C6 Key Fobs

[Edward S.]

I have had my C6 now for 16 months - between the last 3 months of winter 2009 and let's say 5 months for the winter of the end 0f 2009 and start of 2010 the car has only been on the road 50% of the time that I have it. Last Thursday I started it up and went off to a local cruise night, the car ran great. On Sat. afternoon I worked on cleaning it in my garage and went to start it up to go to another cruise - in, hit the button and nothing happened. Nothing was really showing up on my message center, so I called On-Star to run a check and was told a check could only be run if the car was running or the key was turned on? You do not want to know how long it took to have the women understand new Corvettes lack a key to turn, and I am calling because the car won't start. Long story short called my buddy who I was meeting to go to the show, one of the last things he had me do was go in the house and get the key fob I have never used - second try the car started right up. Was at the show about 6 hours and wanted to leave - went to start the car had again nothing happened. This time "no fob detected" came up on the message center, so I put the fob in the glove box holder and got the car to start and get me home. The next morning I went to radio shack and bought 2 new batteries and the car has been running great all week. I had always thought that when a battery goes belly up in a fairly short time it's from usage or a short - now I had 2 batteries go on the same day ( one used very little and one never used ). Has anyone had the same thing happen?
Question is should I buy an extra one now to keep in the car or should I wait 6 months to buy one - as not to have 3 batteries around the same age. I had On Star do a check after the 2nd fob failed and they found nothing out of order - does anyone feel I may have something in the car that's draining the batteries in a short period of time or do they just not last that long?

[Rich G.]

Re: C6 Key Fobs

My 2007 C6 ZO6 is more than 3 years old and I have not had the problem you are seeing. BTW, if you hold the acc. part of the start button down for about 5 seconds you will get the "key on, engine off" condition. Of course if your fob is not detected, that won't work either.

I only use one fob and it is always in my left pocket. The other has only been used once by mistake. When I did that I couldn't figure out why all my radio presets were screwed up.

They say other electronic stuff on your person (i Phones etc) can interfere with the fob.

Rich

[Clem Z.]

Re: C6 Key Fobs

I have had my C6 now for 16 months - between the last 3 months of winter 2009 and let's say 5 months for the winter of the end 0f 2009 and start of 2010 the car has only been on the road 50% of the time that I have it. Last Thursday I started it up and went off to a local cruise night, the car ran great. On Sat. afternoon I worked on cleaning it in my garage and went to start it up to go to another cruise - in, hit the button and nothing happened. Nothing was really showing up on my message center, so I called On-Star to run a check and was told a check could only be run if the car was running or the key was turned on? You do not want to know how long it took to have the women understand new Corvettes lack a key to turn, and I am calling because the car won't start. Long story short called my buddy who I was meeting to go to the show, one of the last things he had me do was go in the house and get the key fob I have never used - second try the car started right up. Was at the show about 6 hours and wanted to leave - went to start the car had again nothing happened. This time "no fob detected" came up on the message center, so I put the fob in the glove box holder and got the car to start and get me home. The next morning I went to radio shack and bought 2 new batteries and the car has been running great all week. I had always thought that when a battery goes belly up in a fairly short time it's from usage or a short - now I had 2 batteries go on the same day ( one used very little and one never used ). Has anyone had the same thing happen?
Question is should I buy an extra one now to keep in the car or should I wait 6 months to buy one - as not to have 3 batteries around the same age. I had On Star do a check after the 2nd fob failed and they found nothing out of order - does anyone feel I may have something in the car that's draining the batteries in a short period of time or do they just not last that long?

i have had my 08 since sept 07 and both fobs work fine. i had my 05 from sept 04 till sept 07 with no fob battery problems

[John D.]

Re: C6 Key Fobs

Ed,
I think you'll find the root of the problem is a low state if charge on your battery. There is a constant milliamp draw on the battery when the car sits and you'll find a low battery charge even if the car sits only a few weeks....short trips to a show or cruise night are generally not enough to fully charge the battery. You may want to get a trickle charger...
Hope this helps

john

Subject:No Crank, No Start DIC Displays No FOB Detected

Models:2005-2011 Cadillac STS

2004-2009 Cadillac XLR

2005-2011 Chevrolet Corvette

This PI was superseded to update model years. Please discard PIC3899B.
The following diagnosis might be helpful if the vehicle exhibits the symptom(s) described in this PI.
Condition/Concern:

A no crank, no start condition with a Driver Information Center (DIC) message that displays "No FOB Detected" can be caused by a low battery state of charge (SOC). The Remote Control Door Lock Receiver (RCDLR) will not function if the battery SOC is below 9V.
Recommendation/Instructions:

Check the battery state of charge and if low, diagnose the cause of the weak battery prior to performing any other repairs.
Please follow this diagnostic or repair process thoroughly and complete each step. If the condition exhibited is resolved without completing every step, the remaining steps do not need to be performed.

GM bulletins are intended for use by professional technicians, NOT a "do-it-yourselfer". They are written to inform these technicians of conditions that may occur on some vehicles, or to provide information that could assist in the proper service of a vehicle. Properly trained technicians have the equipment, tools, safety instructions, and know-how to do a job properly and safely. If a condition is described, DO NOT assume that the bulletin applies to your vehicle, or that your vehicle will have that condition. See your GM dealer for information on whether your vehicle may benefit from the information.

WE SUPPORT VOLUNTARY TECHNICIAN CERTIFICATION

[Clem Z.]

Re: C6 Key Fobs

i think he is talking about the fob batteries not the corvette battery

[Richard M.]

