2001 Zafira alarm, fob and radio problem. Help!

chunkey_monkee

Hi everyone,

My problem is that my 2001 zafira 1.8 sometimes cannot pick up my fob when I'm trying to lock/unlock the car. Usually in built up areas and in the vicinty of other parked cars, like car parks or busy streets. This meant I had to lock/unlock manually with the key. When unlocking with the key the horn alarm would go off so to turn it off I had to start the engine to cancel the alarm. Sometimes I have to move my key around the driver's window to find a spot where it will work, confusingly though it works perfectly well in the car park where I work surrounded by about 7 - 8 cars from a distance of about 10ft !
The other thing is if its going to work at all it'll be the driver's side of the car, usually through the driver's side front window.

After 5 years of doing this ritual I decided to check all the fuses one at a time in the fuse box. All the fuses seemed ok. Now my radio and display will not work, even though the cd motor still spits cd's in and out. (The only display is on the radio itself, not on the dashboard by the digital clock/outdoor temp). My fob's still act just the same but here's the difference, when in the past where I had to manually unlock the car and start the car to turn the alarm off, this doesn't work now and the alarm continues to go off. I have managed to turn the horn alarm off by turning the key to ignition (not starting) and pressing the fob to lock/unlock. I know this is supposed to syncronize the fob but I don't thinkits working properly.

About a year ago I changed both batteries and stuffed one side of the battery with card to keep it in place in the holder. ( I read somewhere else that this may help the contacts inside the fob).

What can I do to get the fob's working properly?

Any ideas ??

Regards,

Chunkey.

vikingaero

Maybe time to invest in new fobs. One fob on my Zafira is pretty grim, the other is brand new.

Does the problem occur in one area? If so it may be local interference from a automatic door opener or Police antenna.

If you touch the fob on your chin/skull forehead and press the button then it may help as your head acts like an antenna to boost the signal strength of the fob.

chunkey_monkee

Hi Vikingaero,
Yes my fob's are a bit 'worn'. I do find that in some areas the fobs dont work at all even though the red lights flash when pressed. But this does not explain the case of my radio ?
How can simply checking every fuse one at a time stop my radio from working ?
Maybe I need a new radio to go with my new keys...

Chunkey.

ROY47

chunkey_monkee wrote: »

Hi everyone,

My problem is that my 2001 zafira 1.8 sometimes cannot pick up my fob when I'm trying to lock/unlock the car. Usually in built up areas and in the vicinty of other parked cars, like car parks or busy streets.


Regards,

Chunkey.

this is boing to sound daft but

it may well be other wireless electronic items interfering

there are many articles on internet about car remotes causing wireless door bells to chime when a car outside is locked / unkocked

I know for a fact this happens with a Zafira as my old one used to activate next doors door bell everytime we locked /unlocked our car

try here to reprogram the remote

http://www.howtomendit.com/answers.php?id=141362

you have to scroll to the bottom of the page for the first answer