One of my fobs doesn't work..

[cjard]

hi guys

i picked up a galaxy advertised as having 2 keys. One key has been used extensively, the other one seems new/still had an identifying tag on from the first owners (lease co).

The battered fob works fine for everything, but the new fob gives me some trouble..

The buttons don't lock/unlock the car - the battery seems to have power (tongue test) but I'll try replacing it. I was wondering if there's a way to re-sync it with the car (like I could on my old BMW - the immobiliser/NFC chip circuit was separate to the radio circuit that unlocked the car, so while the key could start the car, it wouldn't remotely lock/unlock it unless a "turn the key to position 2, then 1, then 2, then 1, then 2 then hold the lock button for 10 seconds" type process was followed. Is there a similar one for the galaxy that I can try to get the buttons working?

The fob is unreliable at starting the car. Most of the time it says "no key detected", but I did succeed in getting a start by holding it near where the key would have been inserted (in the 90s). I've no idea if the transceiver ariel is around there - if it's elsewhere, where is it? I'd like to try holding the fob closer and see if it's more reliable.. On the occasions i've succeeded in using this fob to start the car I get frequent warnings like "key is outside the vehicle"; is there a fundamental problem with the fob that I can resolve?

[johnnyroper]

I would say change battery as it sounds like it is lacking the power to work properly.

[cjard]

Changing the battery hasn't made a difference, alas

[brianh]

It might be worth paying close attention to the battery contacts - making sure the spring bits actually have some springyness to them, and are clean. Not sure if its the case with the mk3, but the earlier ones had 2 batteries, 1 hides under a metal disc that sits between them and can easily be missed if you don't know its there.

It does sound like either a lack of power, or a bad connection to the batteries - outside the car suggests the signal is being detected, but at very low strength, which would indicate either the power is low, or the fob itself is faulty - unlikely to be faulty if its barely been used though.