Tabasco2

Have a 98 Vette Coupe. It had "Never" been in the shop until I took it
in for the steering lock recall. Since then it has been back 3 times trying
to figure out what went wrong with the key fob. It looses sync with
the on board computer that lets you manually of passively unlock doors,
rear hatch, etc. I can sync it in the morning and it will work till noon, then nothing till I re-sync it. The dealer rechecked for loose wires from
the steering lock recall, changed the battery in the fob. They even
loaned me a "new" fob and it does the same thing, work for a while then
just quit till it is re-sync'ed. Dealer claims they contacted GM direct, they never heard of this happening. If you can help me please do, or
even if you can tell me who to contact at GM direct will appreciate it
greatly.

Evil-Twin

how about replacing the body control module BCM

awwwyeah

i have had this happen and would like to know the "fix" as well. i sync'd my fob and all was well then one day nothing. it hasn't worked since. i have not done the recall for fear of the dealer. i will check around to see what i can find. good luck

urslooow

How exactly does one do the sync?

klp

I've got a 98 vert. and I have experienced the same thing. My FOB quit working. I assumed it was the battery, so I changed it, and resync'd it. It worked while I was close to the car. As soon as I went in the house and came back out, it quit working. I tried it several times with the same results. I've seen other posts from other forum members who have had the same problem.

RedRider98

I had the same problem with my '98 FOB, until I bought a new one. Now it works perfectly! Gene at Fred Beans Chevy will ship a new one with the passive switch for under $85!

Bryan

gbm

I've got the same thing happening. Both FOB's lost synch; assumed it was the battery/s and replaced them. That didn't do a thing. Same issue; after a day or so, they both lose synch with the new batteries. Did the relearn and all, but same problem. Frustrating...

Anyone have any other ideas besides replacing the FOB's (which I doub this is) or is it the BCM as mentioned???

Thanks.

gbm

To match the transmitter to your vehicle:

1. Turn the ingnition key to the ON position
2. Clear any warning messages on the Driver Information Center (DIC) by pressing the RESET button.
3. Press the OPTIONS button on the DIC several times until the blank page is displayed, then press and hold the RESET button for two seconds.
4. When the message FOB TRAINING is displayed, push the RESET button once. The message HOLD LK+UNLK 1ST FOB will be displayed.

5. Press and hold the LOCK and UNLOCK buttons on the transmitter simultaneously for 15 seconds.

6. When a transmitter is learned, the DIC will display FOB LEARNED and then prompt you to learn the next transmitter.

7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for each additional transmitter.

8. Remove the key from the ignition.

The programmer mode will shut off if:

You don't program any transmitters for two minutes.
You take the key out of the ignition.
You have programmed three transmitters.

Hope this helps.

ROCKnROLL

It's possible it could be the receiver acting up.
I remember reading on the forum that a receiver can sometimes lose its ability to "receive", for lack of a better word and that it may need to be reset.

XmentalPilot

I have been trying to cure this same issue with my 98 'vert for at least a year...
The RKE is a common problem on 97, 98, and 99 Corvettes.

Replaced RFA (reciever 3X) replaced keyfobs 2 times,
replaced BCM, check and cleaned ALL of the grounds, just got the car back from the dealer after 3 weeks with GM tech involvement.. they decided it was the IPC (instrument cluster), had to wait 9 days for a part that is not available anymore??? replaced that.... they claimed that the last two days that they had the car the RKE worked perfectly.... I picked it up Wednesday night and drove home (about 4 miles) and checked it in my driveway.... crapola... would not work. I held lock/unlock and resynched and they worked for a while... next morning after driving to work (3 miles) dead again!! Then to top it off... my TPM had been working fine up until now.... all of a sudden my left rear TPM is failing intermittantly and these are BRAND NEW sensors, installed with the new wheels in April 04.
In the last 12 months the dealer has had this car for at least 30 days... thank God for the GMPP warrenty the cluster (new) was almost 800 bucks!! Not to mention the cost of the fobs and recievers.. the tech probably has 40 hours into this!! Crap like this is why you need to buy the extended warrenty (GMPP) I would hate to pay the full bill for this fiasco! I don't know what to do next!!! Even though the dealer hasn't had great success fixing this problem, for sure you can bet I'll still be buying the GMPP for my new 04 Z!!!

Bill Curlee

I had the 98 from HELL and FOB's to match!! It took me many many weeks to figure out what was causing my electrical issues but here is one of the major ones. My main battery was a major contributator to the FOB problem. It would start the car fine but the available voltage during starting would drop low and cause some of the electronics module in the electrical system to loose communitions with each other.

Here is a quick test that you can preform. Run the DIC diagnostics and look at what DTC codes that are present. My guess is that you will see LDCM, RDCM and RFA codes, Some will be NO COMMS codes.

Clear all of your codes and drive your car normaly for a day. When your FOB fails recheck your codes. PLEASE write them down and post them here.

You can also have your battery tested and see if it is providing you all of the CCA and voltage under load.

Please let us know how you make out..

If this test proves not to pan out, I have other things for you to try! Us 98 Vette dudes have to work together!

Bill C

countslav

Us 98 Vette dudes have to work together!

billgilbert

My 2000 has the same issue I have done the relearn and resynch many time used to work for a day not it will work until I move about 10 ft from the car then it is dead again. I may just buy some new FOBs.

luvinc5

I had the identical problem. I tried switching batteries in the fob...no avail. I installed new batteries in the fob...worked for a day or two. But in all, the fob lost touch with the car for whatever the reason.

Let me be clear - I didn't properly troubleshoot the problem. Instead I bought a new fob (with the passive switch) from the dealer, programmed it and have been one happy dude for the last 3+ months. It's a strange feeling to have the fob work as intended after so many years of trying to work with a failing fob.

Best of luck in your search for the cure.

servohead

Not to be repetitive here, but I have the same issue. I am a technician at volvo so I have some experience with these computerzied cars. My personal opinion is that this problem has something to do with the steering column recall software that they download into the car (my FOB stopped working RIGHT after they did the recall). Knowing how networked the systems are I believe that the receiver is screwed up somehow due to the s/w upgrade. Now, what do to if this is the problem? I suppose I could go back to the dealer and ask for a total software upgrade if they can offer that, which may include a software change for the keyless entry program.
I have replaced the battery in my fob and also checked the output signal with a remote checker tool. Seems to be ok. We'll get to the bottom of it.

gbm

How much did they get you for a new fob with this "passive switch"?

Thanks,

GM

gbm

Thanks for the advice; will do and let you know what codes I get.

TorchRedRaider

Checking in:
My 98 has the same problem. My primary FOB which worked for about a year also quit losing synch. It would work for a couple of hours then stop. Backup FOB has always worked fine. When synch'd the primary would passive lock and unlock vette when in range with passive feature deactivated on the FOB and DIC.
It's my opinion that the FOB is communicating with the vette too frequently and is getting locked out somehow.
I had intended to cut or desolder the ball-check switch in the remote but never got around to it. I feel its the culprit, even with the passive switch to off.

gbm

I don't think I'm using a fob with the passive switch; but not sure. How does one know?

ROCKnROLL

There's a slide switch with the word passive under it on the front of the remote below the buttons.
The part # on the back of the remote should read GM 10253839.
If not you don't have the correct remote for your car.