Fob not operating central locking 1999 T5

[britten_mark]

Just an update for those still awake. I'm determined this should be a learning experience to help anyone similarly afflicted who goes searching old threads.

Well the latestbit of strangeness....

As mentioned the black Ebay locking/alarm unit and matching fob SORT OF worked, ie. with a slight delayed action and only when right up close to the drivers side window. I wondered if a new battery might help it, so upon opening the fob noticed it had the wrong battery inside it (a CR2025, whereas the fob case was inscribed CR2016, and all other of my Volvo fobs contained CR2016).

So I stuck a supposedly correct CR2016 in the black Ebay module's fob and...it didn't work.

This got me wondering, so I stuck a "wrong" Cr2025 in my old fobs, put the original "broken" white module back in the car and after a short time got the doors working again at a distance as well!

So WTF can I deduce from this? The CR2025 is twice as thick as a CR2016 so is the fob getting a bit more oooomph, and thus could the antennae on top of the cluster need replacing?

Just to mention this still didn't make the boot unlock, for whatever reason it remained asleept and I still had to break in from the inside and pop it with a hooked screwdriver, after that it too now works on the fob again.

[pff]

Curious issue with the batteries, very frustrating! The 2016 you tried was fresh or the cell in there previously?
As you say the antenna module seems to be the common variable however the battery might point to something in the fob, i think it would be unusual that the extra current availability should make such a difference and clearly it is designed for the smaller cell but I'm not familiar with the one workings of the fob.
The wiring diagrams have some interesting differences between the models in 2000 but i don't have them to hand to look at the tailgate release,anyway you have it working now. Quite annoying when the 'simplest solution' mantra of one failure point fails to produce the goods!
Personally i would be interested if you could confirm the part numbers on your black and white box, i haven't seen anywhere before that these have been confirmed interchangeable by anyone.

[britten_mark]

Both fobs failed to operate the locks simultaneously so I assumed it was a failure of something attached to the car.

Even so I changed the old 2016 batteries for fresh ones in each fob, and swapped them side to side as well, no difference.

I'll post the part numbers tonight. Do you know what the different vehicles are that have black/white boxes or it it not clear cut?

[Tony Rama]

Not sure if this is valid advice. Maybe someone else can verify. Heard that there is a micro switch in the drivers door lock. The lever on the switch fails to close the contacts after time due to wear in the lock mechanism and needs bending to make it work. It may be that if this is not working, the central locking or key fob thinks the drivers door is not closed and fails to lock the car.

[britten_mark]

Originally Posted by Tony Rama

Heard that there is a micro switch in the drivers door lock. The lever on the switch fails to close the contacts after time due to wear in the lock mechanism and needs bending to make it work. It may be that if this is not working, the central locking or key fob thinks the drivers door is not closed and fails to lock the car.

The central locking was working fine on the key (well until the tailgate went to sleep) so the microswitch was OK.

[britten_mark]

Tailgate lock now appears US after initaily springing back into life. Had to unlock it from the inside again (good job I hadn't put the trim panel back on with the usual £10 worth of brittle clips)

Phew this thing is testing my patience.

I'm wondering if my tenure with my loveable old T5 is coming to an end. I've run loads of cars into big mileages and my theory is that everything is usually hunky dory until 120k miles when strange components start to wear out you wouldn't expect; starters, hinges, locks, even my interior door mirror snapped off a few months back.

What price a 1999 T5 in otherwise good condition?

[britten_mark]

Originally Posted by pff

Personally i would be interested if you could confirm the part numbers on your black and white box, i haven't seen anywhere before that these have been confirmed interchangeable by anyone.

Sorry for late reply;

Black box (from a 98 V70 apparently) 9472463
White box (original) 9472461

[britten_mark]

Tailgate lock is not tailgate lock - its the wirning in the hinge.

All the other doors are still working fine from the remote with the "wrong" battery in it otherwise I would be wondering if this wiring break could have been the root of everything.

[Bigfella666]

Mark

This really is baffling.

From my own experience a P1 fob should be running from a 2016 cell - I have bundles of 2032 cells for the 850 fobs and they will not operate a P1 - in fact I could not get the case to close with a 2032 in there.

Great that you are sorted after many hours knawing at your sanity !

[britten_mark]

The 2032 doesn't fit (like you got bundles of those!) it's the 2025 which fits - sort of in the middle between 2016 and 2032 thickness wise - that did the trick though goodness knows why.