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Remote Keyless Entry Battery Replacement and Programming

131K views 31 replies 27 participants last post by  HeartHorse 
#1 ·
I recently had the battery in my one and only keyless entry remote die and didn't replace it for about a week. When I did pop in a new battery I found that the remote didn't work anymore and I figured it got fried (one of the guides included with my car said touching the circuit board could damage it).

So, I headed to the dealership from where I bought my car and asked for a replacement remote since they only gave me one when I bought the car. They happily agreed to give me a brand new free one after some prodding and I was thrilled with that. While the technician was programming the new remote he tried out my old one and got it working too! He said it lost its programming.

So, my question to all of you folks out there. Do our remotes always lose their programming after a battery dies? Or is mine unique since it's got the remote start feature?

Also, when I was forced to use the key to unlock the car I always set off the alarm upon opening the door. I tried both passive security and RKE security but neither did the trick. Am I missing something or are our cars just tough on security?
 
#2 ·
The remote that came w/ my 06 GT (purchased last week) didn't work at all. After thinking about it, I suspect the remotes are NOT "re-programmed", they are what they are from the factory. But the receiver in the vehicle is "re-programmed" to your remote.
I took the car and remote to a buddy that works @ a Buick shop. He hooked-up the diag computer and reprogrammed the vehicle in a couple of minutes.
 
#3 ·
no i think they are all like that... about a month ago my did the samething and they are really delicate.... i changed my battery and the clip that holds the battery broke off.... but thank god i have a friend that works for a gm garage and he gave me 6 key fobs and programmed all of them to my car so i dont have to worry about those anymore
plus i think the g6s have a delay lock operation so you dont have to hold down the button for a short period of time
 
#4 ·
If your car is under warranty the dealer will replace the battery. Yes it is covered under the warranty. I was suprised. My remote would work intermittantly. so I figured it was the battery, I popped it opened and the battery clip was no longer soldiered to the circuit board. If this is happening to alot of people then it is a bad part. If the clip is soldiered correctly there is no way it should come loss. Anyway my dealer tried to tell me since I open it, GM may not cover it.
 
#5 ·
Or you can do what I did and buy $6 electronic sodder/weld and a soddering iron for $15 bucks.

I didn't feel like blowing $30 per key fob on ebay(need 2), and both of mine busted at the same time(yay poor quality). Basically the battery retention clip breaks off the PCB(circuit board).

I weighed the clip down so it sits flush and is in the weld hole where it is supposed to be, heated up the weld/sodder and used a pick to push the sodder over the broken area and voila fixed!. Both my key fobs work now and I saved myself lots of money. Took 10 minutes and it was my first time doing it too.
 
#7 ·
FYI,
The remote stopped working but ONLY to "unlock" the doors.
I took the fob apart, cleaned the circuit board fingers and lightly cleaned the switch membrane with a cotton swab, it started working again.
And as with everyone else, the battery clip was starting to break loose. A solder iron and and solder took care of that.
 
#8 ·
Just wanted to pop in and give my thanks. My remote entry and remote start were working intermittently for the past few months. Thinking it was the battery I replaced the battery and still had the problem, cleaned the contacts and still had the problem. Then I found this thread, checked the soldered contacts and sure enough both of them were quite loose. Re-soldered and all is well!! Thanks guys!!!!
 
#10 ·
All True...

I work for a dealer, (not GM), and all of this works.
*I've seen batteries die, and the car loses programming for some reason, it seems to be if it has been dead a while. I never put a lot of thought to it until now, I wonder if it's a rolling code type of thing? But yeah, the car is programmed, not the remote. Typically, to add a remote, you need to have both present, because the car gets wiped, and we are basically telling it to only listen to the remotes it 'hears' in the next session.
*Batteries - I always make sure the customer is present when replacing batteries. You only make that mistake once. When you carefully open a remote, you have them watch, closely, so if anything is loose in there, it isn't my fault.
*Cleaning the internals. If we put in a battery, and it has a button problem, and they are game, i will tear one down and clean the boards and contacts with rubbing alcohol and q-tips. Works nearly every time. I had a dead one from a Jaguar -it got washed- and it was all stained and nasty and dead. After about 30 minutes of cleaning, it was good to go!
*Batteries, - just pop it open and buy something with a name you have heard before.
 
#11 · (Edited)
I wish, I had found this thread sooner. My original fob now works after following the advice that was given.

Of course this is after I ended up buying new ones for my car (one as a spare) for my car for around $100, from keyless-remotes.com. They work great and were the cheapest price I could find that wasn't on ebay.

If only I saw this information a little sooner, since they have a 30 day money back return policy which I just missed by two weeks
 
#12 ·
keyless entry/remote start

I have a factory installed keyless entry/remote start in my 05 g6. a few months ago the key fob stopped unlocking the doors or use the remote start but would pop the trunk . finally it completely gave out. the dealership tried to reprogram with no success...$150 later i had a new working key fob. three weeks later and a freak october snow storm my key fob was dead again. the dealership wont cover the fob under warranty (even though it was less than a month old) because i didnt save my receipt. finally after raising a stink in the dealership they offered to run a diagnostic test on my car for $110 and said if they find that the keyless entry module is defective theyll refund my $150 for the key fob. Well im not paying 110 dollars to get back 150 dollars...but has anyone else had this problem...or not how i can find out what isnt working. its getting colder faster and longer now and i hate having to sit in my car for ten minutes defrosting windows...or setting off the alarm just to get in my own car.

any suggesstions as to what i can do without having to pay another arm and a leg for this car?:mad::mad::mad:
 
#17 ·
I have tried the link to reprogram my remote that one of the other members listed
http://www.ehow.com/how_5032885_program-keyless-entry-pontiac-g6.html
and it worked for reprogramming everything that had gone wrong except the door un-locking. which is the original problem I had before the locking stopped working.
You might want to give it a try, relatively simple and seems to work.
Keep me posted! :)
 
#19 ·
I have checked a couple videos a couple days ago and found out these key fob's suck. Here is a break down of what you can do to fix issues with your key fod.

If a couple of your buttons aren't working but some are try this.
1. cleaning the contacts with a #2 pencil eraser.
2. You can also grab a cotton swab and use rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide.
3. while you clean the contacts you should also clean the part where the button it's self touches the contact.

If your clip for the battery has broken off and you don't have a solder. You can do what i did and just put a piece of tape on the inside of the case so that the batter is pushed up against the circuit board and it wont move(slightly half @55 but it works lol)

If it still doesn't work take a small piece of tinfoil and put it on the button where it touches the contact.

If none of the buttons are working you can test and see if the key fob is sending out a signal by putting it next a portable AM radio. It should mess with the frequency if it is working (push down the buttons next to radio to see if it works). You will then need to reprogram your car to sync with the key fob if it is working.

If none of this works best bet is to try our dealer ship or buy some new one's only.

I hope this helped. Sorry im not good at short answers lol.
 
#20 ·
Hello Everyone!
On this thread, I had issues with unlocking and locking the doors, trunk and the key-less starter.
So, reading the information here, I took both of my remotes apart for inspection.
The 2 outside side contacts were only tacked on and the solder joint was cracked off the contacts. The contacts are a different type of metal than the PCB solder joint, so solder does not flow smoothly on the battery contacts, it takes a little more heat on them for solder to flow on the battery contacts.
I re-soldered the battery contacts and when doing so, I pushed the the contact close to the PCB as possible and allowing the solder to cool naturally, (about 2 minutes).
Checked the voltage of the battery and 3.189 Vdc looked good to me. Reassembled the remote and everything worked GREAT!!
Thanks for the G6 forum, this is perfect.
 
#21 ·
Where is Tina the GM Customer Service Specialist?

These key fobs are turds, sloppy soldering, failed quality assurance or intentionally sourced cheap junk. Both of mine failed within 14 months of buying my G6. The dealer wanted over $40 each for new ones plus whatever $$ to rerprogram. Another
moment here...

Would it be a shock if I told you I'm locking and unlocking my door manually now?:eek:


BTW, my 2001 F150 came with 2 remotes. Both work. Neither have been opened for a new battery. I know this because I bought the truck new. And the best part is, they both work. 199,465 miles...
 
#22 ·
Thank you all for bringing the Remote Keyless Entry Battery Replacement and Programming issue to my attention. I have sent all of your concerns to my Internal Resources. This may take some time for me to hear back. When I get information I will let all of you know on the thread.

Thank you,

Tina
GM Customer Service
 
#23 ·
the battery replacment or programming isnt really the problem....The two most common problems we have are that the soldering on the bracket holding the battery is done very poorly and always breaks, and the back of the button pads where they come in contact with the circuit board wear down really fast, so everyone has to buy relacment pads.
 
#25 ·
Another question on this thread - the horn button my 4 butt on remote works but the lock, unlock & trunk open buttons do not. I've tried cleaning the contacts and where the buttons come into contact but it is still not working. My assumption is that the car doesn't need to be reprogrammed if the horn button still works. Anyone else had any success without going to the dealer?
 
#29 ·
Doggone it, mine kinda worked but it had cracked and fell apart, so I STUPIDLY threw it away, so I don't have the serial #. Anyplace else I can find the serial number, or should I just buy 2 new ones and get them programmed somehow?

I bought my 2006 G6 from Enterprise Car Sales and only got one fob.
 
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