My PKE died!!

[Pavarotti]

The PKE (Passive Keeless Entry) has always worked on my -93 and just to be sure i recently bought a spare fob...

Last week i walked up to my Vette and it did not unlock.. Unlocked the door manually expecting the alarm to go of... but it did not?? Walked away and it did NOT lock the doors, flash lights or signal.

Niether of the buttons on the FOB works, therefor i cant turn of and on the PKE, "Passive Keyless Entry" is flashing in the DIC during start, fuses (#26 and 4??, dont remember but there were two claiming to have to do with PKE) is OK.

What else to check??

Is it correct to assume that the fob's is OK since the PKE is not activating anytime?? I mean, if the fob's where the problem the alarm should be active and therefor go of when i enter the car, or what do you think??

 

[FX GS]

Have you considered putting new batteries into the key fob?

 

[Pavarotti]

I have new batteries into the key fob since it is new. They could of course be bad already but if thats the case should not the PKE be armed when i approach the car?? And the alarm go of when i enter??

 

[Rabbit]

The fob houses the Transmitter. If the battery is dead it will not send a signal to the CCM.

Have you checked the alarm system manually to see if it works?????

 

[Pavarotti]

I was thinking that if the car is missing the signal from the transmitter (fob not in or close to the car OR fob broken...) the alarm system will activate itself with PKE on. Is that wrong?

"Have you checked the alarm system manually to see if it works?????"

Noop, how do i do that?

 

[Eagle85C4]

The batteries in the fobs do not set in there well after changing them, I would say that 90% of those I fix is because the battery is not held in place right and not making contact. Also for those with PKE, there is a small gold colored ball bearing incased in the fob, it's ability to move around causes the signal to the car to be sent. In several situations I have found that it gets dirty, and will not allow the PKE to work although the buttons still function.
If you are electronicall inclines then take it apart, look for the gold colored housing at one end that has clips the protrude through the board, gently pry the tabs apart and remove the piece, be very carefull as the ball bearing is in there and is very small and easily lost. Use a cotton swab and alcohol to clean the area the ball rolls around in as well as the ball itself. Reassemble.
For the battery, if you look close there is a small tab that is supposed to hold the battery down but you will find it that once the battery is removed it no longer functions well. Press the battery all the way down until the tab moves toward the battery then wedge something in behind the tab to hold it there and provide constant pressure so it will not back off the battery. If all else fails...send it to me and for a nominal fee I will refurb the FOB for you.
Eagle

 

[RedRagTop]

Are you saying that all the problems relate to the spare fob you bought? Your post leads me to believe so...
How about with your original fob that always worked well?
Process of elimination...

 

[Rabbit]

To check the system manually. Lock the car using the power lock switch. Leave the window down. After ther security light goes out reach thru the window & open the door. The alarm shud sound. Have your door key ready to put into the door lock to disarm the system. This way you can eliminate possibe cause?

 

[Pavarotti]

Thanks for all the answers,

I checked the alarm manually and it work!! Thats a relief!!

I dont have the older fob at hand since it is beeing serviced
(broken case, a frind is fixing it) but i will try it as soon as i get it.

I dont really understand how the PKE works, obviously!!!

I thought that "No signal from the fob = PKE active" (since
the fob is at transmitter) but thats not always the case, as i see it .
Did i disable the PKE in some way by unlocking the car
with the door key and then it is waiting for a connection
to the fob before it will activate again??

 

[Johnbtcb]

Has the new PKE fob ever worked? IE, was it programmed OK and then quit working?

 

[jmccloud]

PKE

The alarm system ignores unlock with the key, even with the PKE active. Unlocking with the key does not enable or disable PKE. If PKE is active, it's the absence of signal from the fob that turns on the alarm.

IF you didn't 'recognize' both fobs when you got the new one, the older one won't work. Both fobs must be 'activated' or recognized during the same session in order for both to work.

Sounds like the 'new' fob batteries were weak to begin with.
Hope this helps

 

[Pavarotti]

I am going nutts!!!

I finally got both my fobs and the bottons on both works (They open the hatch and passenger door). If i try to reprogram the PKE to one or both of the fobs it works, "Passive keyless entry" light is flashing and will stay on when it is supposed to according to the manual and instructions on other posts here (thanks CAC!!) but the PKE just wont activte. The PKE light does not come on if i turn on the ignition.

So i try to activate or deactivate PKE by pressing the passenger door button to cycle the locks according to the manual. Sometimes i can hear that it "tries" to lock the doors (hard to explain but something is "pulling" in the doors but its not locking the doors) and sometimes i cant hear anything. And the PKE will never activate. But it can be programmed with the fobs!?!?

Am i really nuts (which i have always suspected)??

 

[jmccloud]

Not Nuts?

The PKE system can be activated or deactivated by;
Key out of the ignition
Key fob in range (even sitting in the car) (Never tried this with two fobs, so you might want to place one far away)
Hold the fob door button in. Initially the door lock will twitch but keep holding the button. After about 2 seconds, both door locks will cycle and end up in the unlocked position.
You have just activated or deactivated the PKE system. Do these steps again to reverse (deactivate or activate).
When the system is DEactivated, the fob moving in and out of range will NEITHER lock NOR unlock the doors.

