Keys not wanting to interact with car - nothing happening
 

Made a search for this exact topic and did not see one, if there is please redirect me and i will close this one.

So my Key's sometimes go "dead" when i have not drove the Z in a day or so. i have had batteries in both replaced and this still happens. if i click the lock/unlock anywhere between 20-100 times it will finally click and it will unlock/flash the lights. has anyone else had this happened and found a solution? not a catastrophe, but very annoying!

I don't think it's unique to the Z. In my old Dodge I had a similar problem. Sometimes it would work from a mile away. Other times I could stand right next to the car and it wouldn't unlock. Wasn't battery related, not sure what caused it.

Hmm. this is the first vehicle i have owned with push button / smart keys, so i have nothing to compare with.

What happens when you just click the button on the door?

its dead too. when i remove the actual key from the fob and get in, it will start ONLY if the fob is in the fob spot to the left of the steering wheel. otherwise, does not work. once started if i remove the fob it beeps and says "key not detected"

Not to be captain obvious, but you do have to replace the batteries in those fobs from time to time.

:ugh2:

What battery are you buying/can you please check what's in your fob?

Or pull out the battery and just measure using a simple voltmeter. should be around 3v

Reboot the car.

i hate windows. :mad:

Maybe the antenna to the fob is not working correctly.

The antenna connection is somewhere under the center console by the cup holders.

Also have you had any type of audio work done recently?

otherwise its may just be bad batteries :shrug:

in my original post i say that i have replaced both recently, within the last week to be exact. thanks though captain obvious. i work at a dealership, checked the voltage and they are both fully charged, as far as the battery i just used OEM replacement nissan whatever they call for. i had audio work done about 4 months ago, and have only had this problem pop up in the last couple of weeks.

i will give the reboot a try later this evening. having more audio work done in about a week so i am going to try and resolve this before that date.

If resetting the ECM/BCM doesn't fix things then I'd check the antennae. There are several in the car (FSM will have physical locations) and at least one in the fob.

The fact that you had some sound system work done a while back makes me think the console antenna would be a great place to start.

My mom can burn through a fob battery in like 3 days, no need to get an attitude. I killed one in a week because every time I sat at work a button was pressed

If you work at a dealer, why not have them fix it?

Also, you should still check the battery, make sure it's a 2032

Great idea

no attitude, i just would not have posted asking for help if i hadn't exhausted what i thought to be all my options. i have been running back and checking the voltage every time this happens and it says full charge. I do have a bass knob wired right on top of where the antenna goes, so i will have my audio guys look into that. i work at a subie dealer, so not a whole lot in the way of 370z expertise back there.

Sorry I read it wrong then :tiphat:

And I suggest looking at the battery because 2016 and 2032 have the same volts, BUT, 2016 is half the thickness, so less amps.



That said, and you saying that there's something installed where your antenna is... That's for sure your problem.

Trips to the rescue

The room antenna is actually screwed to the underside of the center console pocket assembly. I have an extra one if the OP needs it. Free + shipping.

Here's a small tip..... When ever you are out having at car meets, shows, coffee with friends etc.... when you're hanging around your Z with the doors unlocked, the Z is constantly searching for the fob. If you lock your Z, it will stop the signal to search for the fob, Hence save the battery life.:driving:

i usually keep it locked at all my meets. between my CC and my stereo i like it locked :D
thank you guys for all the help, i really do appreciate this forum alot man you guys help me alot more than i post about i am on here constantly. Jar blue thank you very much i will get with you if that ends up being the problem.

Is there any chance that some new radio transmitter has started operating in the vicinity where you keep the car? Radio station, TV station, amateur radio operator, etc? There is a place in San Diego, Soledad Mountain, where many people go to view the city from high up and also to see the huge cross on the site. When they are leaving the parking lot, the signal for their fob to unlock the doors and disarm the alarm system gets swamped by the TV transmitting antennas very close by. When the owners use the key to open the doors the alarms go off and they can't shut off the alarm until they start the car with key. It's a real riot hearing so many alarms going off all day long. Here is a link to a story in a San Diego freebie newspaper that touches on this subject:

http://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=AwrBT...AmDadpc2QClAY-

I had the same problem and figured out what it was (in my case anyway). Break open the key fob, like you are going to replace the battery. Now look at the back side of the fob (where the battery sits). The positive connection point, which is that band that sits next to the battery and then turns into two small wings that stick up and ultimately connect with the circuit board when the fob is in one piece; well the wings on mine were not making a good connection to the board, mainly due to metal fatigue causing them to bend down over time.

I actually took that whole band/connector out, and then used a small pair of needle nose pliers to bend the wings back so that the stick out higher than they were. Put everything back together, and the key fob worked fine. If that wasn't it, check the 4 small wings that are attached to the circuit board for the negative connection to the battery, you may need to do those as well.

Good idea :tup:

Also, check that the contact points are clean. They can often easily be cleaned with a pencil eraser.

is the car outside or garaged? its like 10 degrees where your at.

The Z is mainly in the garage, i don't even drive it in the rain. i have an 01 forester with 250k miles i daily :D. drakonis thank you, i will check that a little later today, been cold and snowy so haven't done anything towards resolving this in the last few days- am off tomorrow and weather should warm up so i can fuss with it a little more.

So I've never touched audio in my car and have replaced the battery twice in 8 months...and even now i have the same problem as the OP. Sometimes it will work from yards away and others it wont even catch it against the window. I doubt were the only ones with this issue.

not sure.. maybe your RF antenna inside your center console finally gave out from said audio work 4 months ago. :ugh:

or a mouse ate the harness :ugh2:

do you have any documentation to prove this is whats happening? this means just leaving my car unlocked in my garage is wasting battery life. Why do you believe this? Not trolling just looking for reality as opposed to hearsay.

my car is always unlocked in my garage.

my G's fob battery lasted 8yrs
my Z's fob battery lasted 5yrs

I am interested as well. I don't see any reason why the batteries would die sooner with the car unlocked vs locked. The fob is always broadcasting, and the car is always looking for a fob.

wat mr. jar said.

have not had a chance to check this lately, on top of that the problem has not replicated itself since i posted. i will keep you guys posted on what the fix ends up being, im sure someone has said it here. thanks again for all the help!

Place the keyfob inside the fobgina when you drive, this charges the battery {JK}

Wrong.

{sigh}:inoutroflpuke::inoutroflpuke:

Sorry man, just noticed the "Just Kidding".

BUMP
i have rebooted the car, had my local Nissan dealership spend 4 hours looking for the problem, checking antennas ETC, had my audio system triple check their work as well to ensure there is not interference where that is concerned. the keys are now utterly useless, i have not gotten a response from either key in a month. i don't even attempt to use them now. Its slightly frustrating, owning a $25k sports car and the damn keys don't work. I wish it had just a normal fob and original key.