I have seen a couple of similar cases...

Hi all!

I have not gotten a chance to post here since the board came alive in November last year. Wife and I were bless with a baby girl (our first child) in November... and have been crazy busy with work and "real" family life! I was under the name "SK in Denver" on our old ppbb forum. Thank you, Pedro for having set up this forum!

Anyway, 2 weeks ago my car would not lock or unlock with the keyless remote. The tiny LED on the fob lights up though. I thought it was a dying battery on the fob and I replaced it today. Yet, I am unable to lock/unlock even though the LED blinks. I can use the key to unlock/lock and drive, so I am happy with that. I ran a search on this forum but there was only one thread (http://pedrosboard.com/read.php?7,2957,2957#msg-2957). I have not driven the car in rain (or snow) so I do not think the electronics under the seat or inside window got wet.

Could the remote receiving unit in the car go bad? I also noticed that when I opened the fob, one of the "legs" that holds the battery unit to the circuit board was broken(?). I can post a picture of it tomorrow morning when the light is good. How can I test if the fob is bad or the receiving unit in the car is bad (if there is one)?

Thanks very much in advance!
-Subbu

try to see if the behavior is the same? This might help you eliminate the car's RF system as being at fault if the car works better with this other key.

The RF transceiver in the car can go bad, though I believe this is very rare. But not impossible.

One possible thing you might try is to following proper procedure disconnect the car's battery -- remember to get the radio code *before* you disconnect the battery * and then turn the ignition key to its on position. Do not turn the key to the start position. Press the brake pedal for a moment then release it.

Turn the ignition key to off and reconnect the battery.

Re-enter the radio code.

With the removal of power the window limits are lost along with the E-Gas learning.

Resetting the window limit stuff is in the owners manual and maybe the E-Gas controller adaption stuff as well..

For cars fitted with DME 7.2 the E-Gas learning is done by without touching the gas pedal turn the key to the on position. Do not turn the key to the engine start position. Leave the key in the on position for at least 60 seconds. Then turn the key to the off position for at least 10 seconds. This completes the E-Gas learning operation.

For the windows I believe the steps are is to manually close the power window as far as it will go, then press the rocker switch again for closing the window. This stores the limit position of the respective window in the control module again.

Repeat for the other window.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

Marc,

Thanks for the response. I do not have a 2nd key. But I will try what you suggested. Disconnect battery, key in to on position, brake pedal depressed for a moment, release and key in off and connect battery.

I also read somewhere online that reset the remote fob, you put the battery in reverse for a minute or two and then put it the right way. I tried this as well but it did not work either.

I guess if nothing else works, I will have to end up replacing the remote fob and get it reprogrammed at the dealership, although I like to avoid going this route.

Thanks again... I will report how this goes...

and after some discussion someone posted that the procedure was in a Porsche TSB.

A few days after this the LED in my Turbo's key module was on and I pried the key module halves apart -- the first time for the Turbo key I might add -- and removed the battery and pressed one of the buttons. The LED remained on.

Ok plan 'B': I then flipped the battery upside down and installed the battery back in its holder. I do not know if the LED went dark immediately or after I pressed a button but it went dark, that I can say for a fact.

Removed the battery and installed right side up and reassembled the key halves -- sans that tiny and hard to get in position o-ring -- and the key works just fine.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

Congrats on your daughter and welcome back. I would suggest a simpler solution before you start disconnecting the battery, etc., though you might have already done this. Put the key in the door and unlock manually. Do not open the door. Now press the lock button on your remote. If it synchs, the door will unlock. Now you can open the door and all should be OK. According to the Owners Manual, if your car is not operated for 5 (or 7) days by the remote, it goes into standby function and the only way to reactivated it is as described above.

My remote hasn't worked in over a year. I went through all the DIYs I could find, including a few spells and incarnations. Inverting the key battery, unlocking and inserting the key while pressing the button. I even tried striking the key on my shoe (per Meredith ) without any luck. I will follow this thread, hoping for something other than handing a few hundred bucks to the dealer.

Congrats on your new family upgrade!

Mine works with a fresh battery but batteries die after 3 days. Could it be a short in the key mechanism? Can I get a new circuit board and use my transponder chip?

