[aeroman10]

I just noticed a problem where both of my keyfobs no longer work to lock / unlock / or remote start the car unless I am almost right next to it. I used to be able to do this at a much longer distance. Batteries in the key fobs are fine.
Any ideas what may have happened or what to check?

2011 Charger

 

[Mopar11#09]

Replace the battery in key fob same thing with my mopar 11 replaced battery and problem solved


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

 

[aeroman10]

It's not the batteries. I narrowed down the issue...it only occurs in my driveway at the house. Everywhere else the keys work fine to lock, unlock and remote start at long distance.

I have no clue what is going on. It worked fine at my house before.
Only thing we changed at the house near the driveway recently is installed a new outdoor light and hard wired security cams. I turned them all off and it didn't make a difference.

It has to be some sort of interference but another weird thing is that it only affects my car. My wives Nissan is unaffected.

Anyone seen anything like this?

 

[Ddaddy]

It's not the batteries. I narrowed down the issue...it only occurs in my driveway at the house. Everywhere else the keys work fine to lock, unlock and remote start at long distance.

I have no clue what is going on. It worked fine at my house before.
Only thing we changed at the house near the driveway recently is installed a new outdoor light and hard wired security cams. I turned them all off and it didn't make a difference.

It has to be some sort of interference but another weird thing is that it only affects my car. My wives Nissan is unaffected.

Anyone seen anything like this?

You may nave some local radio interference like a new cell phone tower, emergency services radio repeater or even aircraft guidance systems that are now stepping on the frequency used by your fobs.

I had an incident here about a year ago where neither my remote key or my wife's Caravan remote key would work in our neighborhood but they still worked everywhere else. Fortunately, it only lasted a few days.

If you try checking it at various distances from your home you will probably find the boundaries of the area of interference and might even spot the source of the interference as it will get worse as you get closer to it.

 

[Ddaddy]

Here is another little known trick to extend the range of your remote key fob...

Hold the fob against the side of your head when pressing the button. You will increase the range by up to twice as far.

This is because the human head acts as a natural radio signal amplifier due to the cranium shape and being filled with a salt water soaked mass (your brain).

Try it, it really works.

It's also important to press and hold the button for a few seconds the further away from the vehicle you are in order for the signal to be of sufficient duration to cut through any interference. Sometimes, the further away you are the longer you need to hold the button for the signal to get through.

 

[aeroman10]

This is nuts. I moved the car back 10-15 feet - remote works fine.
Moved it to the other side of the driveway - works fine.
Put it back where it usually is - doesn't work

Does someone have a microwave beam or something pointed at that exact spot?

I can't pinpoint the exact start date of the issue but it may have been last weekend. There were some strong storms here and the power went out for about 4 hours...I first noticed this a few days after that. Not sure if there is any connection.

 

[Ddaddy]

This is nuts. I moved the car back 10-15 feet - remote works fine.
Moved it to the other side of the driveway - works fine.
Put it back where it usually is - doesn't work

Does someone have a microwave beam or something pointed at that exact spot?

I can't pinpoint the exact start date of the issue but it may have been last weekend. There were some strong storms here and the power went out for about 4 hours...I first noticed this a few days after that. Not sure if there is any connection.

Radio waves are like beams and can converge on specific spots. No surprise at all that one side of the driveway has different interference than the other. It really isn't different than sunlight hitting one side of the driveway but not the other.

 

[aeroman10]

I guess I am screwed because I have no idea where the interference maybe coming from. I can only hope that whatever is causing this gets turned off soon

 

[DodgeCares]

Hi aeroman10,

The key fob may work intermittently when it’s in close proximity to cell phones, GPS devices, phone chargers, etc. When you are testing this, are you sure that it is not placed near any type of device like this?

 

[aeroman10]

Hi aeroman10,

The key fob may work intermittently when it’s in close proximity to cell phones, GPS devices, phone chargers, etc. When you are testing this, are you sure that it is not placed near any type of device like this?

The keyfobs are fine. They are not around anything that will cause them not to work. It's just the dead spot which developed in my driveway. If I move my car to the left 2 feet the remotes work fine. If I move it back 7 feet they work fine...but in one particular spot where I normally park they refuse to work and this just started recently.

What frequency do the remotes and the receiver use? What other devices are known to use the same frequency?

It must be a certain frequency because when I put my wives car in the same spot with the issue (Nissan) her remotes work just fine.

 

[aeroman10]

Mystery solved.
I was out in the backyard and noticed that the wireless weather transmitter that we had mounted on the fence was lit up solid red...usually the light is off and only blinks once in a while. So I turned it off and back on. My car remote works fine now.

 

[KStryker]

Mystery solved.
I was out in the backyard and noticed that the wireless weather transmitter that we had mounted on the fence was lit up solid red...usually the light is off and only blinks once in a while. So I turned it off and back on. My car remote works fine now.

Awesome...just like DD said!

 

[DodgeCares]

Mystery solved.
I was out in the backyard and noticed that the wireless weather transmitter that we had mounted on the fence was lit up solid red...usually the light is off and only blinks once in a while. So I turned it off and back on. My car remote works fine now.

Nice! Thanks for posting your resolution!