[owc6]

The easy solution is to have the two fobs reinstalled as fob 3 and 4. My wife washed and dried a fob. Rather than program the new one back into the fob 1 position, it was easier to make the new one fob 3. I believe there are 8 fobs that can be installed.

That was Chevy's solution.

fltsfshr

Fobs do not spontaneously un-program themselves; it takes very specific steps, which take a half-hour, to make a known fob unrecognizable. Adding a new fob is a simple matter, but not applicable in this case. If the fob works in the slot, it is programmed; it will work with a low/dead battery, or even with no battery installed in fob. Trying to reprogram the existing fobs will only muddy the waters, making getting to the bottom of the problem more difficult.

There are usually only a few reasons why a fob may not be recognized: A low fob battery, low car battery, interference, or a combo of two or more of those things.

 

[Boomer]

Its probably asking too much but I wish there was a way to measure the battery strength in our fobs.

 

[jsvette]

Its probably asking too much but I wish there was a way to measure the battery strength in our fobs.

I did measure the "new" Sony batteries, after removing them as well for ones still in the package, and found that while the reading in the first few seconds was fine, it quickly fell off.

 

[Boomer]

I did measure the "new" Sony batteries, after removing them as well for ones still in the package, and found that while the reading in the first few seconds was fine, it quickly fell off.

How'd you do that?

 

[jsvette]

How'd you do that?

A combination of first, a simple Battery Meter which has a 'dummy' scale reading RE-place or change, Low, Good and then followed with my multi-meter. The simple meter showed it first as Good and then in moments, slide into RE-place or change.

 

[rdslon01]

My wife insists on using Duracell batteries as she read some consumer info that indicated they last the longest. I also note they are the most expensive 2032 battery at the store. Since you generally get what you pay for maybe they are better. I noted the battery that came out of the fob was a Panasonic. I didn't even know they made batteries.

Jeff: I assume the 2032 batteries you used to replace were new and haven't been sitting around for a long time.

Take it from a guy who used to be a kid who enjoyed playing with toys which required batteries: all else being equal except the brand, nothing will beat the life of a Duracell battery.

Energizers are good, and I will happily use them, but still... Duracell.

Oh, Boomer, also kudos go out to you for hitting the nail on the head that Jeff's replacement batteries had also gone dead. That was a good call.

Jeff, I am glad it is all resolved now and you are again good to go.

 

[Boomer]

A combination of first, a simple Battery Meter which has a 'dummy' scale reading RE-place or change, Low, Good and then followed with my multi-meter. The simple meter showed it first as Good and then in moments, slide into RE-place or change.

OK but I want to do it when the battery is installed in the closed fob. I want to hit the door lock button on the fob and an indicator in the DIC tells me the strength of the fob battery kinda like the oil life monitor. Asking too much? Probably.

 

[Boomer]

Oh, Boomer, also kudos go out to you for hitting the nail on the head that Jeff's replacement batteries had also gone dead. That was a good call.

Wow. Thanks Rodney. It helped that I'd just gone thru a similar experience. Its the magic of SRF that allows these exchanges. owc6 seems to be the expert in this area.

Wish there was an easy way to know your fob battery strength at any point in time.

 

[owc6]

Unfortunately, there is no way to test battery strength with the fob intact and the battery inside, because no circuitry touches the exterior of the fob case.

There is a message possible on the DIC that the RKE has a low battery. Never heard of anyone getting this on a C7, and I didn't get it when mine started failing.

 

[jsvette]

Unfortunately, there is no way to test battery strength with the fob intact and the battery inside, because no circuitry touches the exterior of the fob case.

There is a message possible on the DIC that the RKE has a low battery. Never heard of anyone getting this on a C7, and I didn't get it when mine started failing.

Similarly, have never seen that message on either RedHot or my XTS (almost identical FOBs). Only have seen the "No Fob Detected" which might be a good indicator of FOB battery strength. Since you can get that message even after being able to unlock the C7 via proximity as well as start the car.

 

[Boomer]

Similarly, have never seen that message on either RedHot or my XTS (almost identical FOBs). Only have seen the "No Fob Detected" which might be a good indicator of FOB battery strength. Since you can get that message even after being able to unlock the C7 via proximity as well as start the car.

Same here and I was going to post this also. Didn't see any "low battery" message for the RKE for either one of our C7 fobs nor for the XTXvsport fob all of which obviously had some period of "lowness" before they became "inoperative". First indication there was a problem with the XTS fob was when my wife found herself locked out of the car after a tennis match similar to what happened to you with your C7. She had driven the car daily and that morning to the tennis center with no indication there was a fob issue.

Here is what the manual says about this in section 5-35:

REPLACE BATTERY IN
REMOTE KEY
This message displays when the
battery in the RKE transmitter needs
to be replaced.


