Remote FOB
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4th Gear
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
Remote FOB
I just got a 98 corvette. The fob I was given didn't operate the locks. I put a new battery in and went through the programming steps through the disc. It seemed to work. Lock, unlock, hatchback all worked. The next day, nothing. Reprogram, works, then nothing. Any ideas?
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 12,466
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From: Fort Wayne IN
2025 C5 of the Year Finalist - Modified
C5 of Year Finalist (performance mods) 2019
2017 C5 of the Year Finalist
2016 C5 of the Year Finalist
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Most likely a cold solder joint in the fob itself. If you look in the Tech section there are a couple of very informative threads that show you where the trouble areas are and how to go about fixing them.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 2,297
Likes: 232
From: Round Rock Texas
Mine does the samething. Driver 1 no problems me driver 2 worked good for about 4 months then dead. Changed battery old one was 2.9volts reprogrammed. New one work for about a week???
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 12,466
Likes: 886
From: Fort Wayne IN
2025 C5 of the Year Finalist - Modified
C5 of Year Finalist (performance mods) 2019
2017 C5 of the Year Finalist
2016 C5 of the Year Finalist
2015 C5 of the Year Finalist
Guys, like I said, check for a cold solder joint. Here's the thread that documents it:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...em-solved.html
In the pic referenced below you see the red dots indicating typical failure points. My personal fob it was the large chip in the center, top right connection. (Credit to fasthotrod for the pic)
You WILL NOT be able to see if the solder joints are bad with the naked eye. I have a Harbor Freight locally, so I got their loupe kit and their pen soldering gun (it has a perfectly suited very fine tip for this), total spent was about $15. Then using the 10x magnification loupe I could EASILY see that the top right connection was broken. All I did to fix mine was heat the tip of the soldering pen up real good and just touch it to the joint to reflow the solder and close the joint back up. Working fine ever since.
The little soldering station was optional, you don't need it, but for the $5 it was, I use it for a lot of other things.
Seriously, give this a shot before spending $75+ on a used or far more for a new passive fob.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...em-solved.html
In the pic referenced below you see the red dots indicating typical failure points. My personal fob it was the large chip in the center, top right connection. (Credit to fasthotrod for the pic)
You WILL NOT be able to see if the solder joints are bad with the naked eye. I have a Harbor Freight locally, so I got their loupe kit and their pen soldering gun (it has a perfectly suited very fine tip for this), total spent was about $15. Then using the 10x magnification loupe I could EASILY see that the top right connection was broken. All I did to fix mine was heat the tip of the soldering pen up real good and just touch it to the joint to reflow the solder and close the joint back up. Working fine ever since.
The little soldering station was optional, you don't need it, but for the $5 it was, I use it for a lot of other things.
Seriously, give this a shot before spending $75+ on a used or far more for a new passive fob.
