V70R Remote central locking weak, even with new battery

[Yog Sothoth]

My 1998 V70R only has one fob and one key. I depend on the fob to lock and unlock it.
When I bought it, I noticed I had to hold the fob close to the front windscreen area or front doors to get it to work. It worked Ok though. Low battery, I thought.
Recently, I changed the battery in the fob as it was starting to get very weak. Unfortunately, the new battery hasn't made any difference and yesterday, I had to spend ten minutes pressing the lock button before I could get it to lock.
I noticed that if I press the buttons whilst sat inside the car, it works every time, but from outside, it's really hit and miss.
It seems the remote is working, and it has a new battery, so could it be something else? The car has barely been used other than for very short local drives to the shops, since March. Would a low battery charge affect the function of the remote locking, as obviously the battery isn't getting charged much from the alternator?
It's a bit worrying as if the fob doesn't work, I only have the key and I've discovered that the key doesn't seem to operate the door lock, only the ignition. So if I can't lock it, it's insecure, and if I can't unlock it, I'm locked out!
I never had this problem with my old Land Rover...

[Derek UK]

It's your car battery that is providing the power to the lock solenoids so if it is weak that could be the answer. Check the state of battery engine off and engine on. Does the remote work the locks better with the engine running? I think it can do that. If battery seems poor can you put some jump leads to it and try the remote again?
The 240 has a relay for the central locking in the lower middle of the dash and I would guess your car does too. That might be getting tired.

[vol]

What happens when you turn the key in the door lock does the system behave the same way.? sorry read this wrong..I only have the key and I've discovered that the key doesn't seem to operate the door lock, only the ignition. Can you try the boot lock

[IC]

Originally Posted by Yog Sothoth

My 1998 V70R only has one fob and one key. I depend on the fob to lock and unlock it.
When I bought it, I noticed I had to hold the fob close to the front windscreen area or front doors to get it to work. It worked Ok though. Low battery, I thought.
Recently, I changed the battery in the fob as it was starting to get very weak. Unfortunately, the new battery hasn't made any difference and yesterday, I had to spend ten minutes pressing the lock button before I could get it to lock.
I noticed that if I press the buttons whilst sat inside the car, it works every time, but from outside, it's really hit and miss.
It seems the remote is working, and it has a new battery, so could it be something else? The car has barely been used other than for very short local drives to the shops, since March. Would a low battery charge affect the function of the remote locking, as obviously the battery isn't getting charged much from the alternator?
It's a bit worrying as if the fob doesn't work, I only have the key and I've discovered that the key doesn't seem to operate the door lock, only the ignition. So if I can't lock it, it's insecure, and if I can't unlock it, I'm locked out!
I never had this problem with my old Land Rover...

Hi, years ago I had the same problem with a V70 and it was the remote control receiver that was faulty. I took the top of the dash off and replaced the small box receiver that sits on top of the speedo unit cluster which is held on with torx screws. This was a very easy fix!

[turboboy]

Had a problem with my remote some time ago whereby I had to almost literally touch it on the windscreen to get the central locking to work.

Found a thread somewhere on here about extending the module's aerial.

As IC says, the module resides under the dash, above the instrument cluster. I simply soldered a wire to the end of the existing aerial and laid it across to the passenger side and replaced the dash top cover.

While this did not make a huge difference it certainly was noticeable and now means the car can be locked and unlocked from a couple of feet away.

HTH

[Bashy]

Just as an FYI, dont use cheapo batteries, get a named brand...
Not saying thats the fix, just that el cheapo batteries can be very low on power, or decent power on 1st install then nearly dead the next day or down 50% etc

[Luxobarge]

Originally Posted by Bashy

Just as an FYI, dont use cheapo batteries, get a named brand...
Not saying thats the fix, just that el cheapo batteries can be very low on power, or decent power on 1st install then nearly dead the next day or down 50% etc

Seconded. I've been caught out like that several times buying these, and also watch batteries. Even apparently "branded" ones can be fake, it seems to me that the online battery market is rife with poor quality knock-offs.

One way to check is to get an accurate digital multimeter and measure the voltage of the battery, it should be at least the value that the battery is supposed to provide.

[Bob Meadows]

Sometimes the fob gives up for no apparent reason: ~ if after the previous advice has been tried then it may be worth having the fobs checked out – I had similar problems with two fobs and sent them off to a locksmith advertising on ebay (sorry I can’t find the full details but a previous forum mail has the details) the repair involves replacing the buttons & any other internal work to also include new shells- worked ever since and at reasonable cost.

One remote only partly worked- the other had no response—now fine
Bob.

[4x4]

I received 2 fobs with my 850, one was working and the second one was missing the battery cover. When I swapped battery covers the fob would only work when applying excess pressure to the button. I took the fob apart and cleaned the internals with an alcohol based cleaner and it works perfectly now