Sounds like there may be is an issue with this. Wonder if GM has any clarification on why this message doesn't appear when the key fob battery needs to be replaced.

 

[owc6]

FWIW, the C6 has a similar message available (LOW FOB BATTERY), and again, I've never gotten it.

The C7 is certainly sophisticated enough to determine battery signal strength, so it's anybody's guess as to why the message isn't appearing. Funny, considering I get a message on the DIC when my phone battery is low.

 

[Boomer]

Anything we can or should do about this? With our XTSvsport my wife was stranded in a parking lot although she has since learned the emergency procedure for getting in the car when this happens.

 

[owc6]

IMO, it's really not that big a deal.

When it happens, open the trunk, pull the door lever tab on left wheel well, insert fob in steering column slot (buttons up, key end to the left), drive to Walmart, buy new battery, repeat to go home, and change the battery there. I would not recommend changing the battery on the go; there are many loose parts, that are apt to spring apart.

 

[Boomer]

Now that the 14s are in the three year period where the fob battery is likely to go weak, these issues will become more common. Folks need to make sure they are familiar with the process of gaining entry cause they most likely won't have access to the instructions in the manual when they find themselves locked out.

 

[Mobius]

There was that story not so long ago about the guy who dies in his car, apparently because he didn't know how to get out after the battery died.

Here's the story: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/.../texas-man-dog-die-trapped-corvette/71053474/

 

[owc6]

You bring up a good point, Boomer. It's also a good idea to download a pdf of the Owner's Manual onto your phone. You never know when it might come in handy, and having it downloaded makes it available even if you have no signal.

Mobius brings up a better point. I always make sure a passenger is told about the floor levers to escape the car. I might not be in a shape to tell them after an accident.

 

[jsvette]

Now that the 14s are in the three year period where the fob battery goes weak, these issues will become more common. Folks need to make sure they are familiar with the process of gaining entry cause they most likely won't have access to the instructions in the manual when they find themselves locked out.

Good advice Boomer. Should also consider the alternative temporary solution of downloading the OnStar app (even if you do not have an active OnStar subscription) will allow you easier access to unlocking our C7s (ie: don't have to pull the manual key from the FOB, open the trunk, set off the alarm, pull the door release wire). I believe all of us got 5 years free use of the OnStar app to replicate the FOB functions. All you then have to do is press the unlock on the app and you are in. Note, if you don't have the app, I suggest you get it now, set up your password etc., so that it is ready to use when you need it.

 

[kgrant (Kyle)]

My buddy has a 2015 Z06 in which he had his battery tender on over the winter. However, he went to start it and it would not start or could not jump it either so he removed and took it to O'Reilly's and they said the battery was toast and cells dead.


He couldn't get it to dealer because it wouldn't start and would need to be towed. He figure it is covered on warranty but the dealer said first he would need to bring car to dealer and they would have to run test for a few hours to determine next steps. Well he didn't want to have his side skirts damaged on a tow, so he went to dealer and bought a battery to drive the car to dealer with old ruined battery.


After installing new battery, he is excited and grab key fob and it doesn't work, he does the manual latch pull to even open door but could not start car and only the window would work and they only work sporadically. It seems that the with these cars being one big computer that lost all power, all the programming with the fob and engine start etc has been erased.


Sorry for the long note but I wanted to clearly explain what was going on and looking for recommendations or will the car need to be towed to the dealer and be reprogrammed?

 

[jsvette]

My buddy has a 2015 Z06 in which he had his battery tender on over the winter. However, he went to start it and it would not start or could not jump it either so he removed and took it to O'Reilly's and they said the battery was toast and cells dead.


He couldn't get it to dealer because it wouldn't start and would need to be towed. He figure it is covered on warranty but the dealer said first he would need to bring car to dealer and they would have to run test for a few hours to determine next steps. Well he didn't want to have his side skirts damaged on a tow, so he went to dealer and bought a battery to drive the car to dealer with old ruined battery.


After installing new battery, he is excited and grab key fob and it doesn't work, he does the manual latch pull to even open door but could not start car and only the window would work and they only work sporadically. It seems that the with these cars being one big computer that lost all power, all the programming with the fob and engine start etc has been erased.


Sorry for the long note but I wanted to clearly explain what was going on and looking for recommendations or will the car need to be towed to the dealer and be reprogrammed?

Was it a battery maintainer similar to the OEM version or CTEK version? Remote possibility it was a defective unit or not a float and computer based charge/maintain unit, resulting in frying one or more fuses, circuits, or... I seem to recall some of our members actually removing the battery from their C7s over long storage, and not having any similar issues once they reinstalled their fully charged battery.