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Old 03-06-2014, 11:18 AM
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hitch109
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Default PKE system

I have just gotten a low mileage 1995 coupe, and there was no key fob included. I purchased one from Corvette central, but when I try to match it to the car, I get no response from the car. The KPE light on the drivers info center doesn't even light up. I checked the fuse and it appears to be good. Anyone have any tips? Thx
Old 03-06-2014, 04:01 PM
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pcolt94
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Check fuses 26, 40 and 42.

The PKE light should light for 2 seconds when you turn the key to the ON position, unless it is in sleep mode. However even if it is in sleep mode and you go thru the normal programming procedure, the PKE light should still activate and flash.

If you never get the light to flash at anytime, there is a strong possibility the PKE receiver is bad. It's located in the top center of the dash and lots has got to come apart to get to it. There are some troubleshooting steps but it seems it is almost always the receiver.
Old 03-06-2014, 05:09 PM
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Larry/car
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I'll look at the owners manual and try to determine what you need to do. My car's PKE system works which should help testing procedures.
Old 03-07-2014, 09:09 AM
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markKlein
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Another thing to check is that your Trip and Fuel buttons are working correctly. Also possible your PKE bulb could be burned out.
Old 03-07-2014, 10:42 PM
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roadcaqpt
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Do yourself a favor and hang the fob in a closet with the battery removed. it is a pain in the butt.
Old 03-07-2014, 11:40 PM
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pcolt94
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Originally Posted by roadcaqpt
Do yourself a favor and hang the fob in a closet with the battery removed. it is a pain in the butt.
People would not ask for assistance if they did not want it. Many offer their opinion using their expertise whether right or wrong, but at least they try. If you have not anything constructive or positive to offer, then just sit back and watch maybe you’ll learn something.

If Hitch wants to throw the towel in, it should be his decision. Obviously you have made yours.
Old 03-08-2014, 02:01 AM
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Wathen1955
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Originally Posted by roadcaqpt
Do yourself a favor and hang the fob in a closet with the battery removed. it is a pain in the butt.
I did the same thing when I discovered I had to replace the receiver inside the dash. Once it was fixed, I turned it off. Now I just use the key.
Old 03-08-2014, 08:40 AM
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RollaMo-LT4
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Originally Posted by roadcaqpt
Do yourself a favor and hang the fob in a closet with the battery removed. it is a pain in the butt.
Yours must not work correctly either, or you just don't know how it is supposed to operate.

Originally Posted by pcolt94
People would not ask for assistance if they did not want it. Many offer their opinion using their expertise whether right or wrong, but at least they try. If you have not anything constructive or positive to offer, then just sit back and watch maybe you’ll learn something.

If Hitch wants to throw the towel in, it should be his decision. Obviously you have made yours.
Old 03-23-2014, 08:30 PM
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sledge_78
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Originally Posted by hitch109
I have just gotten a low mileage 1995 coupe, and there was no key fob included. I purchased one from Corvette central, but when I try to match it to the car, I get no response from the car. The KPE light on the drivers info center doesn't even light up. I checked the fuse and it appears to be good. Anyone have any tips? Thx
The PKE system to say the least can be peculiar. In your description it is apparent that you need to program the new remote to the receiver. First let's not assume the new remote is working. You can take it to an Auto Zone or O'Reilly's and test it for free.Once you have confirmed it is working remote you can proceed with following the owners manual to program the remote transmitter to the receiver. These remote transmitters were not one of GM's finest products. Installing the battery can be troublesome.

I can tell you the frustration I went through to get mine to work as designed. When you get the transmitter programmed, the PKE light may not light up on the dash when you turn on the ignition and of course the system will not work as designed. The solution is to enable the "Passive" mode in the receiver. There are directions for this in the FSM and the owners manual. Once the Passive mode is enabled the PKE light will turn on with the ignition switch for a few seconds. In the passive mode the doors should lock and the horn toot after you walk away from the car with the remote in your hand and unlock as you approach the car. At least the drivers door will unlock. A further step is to program the receiver to unlock both doors. But you are not there yet. Be patient, don't jump at buying another receiver until you have certainty it is failed.

Keep us informed of your progress or lack there of, so we can help. Again these PKE systems can be peculiar.


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Old 03-23-2014, 08:42 PM
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Vetteblack-96
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Access to replace things: Why do we gush on about all the wonderful new engineering when there is still such idiotic thinking when it comes to designing a car where you can't replace things without taking half the car apart? Why should the PKE be buried under the dash? To replace my radio I'm going to take half the console apart. This is brilliant engineering? The Aces who design some of these systems should be required to work on them once in a while. I know a lot of things will be tough to access due to the relative smallness of the car and what's packed into it but there is a lot of room for improvement. Even a dealer mechanic has to jump through hoops to get at some of these hidden parts.

