What happened to my remote entry?

Hi Folks,

My 2002 Pontaic Sunfire SLX recently developed a weird problem.

I have remote entry for doors, trunk and panic.

Starting today when I got home from work I was unable to use the remote function unless I was standing directly next to the driver door. Literally, if I took two steps back it would not work.

I immediately thought it was the batteries in the remote, so I tried the 2nd remote (which has also worked great) and it had the same results.

Soo.. I figured it was the car.. however

I ran out to get a few things in town and everywhere I went the remote worked perfectly -- just as I've always had it.

Once I returned home, the same problem came back again -- once in my driveway the remote lost virtually all of their range.

All in all I tested this three times tonight. Each time I went out to (at least one) different locations and the remote worked fine every time. Once I got home and parked in the driveway, I had the crap range..

Can anyone explain this? Has my house become radio-active while I was at work! :screwy:


Does anyone know what frequency range these FOBs work on? (looking for possible causes) I have a Bluetooth network 'next' to my driveway, and various cordless phones, etc -- but nothing new or changed since this morning when I left for work!

Thanks

Gm doesn't advertise the frequency, otherwise, enterprising young car theives would somehow crack thru and start stealing cars and belongings. I would bet you have some type of appliance at your house causing interference.

I don't think it has to do with frequency interference. I have a '96 GT and I've had the same problem with it since '99 when I bought it. I have no idea what causes it, but it sure has been irritating. My hopes are to find the answer somewhere on this forum. If/when I find the answer, I'll post a reply to this thread.

Mine had problems, I changed the battery and rotated the code and it seems to work well now.

Robbie1, how do you rotate the code? Thanks.

Stand right beside your car door.
Push and hold the lock and unlock buttons together.
The door should lock and unlock within 5-8 seconds and thats it.

Thanks, I'll give that a shot. I'm also going to change out the battery. I should have asked this in my last post, but you wouldn't happen know the battery code or voltage and amperage would you? I only ask for fear that if I use the same type of battery that is in there now and person I bought it from (I bought it used) replaced the battery with the wrong kind, I think I'll be in the same boat. I haven't received my service manual yet :( Thanks again!

The battery mine takes is a CR2032 lithium battery.
Hope that helps you.

Here's a thought. I don't know where you live, but around here we've had problems with the Army (and Gov. agencies) doing testing that is causing interference with remotes. It's a real pain also when you have one of those cars with an aftermarket alarm system and an engine kill and you can't disarm it. There are a lot of people who couldn't get into their cars and all the locksmiths in the area were getting a lot of calls for about 4 months straight. You can re-sync your remotes. Information is in your owner's manual. Also, if you change the batteries, a lot of the GM cars will become un-programmed if you change them out of the range of the car. Haven't figured that one out myself. Hope some of this helps you.

Well, the problem seems to have gone away on it's own... if fact it was basically just the couple of days and then it started working fine again.

I can't say for sure, but my best guess is that the invisible alien spaceship that was parked on my lawn went back home, thus eliminating their jamming sequence....

Okay, that may not have happened, but I have no idea what did -- hasn't happened since (so far!!!)

The most common problem with OEM remotes IS interferance. My guess something was in the area with a close enough frequency that caused your problem. On some remotes, you can replace the one CR2032 battery for 2-CR2016 batteries. They are about the same size but are 1/2 the thickness. So, if you stack them together, it will double the voltage which will allow the remote to work a little farther.