96’ 993’s locked me out
11-04-2018, 12:01 PM
#1
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96’ 993’s locked me out
Took my dad’s car (1996 993) out, parked it overnight after a storm intending to move the car in the garage the following morning. Go to do that today and the car seems to have locked me out. Not sure as to why. Key fob lights up, but the car won’t unlock. And he says manually unlocking the doors will disable the car. Unsure as to why this happened and what the solution may be. Might’ve rained over the night, but I can’t see how that would have caused this. Battery might’ve died, the car usually is trickle charging and hasn’t been used for a few weeks, though it ran fine over the day. Lights where turned off as well.
Any advice/solutions?
Any advice/solutions?
11-04-2018, 12:40 PM
#2
RL Community Team
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Rennlist Member
Took my dad’s car (1996 993) out, parked it overnight after a storm intending to move the car in the garage the following morning. Go to do that today and the car seems to have locked me out. Not sure as to why. Key fob lights up, but the car won’t unlock. And he says manually unlocking the doors will disable the car. Unsure as to why this happened and what the solution may be. Might’ve rained over the night, but I can’t see how that would have caused this.Battery might’ve died, the car usually is trickle charging and hasn’t been used for a few weeks, though it ran fine over the day. Lights where turned off as well.
Any advice/solutions?
Any advice/solutions?
Answer the above question in bold for both the car and the fob batteries, then a discussion of other faults can be initiated:
The car battery should be =>12.5 volts just after running the car. If it was sitting a long time where it reads ~12 Volts it may be depleted to the point where shutting down the immobilizer or unlocking the car with the fob to start it is a no-go. With the alternator running the system, the voltage needs to be at 13.5 volts or greater.
The fob battery can be dead even when the light on the fob illuminates. New fob batteries need to be verified as fresh and not old stock where the battery has degraded from sitting on the shelf too long.
Andy
11-04-2018, 12:58 PM
#3
Rennlist Member
I'm betting it's the fob battery. Try the following:
1. Open the fob battery compartment, remove the battery, carefully bend the metal spring in the fob so that you are sure there is good contact, put the fob back together (With correct battery orientation) and try it.
2. If #1 above doesn't work, get a new battery for the fob and see if that's the problem.
3. If #2 above doesn't work, get a crescent wrench or pliers or 11mm (I think) wrench. Put them at the front of the car. Then pop the plastic cap out of the door lock and open the door with the key. The alarm will sound. Reach in and open the front lid. Once inside the front compartment, rotate/remove the three round trunk liner retainers just under the front lip of the compartment, lift the trunk liner and use the wrench/pliers to disconnect the ground strap on the battery. That will stop the alarm and you can go about the usual checks (corrosion, loose connections, voltage/amps etc.). Just know that if you reconnect the battery, the alarm will start up again and you will need the fob to shut it off.
Finally, if you have to remove the battery from the car and leave the car, just close the front trunk and lock the doors with the key...No battery, no alarm, but the key will lock and unlock the doors.
Good luck.
1. Open the fob battery compartment, remove the battery, carefully bend the metal spring in the fob so that you are sure there is good contact, put the fob back together (With correct battery orientation) and try it.
2. If #1 above doesn't work, get a new battery for the fob and see if that's the problem.
3. If #2 above doesn't work, get a crescent wrench or pliers or 11mm (I think) wrench. Put them at the front of the car. Then pop the plastic cap out of the door lock and open the door with the key. The alarm will sound. Reach in and open the front lid. Once inside the front compartment, rotate/remove the three round trunk liner retainers just under the front lip of the compartment, lift the trunk liner and use the wrench/pliers to disconnect the ground strap on the battery. That will stop the alarm and you can go about the usual checks (corrosion, loose connections, voltage/amps etc.). Just know that if you reconnect the battery, the alarm will start up again and you will need the fob to shut it off.
Finally, if you have to remove the battery from the car and leave the car, just close the front trunk and lock the doors with the key...No battery, no alarm, but the key will lock and unlock the doors.
Good luck.
Last edited by TMc993; 11-04-2018 at 01:14 PM.
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BLT (03-16-2021)
11-04-2018, 06:59 PM
#4
A voltmeter is capable of testing both batteries for sufficient voltage.
In addition to gently bending the contacts in the fob, I would like to suggest a small dab of Dielectric grease on both contact points to prevent corrosion after cleaning them lightly with some 600 grit sandpaper. I have seen many times where the fob battery is capable of Illuminating the LED, but completely insufficient in transmitting to the door locks/immobilizer.
If the battery in the car is old and is living on the trickle charger, it might very well be less than adequate, when left sitting out overnight without the trickle charger. If this is the case, a new battery for the car is needed.
HTH
In addition to gently bending the contacts in the fob, I would like to suggest a small dab of Dielectric grease on both contact points to prevent corrosion after cleaning them lightly with some 600 grit sandpaper. I have seen many times where the fob battery is capable of Illuminating the LED, but completely insufficient in transmitting to the door locks/immobilizer.
If the battery in the car is old and is living on the trickle charger, it might very well be less than adequate, when left sitting out overnight without the trickle charger. If this is the case, a new battery for the car is needed.
HTH