Want more confusion?
Doing the same thing with the key in the ignition will switch between one door (driver's) operation and two door operation.
I've never found it written down but my experience is that when the system is set for one door operation, the car doesn't 'see' the fob when it's on the passenger side of the car.

Another wierdo! When my cell phone charger is plugged into the cigarette lighter, the fob range is reduced almost to zero. For it to open the doors, I have to dangle it (swinging) next to the driver's door handle.

Yet another oops, the fob must be in motion (preferably swinging while hanging down from the key ring) to work at all. If it's horizontal or motionless, it acts like it's dead.

Good Luck

 

[Pavarotti]

Done all that,

Key out of ignition, hold the fob door button in for at least 5 seconds, probably 10. Still nothing else the this wierd "almost lock cycle".

Turn on ignition, "Passive keyless entry" light is not on, thus PKE is off.

Key out of ignition, hold the fob door button in for at least 5 seconds, probably 10. Still nothing else the this wierd "almost lock cycle".

Turn on ignition, "Passive keyless entry" light is not on, thus PKE is off!!!!

I have tried with both fobs, when only each are "recognized" (reprogramed PKE each time) and when both are recognized with one and both in the car.

And so on. For at least 10 times. It seems that everything but activation the system works.

Like i said, i am going nuts!!

I am going to try activating both doors to the door button.

 

[theadmiral94]

Pavarotti, we had some odd problems with our 94 LT1 PKE system too.

1st problem was with the 'fob' (the small ball-bearing inside wasn't moving around and 'waking-up' the transmitter -- it goes to 'sleep' to save the battery).

To fix, gently remove the gold 3-point piece inside by gently prying with your finger-nail the tabs on the back and then clean with a q-tip and some alcohol (we used tape player cleaning fluid). Be careful and don't loose the gold ball-bearing -- it's pretty small and it's size is important).

2nd But bigger problem was with the door 'ajar' switches. if they don't work, nothing else seems to work correctly (including the alarm). Both door 'ajar' switches recently died on our 94.

The easy way to decide if they are working is to see if the radio/time display goes off/out after removing the key and openning the door (and if the 'door ajar' light goes on in the dash). If not, then your 'door ajar' switch(es) might be bad.

By the way, they can be replaced right through their hole without taking apart the door, see the manual for the procedure. They are about $12 from Eckler's and $20 from the dealer (for our 94).

P.S.S. ACDelco/GM has a problem with their manufactor of these 'door ajar' switches, we've gone through 5 bad ones from Eckler's and already 1 bad one from the dealer. They either stick, or are not correctly 'glued' to their mounting bracket, allowing for the lubricant (vasoline) to escape along with possibly letting in water.

good luck and hope this helps..

 

[Pavarotti]

FINALLY!!!

Last night i got my PKE to work. The bad news is that i dont know what was wrong, i am leaning towards bad connections inside the FOB. But as long as it works, i am happy.

I just sat in the car and pressed the door button on the fob (like i have done about 50 times) and after about 10 seconds the locks cycled (!!) and the PKE is now active and works.

Thanks for all the help and ideas.

 

[jmccloud]

CONGRATULATIONS

And thanks for sharing your success. It gives everyone else encouragement!

 

[Skant]

Just a note that may be of use... It's not official.. just my own observation.

With my 96, I'm quite sure that the PKE is not activated by lack of signal from the FOB. It activates when it gets the signal, and then the signal goes away. The car must receive evidence that you currently have the fob before it turns on the system.

This makes sense, actually. Because if you lose the fob or it fails, you'd have no way to turn the system off again. And it does work nicely since the natural way of grabbing the key out of the ignition and leaving the car will get a good signal to the door antenna. However, there are some cases (particularly when using the rear hatch with the keys in your pocket, signal blocked by the metal in your keys) where the system won't turn on as you leave. And you need to specifically show the car the fob and then walk away.

The metnion of the car 'trying to open the locks but doesn't'. I've heard that sound before. It makes a little electric motor sound but nothing happens. I still don't know what that sound is, but I've noticed it does it when it's not getting the passive open signal from the FOB but gets a signal from the fob buttons.

The passive open signal only occurs when the fob is moving and for some number of seconds after it stops moving. If the fob isn't working correctly (dirty ball or whatever), that would cause this circumstance.

- Skant

 

[Pavarotti]

"The passive open signal only occurs when the fob is moving and for some number of seconds after it stops moving. If the fob isn't working correctly (dirty ball or whatever), that would cause this circumstance."

That makes sense, one thing i actually did different this time was that when i pressed the door button to activate PKE, i was also shaking the fob pretty much constantly until i heard the door lock cycle. The shaking could have been enough to achieve connection to inside the fob.

Strange that both fobs got bad at the same time but then again, Murphys laws always applies...