[pubert]

Hi all,

Anyone else had this problem? In town yesterday, park up, get out, press key to lock car doors, and nothing happens, the car is totally dead, the doors dont lock, the alarm does'nt come on or anything. We tried my other halfs keys and same thing, absolutely no response at all from the car. so we we had to lock them manually.

This has happened a few times now, and i've noticed that sometimes when i approach the car and try to unlock it with the remote it does'nt like that either. The problem is a bit intermitant, somedays its fine, others not so good.

Just want to know if this is a common problem or if anyone else has had this sort of thing, or if anybody knows what it could be, the cars booked to go to bmw on 13th to have it looked at, and i would'nt mind going with at least some idea of what the problem may be.

Cheers everyone
pubert

[maggie444]

I have had similar problems like this. Locking seems fine but its when it comes to unlock.

Ive found that if you approach the car from the side then this is fine, but from the front or rear this is when the problem occurs.

Have u tried that? Just a thought...........................................

[mikeythemini]

There is a major problem with remote fobs nationwide but in very localised areas
It is caused by new transmittiers for the new police digital radio network & also microwave transmitters on some mobile phone masts.
If you park close to them on a certain angle no remoted will work.
this happens with both factory systems & aftermarket ones.
One of the ways the breakdown services have been told to deal with this is to park their van between the car & the source & the fob will work.
We get dozens of calls from one local spot - the first thing we ask when someone rings us stranded is ' are you by the midland bank in Ainsdale' they normally always ask how do you know that?. There is a new transmitter there and it causes many problems

[tavis1]

Mine used to do that and what I found was the battery in the key comming loose. I took some electrical tape and fold it up and put it between the battery and outer case. Have not had a problem since.
Tavis1

[pubert]

Thanks for the help, I have to say that the key does seem to work better from the side of the car. thats an interesting fact about the transmitters, if i remember rightly when we parked up it was adjacent to a midland bank cash machine booth, just like a small glass prefeb with a couple of machines in, do you think this would have the same effect.

Is there a fix for the keys that are effected by the transmitters or is it something we just need to live with?

cheers
pubert

[snoopy]

When trying to use the key fob try putting the key fob on the windscreen near the rear view mirror as the receiver for the car is up in the roof behind the mirror. This should hopefully overcome close by transmitters swamping the MINI receiver.

[pubert]

Quote: Originally Posted by snoopy

When trying to use the key fob try putting the key fob on the windscreen near the rear view mirror as the receiver for the car is up in the roof behind the mirror. This should hopefully overcome close by transmitters swamping the MINI receiver.

I'll give that a try snoopy, back in to town on saturday, so will try to park in same place to see what happens, if it does fail again i'll try your trick and let you know.

[mikeythemini]

Havn't checked my mini manual, but my Dads new bmw 3 series manual has a warning about transmitters getting blocked

[dietcokeplease]

Quote: Originally Posted by mikeythemini

There is a major problem with remote fobs nationwide but in very localised areas
It is caused by new transmittiers for the new police digital radio network & also microwave transmitters on some mobile phone masts.
If you park close to them on a certain angle no remoted will work.
this happens with both factory systems & aftermarket ones.
One of the ways the breakdown services have been told to deal with this is to park their van between the car & the source & the fob will work.
We get dozens of calls from one local spot - the first thing we ask when someone rings us stranded is ' are you by the midland bank in Ainsdale' they normally always ask how do you know that?. There is a new transmitter there and it causes many problems

Some of the breakdown services have had to tow cars away from the hotspots so that they can be unlocked with the remote.

You'll also find that you could experience problems on some ferries (apart from having to turn off the motion sensor on the alarm) in that the power of the ships radar will overpower or drown out the transmission from the remote. In this instance it's best to just lock the car with the key without activating the alarm.

Also one half-solution to a weak remote is to hold the key against the bony part of your chin and then press the remote. You'll be amazed at the distance that the car can be unlocked from. Try it at home. Lock/unlock your MINI and keep walking away until you find that the range it too far for the remote. Then hold the key to your chin and see if it works.

[pubert]

Quote: Originally Posted by dietcokeplease

Some of the breakdown services have had to tow cars away from the hotspots so that they can be unlocked with the remote.

You'll also find that you could experience problems on some ferries (apart from having to turn off the motion sensor on the alarm) in that the power of the ships radar will overpower or drown out the transmission from the remote. In this instance it's best to just lock the car with the key without activating the alarm.

Also one half-solution to a weak remote is to hold the key against the bony part of your chin and then press the remote. You'll be amazed at the distance that the car can be unlocked from. Try it at home. Lock/unlock your MINI and keep walking away until you find that the range it too far for the remote. Then hold the key to your chin and see if it works.

lol, and i'm definately going to give that one a try but maybe somewhere secluded, dont want locking away for doing strange things with a mini key.

[AndrewH]

I know this might sound a bit obvious, but have you considered replacing the battery of the key? Mine was playing up a couple of weeks ago (ie similar problem as described above - wouldn't lock or unlock at certain times) so I replaced the battery and it works perfectly now. I was a bit surprised that the battery didn't last all that long (I have only done 28,00km) but it was easily fixed so I'm happy.

[pubert]

Quote: Originally Posted by AndrewH

I know this might sound a bit obvious, but have you considered replacing the battery of the key? Mine was playing up a couple of weeks ago (ie similar problem as described above - wouldn't lock or unlock at certain times) so I replaced the battery and it works perfectly now. I was a bit surprised that the battery didn't last all that long (I have only done 28,00km) but it was easily fixed so I'm happy.

Hi Andy,
daft question, but how do you get in to change the battery, does the back just pop off with a bit of gentle leaverage? (dont want to kill it by pulling it to peaces).

The beemer garage told me that it should'nt be a flat battery because apparently it gets recharged when the key is in the ignition and the car is being driven, do'nt know how true this is.

Anything is worth a try

cheers
pubert

[dietcokeplease]

Quote: Originally Posted by pubert

Hi Andy,
daft question, but how do you get in to change the battery, does the back just pop off with a bit of gentle leaverage? (dont want to kill it by pulling it to peaces).

The beemer garage told me that it should'nt be a flat battery because apparently it gets recharged when the key is in the ignition and the car is being driven, do'nt know how true this is.

Anything is worth a try

cheers
pubert

Oh dear. Dumb dealer alert. BMW keys DO recharge in the ignition (hexagon shaped fob). MINI keys (oval shaped fob) do not. However that said the BMW fobs will probably replace the MINI fobs in the near future.

[AndrewH]

Quote: Originally Posted by pubert

Hi Andy,
daft question, but how do you get in to change the battery, does the back just pop off with a bit of gentle leaverage? (dont want to kill it by pulling it to peaces).

The beemer garage told me that it should'nt be a flat battery because apparently it gets recharged when the key is in the ignition and the car is being driven, do'nt know how true this is.

Anything is worth a try

cheers
pubert

Pubert

Its fairly easy, all you do is gently prise the gap on the key end of the fob and work your way around the edge as it comes apart (the gap is on the key end on the opposite side to the lock/unlock buttons). Might be worth getting the battery first though. It’s a CR 2032 3 Volt battery and as dietcokeplease says, it's not a rechargeable battery.

Once you've got the back off the fob, you'll need to push a small black plastic clip away from the battery in order to get the battery to pop out (be careful as the plastic clip looks like it could break easily). Then do the reverse to get it back in again.

Hope this helps

Andrew

[pubert]

Thanks for the help chaps, i'll have a go at changing the battery, see if it makes a difference. Can you get the batterys from the highstreet or are they something bmw need to get for you?

cheers
pubert

[AndrewH]

No, they are pretty common, any good electronics store should stock them

[pubert]

Just dropped car off at dealers to get this key thing looked at, i asked the technician there
if it could possibly be a flat battery in the key, just out of interest, and he swears blind that the batteries are recharged when in the ignition, well i guess we'll find out, hopefully, whats wrong at 4pm. cheers for the help

pubert

[tavis1]

Quote: Originally Posted by pubert

Just dropped car off at dealers to get this key thing looked at, i asked the technician there
if it could possibly be a flat battery in the key, just out of interest, and he swears blind that the batteries are recharged when in the ignition, well i guess we'll find out, hopefully, whats wrong at 4pm. cheers for the help

pubert

Time to find a new Tech. I have seen the battery with my own eyes, it's a watch battery. Even in the owners manual it tells you how to change it when it wears out.
Tavis1

[pubert]

Hi tavis,

sometimes i wonder what they get taught at the dealers, i've picked my car up and as i suspected they could find nothing wrong with it, he did however bring up the subject of interference from certain digital broadcasts, which i can only assume is what went wrong with our car on that day. i'm also going to change the batteries aswell, be on the safe side,
i'm definately going to park in the same space where this has happened before, just to see if it happens again.

pubert

[Malin Dixon]

Quote: Originally Posted by pubert

Just dropped car off at dealers to get this key thing looked at, i asked the technician there
if it could possibly be a flat battery in the key, just out of interest, and he swears blind that the batteries are recharged when in the ignition, well i guess we'll find out, hopefully, whats wrong at 4pm. cheers for the help

pubert

The key on my wife's 2004 MOD is made by Valeo and is the same type as the ones on my Rover75. Have a look a the picture.

The battery is not recharged by the car. It is a standard watch battery, 2032, meaning 20mm diameter and 3.2mm thick.

The key consists of 3 separate elements, numbered in the picture.
1). There is the metal stick that lifts the tumblers and lets the mechanical part turn.

2) There is a transponder (in the lid that comes off when you open the key to change the battery). This is rfid (radio frequency identification) device made by Philips. This is read by a coil around the ignition key hole. The coil has to be close enough to induce enough power in the rfid device to make it operate. The same coil sends signals both ways as well as providing power for the rfid device.

3) There is a radio transmitter which only works when you press the lock or unlock buttons.

The last item is the most vunerable. It isn't waterproof, and the battery can run down. The car can't hear it if there is heavy interference.

However it is optional. If it doesn't work, put the key in the door lock, turn and the car opens. (like all the cars I have driven).

In the picture, there is also the emergency key, attatched to a yellow tag, that came with the car. It will let us run the car, but it has no remote, so to use it, put it in the keyhole in the door to lock and unlock. Also the instructions say not to use it too much. I think that the mechanical bit would wear too fast, being plastic.

I hope this explains what goes on better than the BMW mechanics can.