Fixed problem with smartkey - what's up with the alarm?
 

This weekend my wife's smartkey stopped unlocking the doors either remotely or with keyless go. My smartkey continued working normally (OK, so no real problem :v: ) At lunch today, I took a look at her key and the red LED flashed normally. I switched batteries between her key and mine. Mine continued to work and her's didn't. Hmmm. I unlocked the door with her mechanical key and bam! Off goes the alarm (which, after reading the manual, I realize is normal.) Anyway, once in my car with my ears still ringing, the keyless go recognized the key and the car started normally (my key was still in the house). After that, her key now worked normally. :hammer:

1. Any idea what's up with the key? It works fine now, I just wonder what made it die. We were both in the car over the weekend and both with our keyless go enabled smartkeys in hand. Did something get confused? Never been a problem before.

2. Why does the alarm go off when you unlock the door with the mechanical key? Is MB overly cautious or cutting costs?

3. My cell phone rang within 5 minutes of the alarm. Teleaid was checking to make sure I was OK. :y

I don't have keyless go, but I also have had problems locking and unlocking my car. I went to the dealer, thinking the battery was dead. It turns out that the contact touching the battery became loose, and this seems to be a common problem with the smartkeys.

My problem would come and go. Try taking out the battery and reposition the contacts. Hope this helps.

No, it wasn't the battery. The red LED flashed normally when I hit the buttons, and new batteries didn't have any effect. It's like the car had "forgotten" to respond to it and starting up with the key in the car reset the car's memory.

When you were having problems, did you ever set off the alarm? Man, with the car closed in the garage, that thing was loud!

If you park the car with the window cracked and someone manages to open the door or someone smashes a window and opens the door, the alarm will go off. If your family is in the car and the doors are locked and someone reaches in and opens the door, the alarm will go off.

So, anyway of opening the door without unlocking with the electric key will set theh alarm. It is a good thing.

My problem was not a dead battery either. The problem was the contacts which touch the battery. At times, they would not make contact with the battery, and so I could not unlock the car. Try bending the contacts a bit and see if that solves the issue.

As far as the alarm going off, I believe once you insert your key into the ignition, the alarm should turn off.

By the way, xraymd, are you a radiologist? :)

Yes, I am a radiologist. There are a few of us lurking around. I'll keep in mind the contacts. So far, I've had no recurrence of the problem. It was kind of funny. The key that didn't work (my wife's) lives in her purse clipped to the side and was all clean inside. When I opened my smartkey to switch batteries, it had a year's worth of pocket lint (yuck!!). Of course mine was the one that worked fine.

ATS - OK, makes sense to me :)

[QUOTE=xraymd]Yes, I am a radiologist. There are a few of us lurking around.

LOL...they let you guys out of that hospital basement?? So you do know what the sun looks like? :D

Basement? Heck, we live on the first floor now. What's this sun thing you're talking about? Is that some new sort of car? :hammer: (My kingdom for a window)

No, not a new car...sun = the light of day! I also work in a hospital. I'm the drug dealer with a license, so, like most radiologists, we work in the basements of most hospitals :cool: