Sometimes when I leave the keys in ignition of my 94 the PKE cycles and locks the doors. Not a big deal if i am at home or the windows are open. But I'm going to get locked out. I've had the car 10 years and it's never done this until reciently. Any ideas on how to fix this? New batteries?

 

I think that is the normal condition.

To conserve batteries, the remotes go to sleep after some period of inactivity (no motion). When they go to sleep they stop broadcasting the same as if you move out of range with the result that the doors lock.

This happens with the keys in the car enough that I heard that GM said something about how to wake them up if the doors are locked with the keys inside. Just rock the car. When it has enough motion the PKE's start to transmit again.

Good luck.

 

No, it is not "supposed" to lock if the keys are in the ignition.

That being said, many owners have reported that it does in fact happen.
But it is not normal.


To the OP.
What I would do is just turn the system off if your going to have your car at home and leave the keys in the ignition.
Hold the door button down for 3-5 seconds until you hear the door locks cycle.
If the system was active, this will turn it off. And if the system was off, this procedure will activate it again.

With the system turned off, the doors will never lock.

I only activate mine when I know I am going to be out somewhere and park the car out of sight.
At home, it is never turned on.

 

Your ignition cylinder is probably worn and loose. I bet your "key in ignition" chime doesn't go off when you open the door either. I never leave the key in the ignition, why take the chance? The "rocking the car" trick is OK, but you can't be sure it will work. Or turn off the system, like Rolla said.

 

on a related issue, my PKE now only unlocks the passenger door only (or sometimes no doors at all). To unlock the driver's door I have to press the HATCH button! And as you guessed it, the hatch button does not open the hatch. It also doesn't lock the doors sometimes when I leave the car.

This just starting doing it. The PKE battery is new. My PKE has worked fine up until now...

 

Chime works intermittently. Oh well, not something i'm going to spend money on. I guess it will just be one of those old car querks.

 

Mine just started to lock the doors with the keys inside the car. My car only has 9,000 miles so the key/ign switch isn't worn. I started to turn the system off unless I want the system to lock/unlock the vehicle.

 

I checked a little more and found how it should work is listed in the owner's manual.

On pages 38 & 39 of the 1994 owner’s manual.

Operation
You don’t have to do anything for PKE to work when the passive feature is on. Just walk toward your vehicle with the PKE transmitter, and the system will automatically disarm your theft deterrent system and unlock the doors. If it’s dark enough outside, your interior lights will come on.

If you move out of range, the PKE system will:
1. Lock the doors after five seconds.
2. Arm the theft deterrent system.
3. Sound the horn to let you know the
4. Turn off the interior lights.

You can also use the buttons on the transmitter. Press “DOOR’ to open the passenger’s door or “HATCH’ to open the hatch. The “HATCH’ button will only work when the ignition is off.

The system has a feature that makes it difficult for you to lock your keys in your vehicle. If you leave your keys in the ignition and lock the doors, the system will unlock the doors as soon as they are closed. If you leave the keys in the ignition and move away with the transmitter, the doors still will not lock. You should notice that the horn doesn’t sound and return to get your keys.

If you shake the transmitter, you may hear a slight rattle. This sound is from the motion sensor inside the transmitter. It does not indicate that anything is wrong with your transmitter.

The system will allow you to lock your keys in the vehicle if you didn’t leave them in the ignition. You should, however, be able to use the transmitter to get them out. After 26 seconds of no motion, the transmitter shuts down to save the battery. Wait about 30 seconds, then rock the vehicle. The transmitter should ”wake up” and unlock the doors.

This system can’t guarantee that you’ll never be locked out of your vehicle. If the battery is low or if the transmitter is in a place where the signal can’t get to the antenna, it won’t unlock the doors. Always remember to take your keys

 

Is it possible to turn of PKE with no fobs? Is there a single fuse that runs this and can be safely removed? I'm looking at a 95 with this light constantly on and the guy does not have the fobs. In my old 96 I never really used the system anyway so I'm ok with disabling it.