Quote
Tradergarry
Mine works with a fresh battery but batteries die after 3 days. Could it be a short in the key mechanism? Can I get a new circuit board and use my transponder chip?

has not failed and is in some way holding a key down. I had this problem with an old key that had one of the trunk buttons caught and held down. The symptom though was not a run down battery though that might have happened eventually but the car would beep upon a lock attempt and I would find a trunk open.

If you find the membrane intact be sure you are not having something in your pocket press a key button. For simpler keys I could keep them in my pocket during the day but now with the electronic keys I remove them as soon as I reach the office or leave them on a shelf in a bowl at home until I'm ready to leave the house. Before I did this often I would pull a key out of my pocket and find the LED stuck on.

As the circuit board question I do not know if these are sold separately. I've never tried to buy one. You can move the RFID pill -- carefully -- from the old key to the new one and the key will start the engine provided also the key blade fits in the ignition switch.

For the new circuit board to work though its ID -- should be on a tag -- has to be introduced to the car's security system. The old circuit board's ID should removed to free up room. There is a limited number of slots for key IDs. This has to be done by a shop that has a proper Porsche diagnostics computer and can get the proper access codes from the factory.

Glad to hear everything is good with you, your wife and daughter. Now to deal with the joys of parenthood

I too had a similar problem with my '02 a few years ago - mine was solved easily. I replaced the battery in the remote and everything was great.

Hi Bob!

How you been doing? Wish my key fob problem was that simple.
If you happen to be in Denver area, let me know.. we can meet up for drinks...

-S

Thanks everyone...

I did what Marc and Jwdbox suggested but no luck. Still have the same issue. I went through the service manual (Bentley) in hopes of finding some info/help, but no luck there either.

Could it happen that the car lost the sync and need to be reprogrammed? I am thinking if nothing works, I will buy a new fob and use the old key and get it reprogrammed at the dealership (worst case). Is it possible to transfer the transponder from the old key to the new? I think it might be doable.

Oh... here is a pic of my angel at 12 weeks! Fatherhood is fun until she starts screaming!



-S

function busienss and here's what my reference has to say:

Empty [dead or discharged] battery in hand-held transmitter. Either the battery in the hand-held transmitter is dead or the car's battery is dead.

Key RF transmitter outside lock-in range. If the key RF transmitter is operated more than 256 times without reaching the associated receiver -- the vehicle is outside of the key's RF range or the vehicle's battery was disconnected -- the vehicle will not recognize the key RF transmitter the next time it is operated. If the number is less than 1024 times, it is possible to perform a re-sync.

[Note: if the key electronics got into a goofy state it might be possible for not only that 256 threshold to have been reached but even that 1024 threshold to have been reached.]

Re-sync is carried out this way: Switch on ignition with the key and a valid transponder. Switch off ignition. Remove ignition key from the steering lock. Operate the transmitter within 6 seconds after the key has been removed.

The lock-in range has now be reset to zero.

Atmospheric interference or interfering transmitters.

Energy saving move active. I won't type all of this in but briefly...

The RF receiver is turned off if the ignition is not switched on again within 5 days (120 hours off time).

The RF receiver is switched off independently of the locking condition of the car.

A locked vehicle can be unlocked with the vehicle key. This does *not* reactivate the RF receiver.

In order to avoid triggering the alarm, the vehicle key with a valid transponder must be turned in the steering lock within entering the vehicle before 10 seconds.

If the RF receiver as been deactivated it can be reactivated only by switching the ignition on again.

If a valid RF command is recognized within the idle period (terminal 15 off) the switch-off time is not reset.

Ok, Fault in hand-held err key transmitter or vehicle. If the LED on the key stays dark when the key RF transmitter is operated this is an indication either the vehicle's battery is empty or the key has a faulty transmitter.

The RF transmission is ok if the LED on the key flashes when the transmitter is operated and the alarm readiness lamp on the dash flashes rapidly.

If the alarm readiness light stays dark and the previous listed possible causes can be excluded the problem is a system fault of the vehicle.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

... and it turned out to be a hairline crack in the circuit board.
Because of the design of the key fob, and because we tend to press harder when the function doesn't work, the circuit board is subject to failing.
I was able to find the hairline crack and bridged it using solder.
In both cases the LED would light, but there was no RF being transmitted.
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna