another keyless remote discussion

Keyless entry receiver failure. Is this hapenning to you?

Keyless entry receiver failure. Is this hapenning to you?
posted by Vladimir on Thu Dec 27 11:52 EAST 2001

Hi, dear bricksters and happy holidays!

I just came back from the dealer today. They replaced the keyless entry receiver in my S70 after I
complained about a greatly diminished operating range (they first tried giving me new fobs, but that didn't
help). The new receiver did the trick and I got the same range I remember when the car was new. The
funny thing was that the old receiver did not STOP working, it just started to work VERY poorly. For
example, to get it to respond I had to aim the keyfob directly into one of the windows of the car. If I had
the keyfob below the glass line the system would not respond even from a point-blank range. Right now
it matters not how I hold the fob or how high it is, as long as I am near the car it works, which is the
desired behavior.

So, now my big question is: HOW and WHY did the old receiver go "bad"? The part is located directly
above the instrument cluster (the dash needed to come off for access) and is out of harm's way. Is it
heat? That spot would get pretty hot in the summers. If so, I imagine the problem will re-occur with some
regularity.

So, if anyone out there is suffering from the same symptom of keyless entry system going lame for no
good reason, pipe in, maybe we have another one of those Volvo design "features" here with ill-selected
location of the receiver. The job of replacing it is not that huge, but tedious and I can't imagine that little
black box being cheap (mine was done under warranty, so I do not know how much the thing cost, but I
was there and do know it took the tech WAY over an hour to complete the job). So, maybe some
modification is in order or some pressure on Volvo (kind of like about the AC evaps) to eliminate this
particular design feature.

Cheers everyone.

               Keyless entry receiver failure. Is this hapenning to you?
       posted by bryan goldberg   on Thu Dec 27 12:09 EAST 2001
            Hi Vladimir,

Happy holidays! I was afraid that you were going to tell us that the receiver needed to be replaced.

I'd be interested to know if this is another of those design or supplier issues. My car is out of warranty, so
any repair would be on my dime.

Interestingly, I added wire to the antenna several months ago. It worked better than new for a while but
then went back to having a range of less than two feet.

Can you tell me why placing your hand over the transmitter or sticking it under your chin increases its
range.

              Keyless entry receiver failure. Is this hapenning to you? S70 1998
            posted by Vladimir   on Fri Dec 28 02:26 EAST 2001

           Bryan, I knew it must be the receiver after thej new fobs didn't improve performance. I can tell you the
           part number (when I get my paperwork by mail from the dealer) and you can try and see how much it
           costs at volvoparts.com or something. It may be worth doing yourself. Not a complicated job, just
           tedious (lots of screws!). My question is why do these things go bad with age? It is just a piece of
           electronic equipment, right?

When you say you added a wire to the antena, do you mean on the receiver? What model car is yours?

           On the S70 it is an annoying problem since there is only one key cylinder - on the driver's side and
           opening the car from the passenger side can only be accomplished by a remote. When I am parked on
           the right side of the street, I really want to be able to open the car from the passenger side to let my 5
           year old in without having to step onto the road.

Good luck and lut us know what you decide to do.

                   Keyless entry receiver failure. Is this hapenning to you? S70 1998
                 posted by bryan goldberg   on Fri Dec 28 02:58 EAST 2001

                Vladimir,

Yup, I added @20 feet of fine guage insulated wire to the antenna as others have suggested. I then
stretched the wire along the top of the firewall and secured it under the weatherstrip.

For a while I was getting like 50+ foot range. But it seems over time the receiver "compensated" and now
I'm back to a few feet.

As Bryan H. suggests, it seems to be very sensitive to interference from other sources.

Mine is a '98 S70 GLT w/Grand Touring & Cold Weather packages.

Bryan

                        Keyless entry receiver failure. Is this hapenning to you? S70 1998
                      posted by Vladimir   on Fri Dec 28 03:42 EAST 2001

                     Bryan, it seems like the receiver goes sour with time doesn't it? This is strange! As far as interference, I
                     understand that, but what I don't understand is how a piece of electronic equipment can change its
                     operational characteristics over time. Is this a programmed "We need your money" feature by Volvo?

                     Cheers.
                     --
                     Vladimir. 1998 S70. Base, 5-speed manual.

                    Keyless entry receiver failure. Is this hapenning to you?
            posted by Bryan H.   on Thu Dec 27 23:57 EAST 2001

           Yeah my transmitter pretty much sucks. The range, on a good day, is maybe ten feet but usually much
           shorter then that. I too, often have to raise the transmitter above the window line, and I usually have
           pretty good luck at that point.

           One thing that I’ve noticed is the Volvo transmitters are VERY susceptible to outside interference, i.e.
           other car remotes, radio/TV/cell towers, plus a whole slue of other “stronger” transmissions. I was
           battling with some guy in a BMW the other day to try and get our cars locked. On occasion (maybe
           three times) I have had to use the key when the interference is too strong.

I seem to remember other people on the board have lengthen the receiver’s antenna with some success
but has anyone attempted to add a signal booster/amplified antenna to the receiver.

I would imagine that chin technique employed by many allows the transmitter to use your body as an
antenna.

                         Keyless entry receiver failure. Is this hapenning to you?
                 posted by Vladimir   on Fri Dec 28 03:07 EAST 2001

                Bryan, I can almost guarantee you that your transmitters are ok. The problem is most likely in the
                receiver. For some reason these things go sour after a while. I can't imagine why, but I had a problem
                where gradually the range has gotten to be unacceptable. I would be ok with 10 feet if it really worked at
                10 feet, but in my situation it had to be point blank and into the glass, otherwise no go. I got new
                transmitter from Volvo (my car is still under warranty) and no real change occurred (before complaining
                to the dealer I tried changing batteries in the remote with no results). Finally, I talked the dealer into
                replacing the receiver and bingo! The thing works like a champ from at least 100 feet away and it doesn't
                matter if you hold the remote to the chin or shove it up your ear (I didn't really try that). Basically on my
                approach to the car I push the button on the remote in my pocket and the car responds. This is what I am
                looking for and this is the way it worked when new. IT seems with time these things diminish in
                performance for some reason and I would like to figure out why. If it is heat as I suspect, then maybe the
                receiver needs to be relocated elsewhere eve at the expense of some range (I really do not need 100
                feet, I actually would prefer a somewhat shorter range to prevent accidental transmission).

This is why I am trying to tap into collective wisdom on this board.

Good luck.

--
Vladimir. 1998 S70. Base, 5-speed manual.

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