Passive Keyless Entry problem (95 coupe, 6 spd)

[OldCorvetteFan]

Here's one that has me scratching my head ...​

History:​

0. I don't use the remotes. They are left in the house, although I never disabled the PKE system. During all this time, the PKE light has come on (at start up) to indicate that the system is active, just as the owner's manual and service manual say it should.​

1. Once (more than a year ago) my wife and I were out cruising around, and I made a high speed pass. As I was returning to my lane, the PKE warning light in the Driver Information Center turned on briefly, then turned off.​

2. September 2007, as we were driving to Bowling Green, at steady speed (70 MPH, cruise NOT engaged), the interior lights came on, the power door locks cycled (locked, then unlocked), and then the rear hatch released and the hatch opened. The PKE light came on, and then went off. Annie closed the hatch (after I stopped), and no other problems occurred for the remainder of our trip. In fact, no other issues occurred for the rest of the 2007 driving season.​

3. Late Spring 2008, I started the car to take my daughter to a class, and the PKE light came on, and stayed on. When I got back home, I shut down the engine, removed the key, and upon a restart, the PKE light went out.​

4. Last week, I got in the car to run an errand, and the PKE light came on. I shut down, restarted, and the light went out. However, as I drove to my first stop, the PKE light came back on, and the door locks attempted to cycle (the lock solenoid emitted a rattle, and the door remained unlocked). Again, the PKE light went out. I parked the car (and locked it) to run errand #1. As I approached the car, the hatch popped open (keep in mind that I DON'T have the remote with me!). The doors remained locked, and I used my key (as usual) to unlock the driver side door. The PKE light didn't light after the car was started, and when I tried the power door lock switch, the doors locked normally. I took the car home, since my next errand was going to involve a couple of hours away from the car, and I didn't want to come back to an open hatch.​

5. I had occasion to move the car out of the garage, and left it unlocked. When I attempted to enter the car about 20 minutes later, the doors were locked.​

6. The car mostly sat since last week, but I took a short drive (~ 40 minutes) yesterday. I noticed that the doors were locked when I tried to open the door. No light came on, and the car behaved normally through two additonal start cycles.​

7. I opened the garage tonight, and the hatch was open again, and the doors were locked.​

I put the key in the run position, and noticed that the PKE light did NOT light, which would indicate that the PKE system has been disabled (although I didn't do it - I swear!). So, I took the PKE fob out to the car, and it doesn't react to it at all. I suspect that the remote battery may be dead, so I'm not real surprised by that.​

My next step is to replace the remote battery, and see if I can get the PKE system to recognize it.​

My biggest concern is why the hatch is opening. As far as I can tell from the circuit diagram, there are only three ways to open the hatch with the engine OFF:​

1. the PKE can supply a ground path to the hatch solenoid
2. with the door open, use the hatch release switch on the door to supply the ground
3. the center console button can provide a ground to the hatch solenoid​

Since the PKE system appears to have lost its mind, I'm suspecting that the PKE module is the culprit.​

So, here's a question: If I pull the PKE fuse on the fuse panel (#26, not the other two), will that disable anything other than the PKE system? Will the power door locks or the hatch release (door or console - I dont care about the remote) be disabled if the PKE module isn't operational? The circuit diagram leads me to think that the PKE won't disable the other methods, but I'm not certain at this point.​

Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!​

Thanks,
Steven​

 

[marcusr69]

When I purchased my '96 the car didn't come with any remotes so I purchased one and couldn't get it to program only to realize later the previous owner had pulled that fuse. My car must have been having the same issues you described for the previous owner to take out the fuse. Anyhow, everything else worked: power door locks, hatch etc. The security system was still working as well. Set it by locking the doors with door open using the power lock button. There wasn't anything in the car that wasn't working other than the PKE. (ended up having to replace the pke module and pulling the dash pad to replace but all is working now)

Hope this helps.

Marcus