HELP....central lock trouble

[Swedishmoose]

Hi guys...

well I tried to find a suitable answer through the search function but it wasn't really satisfying.

Maybe someone in here can help out.


It is a Ford Falcon Futura 4.0 (4spd auto) sedan....


My settings for the remote are as following.

press unlock once = driver door opens
press unlock twice = all doors open
press lock= all four doors lock

My habit is, that I allways press the lock button twice until the horn goes off...its just a habit.

However, this morning I got out off the car , locked it and that was it. After that I couldn't open the car, the boot, activate the panic button. Basically the remote was dead although that little read light was flashing everytime I pressed any button.

I can unlock the car manually though.

I have no clue how to figure out if the problem is on the sending side (the remote ) or the receiving side (body control modul).

The battery of the remote seems to be ok...although more than 2 years old...otherwise the red little light wouldn"t flash when a button is pressed.


Does anyone have an idea ? It happened so sudden...pressed the button and after that the cehntral lock didn't respond anymore to any button.


Thanks for any idea


cheers

The Moose

[JC]

Open the car using the key, and try reprogramming the remote to the car.

1. Sit in the car with the doors closed

2. Turn the ignition to the ACC position and press the rear demist button 3 times, within 5 seconds.

3. You then press a button on the first remote to be trained, the door locks will cycle.

4. Then press a button on the 2nd to be trained and the door locks will cycle again.

5. Repeat this step for the rest of the remotes to be trained to the car.

Note: The first keypad trained will result in one door lock cycle, the second should result in 2 door lock cycles, and so on. There is a limit of 8 remotes per car.

6. Turn the ignition to the OFF position to exit the learning mode.

Done - Your remotes are now programmed to your car.

As to why the car would have "forgotten" your remote: who knows, but the ECU & BEM is a computer, and we all know they lose the plot from time to time. If this happens regularly, check the ECU and BEM for water ingress and rust causing short circuits - one or both may need replacing.

[Swedishmoose]

Hi JC,


thanks for your reply....


I know where the BCM (or BEM) Module sits...it is behind my left knee (behind the dashboard).

I am not exactly familiar with the position of the ECU.


Do you have a clue how common it is that either the BEM or ECU stuff up?


Thanks again

The Moose

[Swedishmoose]

JC.........



I forgot to ask....


after pressing the demister button three times can I press ANY button on the remote before the learning cycle starts or does it have to be a particular?


Thanks again

The Moose

[FGII-XR6]

just a few things to add between 2 and 3 the door locks will cycle if it has entered programing mode and before turning ignition off turn it from accessories to ingnition on and the locks will cycle again indication sucsessful programing

if 15 seconds pass with no keypad activity the car will exit programing mode


even if the red light works there may not be enough power for ate radio signal to work so replace the battery it is just a button cell ( the same as the one on a computer motherboard)

[Swedishmoose]

Hi AU3XR6,


thank you for your input..

JC forgot to add what button on the keypad to press after the demist button was pressed..

can I pick one ?


or does it have to be a particular one (lets say the unlock buton).

Cheers

The Moose

[FGII-XR6]

any button is fine

[Swedishmoose]

Hi there...


well, as it turned out the car has lost the plot.

For some reason the BEM forgot the remote and had to learn again.

That was it....

It works again.

I am just curious how that can happen so suddenly. It has never done that before.....I hope it was a 'one of'


Cheers

The Moose

[FGII-XR6]

never heard of that happening before so hopefuly just a one off

[Bushbasher]

....and I thought it was just mine. My Fairlane has forgotten it's code twice now but I'm not sure it's the BEM because only 1 of the 2 remotes didn't work. When one of mine stopped working one day but was still flashing when I pushed a button, I went and got the other one and opened the car with that. I reprogrammed the remotes again and it did the same thing again about a week later. Same procedure, same remote. I reprogrammed and it's been fine since. So my guess would be look at the remote first or just change it for another one and see if it happens again.


Bushbasher

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by Swedishmoose

I am just curious how that can happen so suddenly. It has never done that before.....

Microsoft had a hand in the design ?

[FGII-XR6]

if that was true the car would cut out and the lcd in the car would "blue screen" a few times a day

Originally Posted by GasOLane

Microsoft had a hand in the design ?

[mik]

my remote played up in a similar fashion for a while until even the light stopped working, i guessed it was the battery as it had been in for 5/6 years that i know of, i carefully replaced the battery after reading posts on problems after fitting them,
it stopped working a little while down the track , when i pulled it apart the battery and its holder fell out, the battery holder has 4 legs or pins that are (should be )soldered into the circuit board, my young brother said he could solder it in if i bought a fine drill to clean the holes out, i don`t think i`ll bother, 10 years is a good service for a hard working item like this, perhaps pull the lid off your remote and check the battery holder.

[Swedishmoose]

hi guys...

thanks for all the replies...


well i simply had to re-train the key pad and it has been fine since that.

The battery holder of my pad is also ripped out of the circuit board. I just shoved it back in and put a piece of rubber that I stuck on top of the battery. It holds the battery and its holder firmly in place once you close the key pad again.

I don't have a very ine soldering iron to put it back in correctly and with a big one you can do more damage to the sensitive little components of the board.

Thanks again for all the replies...



The Moose

[Skeg37]

I have a smilar problem with my 98 AU XR6. I have done the retraining thing and it worked for a short time however when I press the unlock button the door lock cycles up and down 3 times. Any advice on this one?

[smally289]

Originally Posted by Skeg37

I have a smilar problem with my 98 AU XR6. I have done the retraining thing and it worked for a short time however when I press the unlock button the door lock cycles up and down 3 times. Any advice on this one?

Replaced the LHF actuator recently?

[Skeg37]

No, I retrained it and it seems to work again see how long it goes for.