End of rant.................Thank you.
Old 03-24-2014, 10:48 PM
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Dougs63
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Originally Posted by roadcaqpt
Do yourself a favor and hang the fob in a closet with the battery removed. it is a pain in the butt.
and mine worked perfectly for all of about 3 weeks, until the FOB batteries gave out.
Old 03-25-2014, 08:29 AM
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The PKE receiver is not that hard to get to. I believe there are 12 screws to remove to get the dash pad off. I did have to remove the console bezel and the lower dash pad on the passenger side. All in it took about an hour to replace the module. I bought a used one for $100.00. I am glad the system works again, and when I don't want it on I can choose to turn it off. That was one of my goals when I bought my 94 with 168K on it. I wanted the challenge of making everything on the car work as designed. I achieved that goal.
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Old 03-30-2014, 05:10 PM
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Larry/car
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I finally got around to setting my system up after the Fob battery died. First is to put your key in the ignation, do not turn the ignation on. Now hold the door button in for a few seconds and wait for the door locks to cycle. Your system is now reset. If you turn the ignation switch on, if the PKE light illuminates the system is turned on. Turn the ignation off and take your Fob walk about 20 ft from rhe car, the horn should sound and the doors lock. If this doesn't happen, sit inside the vehicle and hold the door button down until the door locks cycle, now take the 20 ft walk again, the doors and horn should work now. If you want to turn the system off just hold the Fob's door button in side the car until the locks cycle, system is now off. Just cycle the locks with the Fob door button to turn the system on or off.
Old 03-31-2014, 10:47 AM
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markKlein
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Originally Posted by Larry/car
I finally got around to setting my system up after the Fob battery died. First is to put your key in the ignation, do not turn the ignation on. Now hold the door button in for a few seconds and wait for the door locks to cycle. Your system is now reset. If you turn the ignation switch on, if the PKE light illuminates the system is turned on. Turn the ignation off and take your Fob walk about 20 ft from rhe car, the horn should sound and the doors lock. If this doesn't happen, sit inside the vehicle and hold the door button down until the door locks cycle, now take the 20 ft walk again, the doors and horn should work now. If you want to turn the system off just hold the Fob's door button in side the car until the locks cycle, system is now off. Just cycle the locks with the Fob door button to turn the system on or off.
The procedure you refer to does not "set the system up" after changing batteries. You should not have to do anything after changing batteries. What you did changes the settings from unlock only drivers door to unlock both doors, and vice versa. Also, you don't have to sit inside the vehicle to turn the system on and off.
Old 03-31-2014, 05:59 PM
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Larry/car
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Every time I change batteries I have to key in ignation and push the door button to get the system to lock and unlock doors automatically. If I don't accomplish this step the system will not automatically lock and unlock and the door button only opens the passenger door. Works perfectly once I key in ignation it.
Old 03-31-2014, 06:11 PM
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markKlein
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Originally Posted by Larry/car
Every time I change batteries I have to key in ignation and push the door button to get the system to lock and unlock doors automatically. If I don't accomplish this step the system will not automatically lock and unlock and the door button only opens the passenger door. Works perfectly once I key in ignation it.
I guess I don't understand. The door button only opens the pass. door. That is all it ever does, except for being used to change system settings. There is no reason you would ever need to "reset" anything after changing the fob battery, the system status is stored in the PKE unit in the car, not in the fob. It's possible the system might loose the "on/off" setting if you changed car batteries, I guess I never paid attention to that.
Old 03-31-2014, 06:38 PM
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Originally Posted by markKlein
I guess I don't understand. The door button only opens the pass. door. That is all it ever does, except for being used to change system settings. There is no reason you would ever need to "reset" anything after changing the fob battery, the system status is stored in the PKE unit in the car, not in the fob. It's possible the system might loose the "on/off" setting if you changed car batteries, I guess I never paid attention to that.


I've changed FOB batteries, and even the car battery itself, and never had to "reset" anything.

I have mine set to unlock both doors when approaching the car, and have never changed that setting through multiple battery changes.

The only time I touch the door button on the FOB is to turn the system on or off.

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Old 03-31-2014, 08:29 PM
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I have to tickle mine every time I replace the Fob battery. Then the system works perfectly. Been that way since I acquired the car.
Old 09-19-2014, 01:12 PM
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Default PKE FOB programming

Originally Posted by RollaMo-LT4


I've changed FOB batteries, and even the car battery itself, and never had to "reset" anything.

I have mine set to unlock both doors when approaching the car, and have never changed that setting through multiple battery changes.

The only time I touch the door button on the FOB is to turn the system on or off.
Totally agree with you RollaMo about the door sequencing thing. I received a replacement FOB from Dino's, followed the programming info in the owners manual and all went well. The problem is now my original FOB won't work and the car will not flash the passive light when I try to reprogram the original FOB which was working fine until I programmed the new FOB. I can't help but wonder if the car will only allow a certain number of FOBs be programmed. Since I bought the car used I don't know how many FOBs have been programmed and I think 3 is the magic number. I wonder if it can be reset? The owners manual does say to take the new FOB to the dealer. I wonder if it is to sync the 2 FOBs? Anyone have any ideas?
Old 09-19-2014, 01:26 PM
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Originally Posted by mybucketlist
Totally agree with you RollaMo about the door sequencing thing. I received a replacement FOB from Dino's, followed the programming info in the owners manual and all went well. The problem is now my original FOB won't work and the car will not flash the passive light when I try to reprogram the original FOB which was working fine until I programmed the new FOB. I can't help but wonder if the car will only allow a certain number of FOBs be programmed. Since I bought the car used I don't know how many FOBs have been programmed and I think 3 is the magic number. I wonder if it can be reset? The owners manual does say to take the new FOB to the dealer. I wonder if it is to sync the 2 FOBs? Anyone have any ideas?
There is no overall limit to how many fobs the system can handle, I think there could be a three at once limit. At any rate when you programmed your new fob you should have added your old one in at the same time. Programming a fob deletes the old ones. The dealers don't have any magic. They just want to charge you for the programming steps in the manual.


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