Unlocking Problem-Vantage 4.7

[Gio1210]

Second problem in a week...

I've parked outside a restaurant for about an hour, then tried to unlock using the fob and nothing. Several attempts and still nothing. Emergency key nowhere to be found.

Recovery truck arrives only to advise that he can't load the car.

After about 3 hours and the 211th attempt of pushing the unlock button it decides to unlock!!!!

Engine starts normally, everything seems normal apart from my blood pressure!!!!!!!!

No 'low battery' warning and once i got home i plugged the battery conditioner which showed half battery.


Any ideas on what it might be?

Thanks

[BingoBob]

Could be the battery in the fob on its last legs. Maybe you just had enough juice to open the car.

[Gio1210]

Nope, was trying to unlock the car using 3 different fobs

[brakedwell]

Radio interference from transmitting masts for police/ambulance etc has been known to block key fob signals.

[Gio1210]

Aware of that, however it's unlikely that the interference will continue for 3 hours and especially with a distance of less than a metre from the car.

[BingoBob]

Is everything OK now?

My friend's house is right in front of some kind of underground telecoms junction box. When I park my car near it, the fob doesn't work very well. I have to be right next to the car for it to work. Normally it works at 20m+.

[Gio1210]

Everything is fine now, however i have to get the emergency key. Very strange, so many hours just because of some telecom interference.

The car is still connected to the battery conditioner and the half battery light is on from last night.

Any further suggestions on what to look for?

Edited by Gio1210 on Saturday 16th June 18:40

[Gio1210]

Also, does the dealership need the actual car to do an emergency key and how much does it cost?

[BingoBob]

The "half battery" just means that it's charging, not full. So if you battery was almost depleted, this is what would have been lit. It can take 20 hours to fully charge your battery with the conditioner.

[Gio1210]

Just an update... After about a day or so , the conditioner showed a full battery. I've unplugged it and drove the car for about an hour. Then plugged it back on and again showed a half battery light.
To my understanding, every time the car is driven the battery is getting charged so the 'full' status should have remained.

Is that right?

[Jockman]

Gio1210 said:

Just an update... After about a day or so , the conditioner showed a full battery. I've unplugged it and drove the car for about an hour. Then plugged it back on and again showed a half battery light.
To my understanding, every time the car is driven the battery is getting charged so the 'full' status should have remained.

Is that right?

35 miles should be sufficient for a full charge Gio. Your conditioner should really only be on 'pulse' at the moment, ie keeping it topped up over 95%.

May need further investigation matey

[BingoBob]

The way the CTEK charger works is that it charges the battery to full first - when it is doing this it displays the "half battery" light that you refer to.

When it is full, it displays the full battery light. *BUT* it doesn't maintain the battery at full. It drains it a bit and charges it again in a continuous cycle, so if you stand looking at it long enough, you will see it go from full to half and back to full again. Depending on the health of the battery the speed of this switching varies.



I have 2 chargers like this.