections, rear earth, engine earth, big fuse on the battery etc. When checking fuses and bulbs never rely on a visual inspection you need to check properly with a meter.
 
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Ok thanks for your help guys.....I will do as many of the checks that have been suggested as I can ( don't have a meter and wouldn't know how anyway) my initial thoughts yesterday was the battery because my daughter reported that none of the lights worked and there were no lights on the dash, would a failing battery just decide all of a sudden to give no power and 15 minutes ? The battery seems to fire the car up with no problems....could a failing battery do that or should I be noticing it struggle ?

I have unlocked / locked the car half a dozen times this morning without issue so it seems I'm back at an intermittent problem.....one thing that is a worry...could the car just cut off when it's being driven ? That would be a nightmare scenario !

Thanks
 
Ok thanks for your help guys.....I will do as many of the checks that have been suggested as I can ( don't have a meter and wouldn't know how anyway) my initial thoughts yesterday was the battery because my daughter reported that none of the lights worked and there were no lights on the dash, would a failing battery just decide all of a sudden to give no power and 15 minutes ? The battery seems to fire the car up with no problems....could a failing battery do that or should I be noticing it struggle ?

I have unlocked / locked the car half a dozen times this morning without issue so it seems I'm back at an intermittent problem.....one thing that is a worry...could the car just cut off when it's being driven ? That would be a nightmare scenario !

Thanks
Hi Toman,
Something worth checking may be that if the buttons on the remote get pressed inadvertently in a bag or pocket whilst it’s away / out of range from the car it can loose the sync to the car.

hth
Keith
 
Thanks for that kp 115...will keep an eye out for that.

Bit of an update, have checked the earth cables and all seemed good.....the first thing I checked though were the battery connections and would you believe it the positive connector was very loose so loose in fact that I could lift the connector off the terminal ! I'm guessing that is not good and could be the cause (I'm hoping it is) so I've tightened it up and we'll see if this sorts it out..cross fingers !

Thanks for all your help guys !
 
Very good chance that was the problem, bear in mind the car battery could be end of life. make sure you also check the block to the left of the positive terminal as those connections can also become loose.
 
Thanks for that kp 115...will keep an eye out for that.

Bit of an update, have checked the earth cables and all seemed good.....the first thing I checked though were the battery connections and would you believe it the positive connector was very loose so loose in fact that I could lift the connector off the terminal ! I'm guessing that is not good and could be the cause (I'm hoping it is) so I've tightened it up and we'll see if this sorts it out..cross fingers !

Thanks for all your help guys !
Hi Toman,
The earth cable behind the nsf headlamp has been known to cause problems by bad connection to chassis or a broken cable about 25mm up the insulation from the lug connection found by a good tug or trimming back the insulation.
Hth
Keith.
 
Just been out to the car and gave cable a good tug...and heard something that sounded like a snap, thankfully it was just a clip securing the cable coming out of it's socket ...thankfully ! so gave the cable a good tug again and everything seems solid.
 
For me earthing was not a case. Maybe twenty times tried to start with the key and it started again. Looks like it is a problem in ignition barrel. (maybe it was a problem as I put another car key by mistake . Don't want to try once more.)
 
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