Has anyone elses 2002 GTS ever ignored their fob?

[jrkermode]

On 2 occasions my car has completely ignored inputs from the fob. No response whatsoever, to lock, unlock or both buttons pressed for 10 seconds. Both times the car was parked in bright sunshine in 60ish degree weather. The first time I got frustrated, popped the hatch, setting off the alarm, and reset the car. Everything worked fine after that (yes, using the same battery). The second time, yesterday, I simply walked away for a few minutes. When I returned, everything worked fine.

I originally thought it must be a weakening battery, but after each instance the fob worked fine from as far as 25 feet away.

Thoughts?

 

[motor602]

This happens to me sometimes on my 2001 RT. Whenever it happens i walk up to the car, push the door release once, the hit the key fob again and everything works normally again. try that, play around with the alarms head i guess

 

[Achilles99]

Question: Did this happen to you at the same location (ie, in your garage)? I had the EXACT same problem happen to me. I thought it was the battery. It turned out to be interference nearby. In my garage, I can open the Viper from 50+ feet. In some areas of town, I have to literally be next to the Viper (holding the fob near the driver side window). I did the same... opening up windows and disarming the alarm from inside the glove box (glad I watched the Viper video!).

I have verified this with my friend's GTS. His is affected by the same interference.

 

[Steve-Indy]

Hopefully "Ron" will jump in here with the science involved...but, Achilles is right...EMI is the problem. Several of our members have reported same with the Viper years ranging from 96 to 01...all were near TV towers or high voltage lines. While awaiting Ron's "fix", I tell folks to stand next to their Viper, with their back toward and such EMI source (tower, lines), holding key fob close to car's window, and try again. If one has tried several times (3 ??), resync fob and try again. SO FAR, this has allowed access to those in need.

 

[jrkermode]

Nice to know I'm not crazy.

My two experiences were months and miles apart. In each case I tried opening the door (wishful thinking), and tried using the fob near each of the windows (front, sides and back).

Could it be DC snuck in a Lucas component?

 

[Don]

This has happened to me also with my 01. I usually just have to move around a bit or get closer to the car. I assume it is interference with something nearby since it only happens inside my garage.

 

[KenH]

I have had this happen to me 3 times in my '01. It dawned on me the last time that each time it happened, I was parked in the same spot in a particular store parking lot. Finally occurred to me that it must be interference from some source, but never figured out what. I shop elsewhere now

--- Ken

 

[Ron]

Our GENII (and perhaps GENI) FOB's operate at 315 MHz. Unfortunately, many television station use frequencies near that area and they can easily overwhelm our systems.

Oddly, the radiation pattern off the transmission tower is shaped in a way that the greatest ground interference is not directly below, but some miles away from the tower. Consider this when you evaluate where you have FOB problems.

I have been working on a solution and in fact have a prototype, however need the weather to break before I can verify fix.

In the meantime, be happy that you have the alarm key override. 1996 ~ 97 GTS's do not and therefore have a bit of an issue if the alarm is set in an area of interference.