 

I always take the keys with me unless the windows are rolled down. It's just good insurance for my sanity.

I left the keys/fob in the ignition in May, rocked it to get it open. In my usual skull-numbing fashion, I then locked myself out again in the exact same fashion 10 minutes later except leaving the set on my passenger seat - rocking didn't open it back up. I was terribly lucky I was able to coat hanger the set out through the passenger window without a scratch.

So unless the windows are down, they're coming with me, and given how brittle the fobs are I rarely use mine any more, once a month at most.

 

Hi, just bought a 1995 C4, las owner had lost the PKE Fob, and never replaced. I have ordered a new PKE Fob, has not come in yet. But I just realized that the "Passive Keyless Entry" light is not coming on, on the Info Center. Does anyone know if programming the new PKE Fob will enable the PKE System, thus lighting the "Passive Keyless Entry" light from this point forward? Or is the "Passive Keyless Entry" light not coming on a sign of something else wrong?

 

What you want to do is follow the programming procedure in your owners manual. (You can do this before you get the fob). Everything should work just as they say, lights come on, blink, etc. right up until it says to bring the fob in range. If everything acts like they say it should to that point, chances are you are OK. If you can't get to that point, chances are you could have a problem.

If everything is working OK, you will be able to turn the system on and off with your new fob.

 

Ok, thanks for the info. Hope you don't mind me asking you a question. Ok, so I have purchased a FOB, it should be here tomorrow. Come to find out the fuse was missing, I put a fuse in it. The "Passive Keyless Entry" light came on, and wouldn't go off until I took the key out and put it back in, then didn't come back on, until I left it off for a few seconds, or remove the fuse. Also, it didn't seem to respond, when I go through the FOB programming steps, pressing the "Trip ODO" twice, then holding down the "Fuel Info" button until the "Passive Keyless Entry" comes on, the "Passive Keyless Entry" never comes on. I've not tried these steps with the new FOB, I don't have it yet, so, do you think the new FOB will make a difference, or do you think the PKE Module is the likely part that is not working properly?

 

This could be why the previous owner "lost" his fob. Don't be in a hurry to open the new fobs packaging. Check fuses 26, 40 and 42, make sure they are all OK. The next question is your ignition, when you leave the key in the ignition, turned on, and open a door do you get the "door open" chime?

Next, do your Trip Odo and Fuel Info buttons work correctly? Do they walk through the odometer and fuel display when you press them?

If the above things are not working you will not be able to program a fob. If the above are working, but you can't get the light to come on when you hold down fuel info, I'm afraid you might have a receiver problem.

 

I too just experienced that this month. I put in a new battery however what I believe is the cause after consulting a gm specialist and using All data as my visual aid and guide is this
there are 2 antennas one in back to left of hatch lock and one in Lh behind i/p above steering colum.

Any cell phone or radar detector or remote can shorten the the range.
I think also that because so many owners have problems with door panels n ot sitting and staying correctly in place water dirt rust could have seeped in.
Hope it helps

 

I'm pretty sure that an antenna problem would not affect the programming procedure prior to when the fob is required.

 

It's not coming on, under normal circumstances, if the system is not active.

If the system is active the PKE light in the info center will light up when the key is turned on, this lets you know the system is active. If it doesn't light up the system is not active. Other wise there is no bulb check when system is off.

 

Ok the "door open" chime works correctly, and the Trip Odo and Fuel Info buttons work correctly. I have the new FOB and it will not program, I cannot get the Passive Keyless Entry light to come on and if it does, it won't go off, visa/versam, unless I turn the ignition of and remove the key, and put the key back in. Do y'all think it's the Receiver?

 

I have bought a used Receiver, because I heard they are hard to find, and I found one on Ebay. Is this a difficult job?

 

You should never get locked out. Rock the car, the PKE swings and the doors open. No big deal.