Re: C6 Key Fobs

i think he is talking about the fob batteries not the corvette battery

Clem,

Yes. you're correct, Edward is talking about the Fob batteries, however the PID is stating that if the car battery is marginal, it will in fact create a intermittent condition and may cause a "No Fob Detected" message. The fact that Edward got his other Fob and it worked before he went to the show could have been because it's battery was in a better state, but possibly also marginal. If the car battery is on the edge, it created havoc in the electrical systems on these C6's. However, his first Fob could be intermittent.......

I had this same problem on my '07 a while ago. In my case, the Fob was at fault. It was acting intermittent with the NFD fault. A new battery in the Fob and it worked ok, but then a short time later(a week or so), it acted up again.....NFD. Had some warranty work done at my dealer and they saw similar issues. They replaced the Fob under warranty and I haven't had a problem since.

Edward, it is somewhat common on our C6's that the car battery will drain to a marginal state when undriven for apx 2 weeks or more. The C6 electrical system is in a constant "low drain" state, at rest. If your car battery is over 2 years old, it's time to replace it. My 07 was delivered Dec 06. This past Feb '10, just over 2 years since new, my Delco battery went south. On the corvetteforum.com C6 General Topics section, you'll find others with similar stories. There is also a FAQ page which talks about the same issues that you had, and other threads with similar info.
If your car battery is over 2 years old, it may be time for you too. You may also have a intermittently acting Fob as well.

Rich
p.s. It is a misnomer that the Fob constantly transmits. It does not. The car constantly looks for the Fob, which is one reason the car battery drains at rest over a 2+ week time period. This was discussed at the Winter Regional during the Grand Sport presentation by Dave Hill, prior Chief Engineer of the Corvette. He was asked a question about the C6 batteries and that they go dead in 2 weeks at rest. Dave explained that the factory will be offering a optional trickle charger option, with direct connect to the battery for those with limited use, non daily drivers.

BTW, I had the oportunity to spend some time with Dave at the Regional. He is now in charge of Corvette Warranty related investigations. He is a remarkable man, with a passion for the Corvette that has given us a truly outstanding Corvette today.

[Tom H.]

Re: C6 Key Fobs

Also be sure you have nothing plugged into the power ports, such as a radar detector, phone or navigation unit. I have seen accessories cause the no start, no fobs condition.

John Daly is also correct telling you a full charge in the CAR battery is critical.

[Clem Z.]

Re: C6 Key Fobs

i understand the corvette computers do not "shut down" if the fob is too close to the car. i keep my fobs at least 30 feet from the corvette when it is in the garage. i also keep a battery maintainer on the corvette over the winter when i do not use the corvette. knock on wood but i have not had battery problems with any of my 5 new corvettes since 1997.

[Terry M.]

Re: C6 Key Fobs

i understand the corvette computers do not "shut down" if the fob is too close to the car. i keep my fobs at least 30 feet from the corvette when it is in the garage. i also keep a battery maintainer on the corvette over the winter when i do not use the corvette. knock on wood but i have not had battery problems with any of my 5 new corvettes since 1997.

Unfortunately that is not true for the C6. The car senses the proximity of the fob (within a couple of feet of the car), but it is a receiver in the car that detects the presence of the fob. Have someone try to open the door if you and the fob are four or five feet from the car. It won't work.. There are so many computers int eh new Corvettes they all add tot he car battery drain, and a maintainer is a necessity unless the car is driven 30 or 40 miles at high speeds each day.

[Edward S.]

Re: C6 Key Fobs

I appreciate all your thoughts, I should have mentioned that the car is on a trickle charger when in the garage and always shows a full charge when i go to start it. I also keep all fobs on the other side of the house away from the garage, as some one told me at one of the shows I went too if the fob is kept close to or inside the car the car will anticipate a start up and will start drawing juice? Don't know if that is correct, but in any event the fob is never close to the car unless I plan to start it up. The thing that is a concern is both fobs going kaput in the same day, I guess I should get the extra battery now in case something is wrong again. Thanks to all.

[Richard M.]

Re: C6 Key Fobs

Edward, I forgot to mention..........

I keep a spare FOB battery in the glove box.

I keep the hard key in my wallet. In case the FOB dies, I use the key to open the rear hatch(next to hatch button above the license plate), pull the release handle over the left rear wheel arch to open the drivers door, get my battery for the FOB. Replace the FOB battery, then...

.....drive away.

Rich

[Edward S.]

Re: C6 Key Fobs

Rich,
Thanks for the additional info - I had planned to put a extra battery in the car and I always leave the hard key in the fob if I need it, so far I have never been locked out. It sounds like your only problem has been a defective fob. I have been starting the car quite often this week and so far all is well. Tomorrow night I will be going to a cruise-in and also need
to get gas, so we will see how thw battery is holding up.

Starting to long for the days when all you had to worry about was losing your keys. I miss the days when Ford had the combo lock on the door, used to lock it up, throw the keys in the trunk and be on my way. I am showing my age.

[Paul H.]

Re: C6 Key Fobs

Let's hope the C7 has a darn key instead of all the hocus pocus, BS, push button start and push button doors. My foray into new C6 ownership was a nightmare of battery discharges and electrical gremlins. GM finally bought the lemon back. The C6 is a battery eater and must be maintained on a battery tender unless driven frequently. Mine was always calling for a charge and they never figured out why.

[Clem Z.]

Re: C6 Key Fobs

Unfortunately that is not true for the C6. The car senses the proximity of the fob (within a couple of feet of the car), but it is a receiver in the car that detects the presence of the fob. Have someone try to open the door if you and the fob are four or five feet from the car. It won't work.. There are so many computers int eh new Corvettes they all add tot he car battery drain, and a maintainer is a necessity unless the car is driven 30 or 40 miles at high speeds each day.

i also believe there was a reprogram for "fob not detected" message afrer you got into the car