UKC

Very annoying problem with my 2011 Clio: It won't lock near my house!

The problem started this morning and the key fob won't lock or unlock the car anywhere near my house. It is working fine away from the property and will lock and unlock the car from over 40 yards away if I park 100 yards down the road but it will not work at all near the house!

The central locking system itself is working near the house as I can lock the car using the button on the dashboard but the blasted remote key is stuffed!

I haven't made any changes to the car or the wiring in my house in a while.

I am massively confused!!!

In reply to Reach>Talent:

You have something transmitting on similar frequency, mast, radar, microwave etc or something Electricial breaking down and causing noise around that frequency.

In reply to Reach>Talent:

Interference from next doors new wireless router?

Adam

In reply to Reach>Talent:

I know nothing about the Clio fob but some of the 'clever' ones can tell if there is another fob in the car etc and won't lock. Any chance you dropped a spare one in the car etc? I once had left a bag in the boot with a spare fob in it and was banging myself on the car trying to figure out why it wouldn't lock!

In reply to Simos:

My head on the wall even! Haha

In reply to Reach>Talent: New battery

In reply to Simos:

or you have a new one in the house and is too close. to the car?

when i first hired a renault with that feature confused the hell out me why
i couldnt check it was locked!

In reply to Reach>Talent: car remote controls use a frequency just above 400MHz, which is also used for home burglar alarms, remote garage door openers etc. these can interfere, see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cumbria/8545104.stm

They should only cause a problem when they are actively transmitting which should rule out garage door openers, but burglar alarm system do a nearly continuous transmission.

It should not be anything to do with wireless routers, since these work on a much higher frequency, and would not interfere unless seriously faulty. Has anyone nearby fitted a new burglar alarm system?

In reply to Denzil:

My neighbour is having the same issue outside his house. He struggles to lock his campervan and daughter's mini, but has no probs with his Golf (nor me with my Skoda).

It's only started in the last week, so he's going to start knocking on other neighbours' doors to see who's started using new electronic stuff that might be causing the problem.

I've read also that TV (AV) transmitters can cause issues too.

In reply to damo5000:


Quite likely. Too much energy at the frequency of interest swamps the RF amplifier shutting the automatic gain control right down. Valid signals from the keyfob appear imperceptibly weak as they're no longer properly amplified.

Chances are the keyfob works at 2.4GHz so I think that leaves you with quite a lot of potential suspects plus the possibility it's broad spectrum noise from something faulty but you'd expect that to interfere with other equipment too.

Of course since it's a Clio it could be something simpler, perhaps your drive slopes and the slope causes the standard equipment internal water feature to run forward or back onto the central locking antenna

jk

In reply to Reach>Talent:

I've just called ofcom.

They will send out an engineer to find the cause of the problem for you. However, if it's something on your own property they charge ~£90/hour for the engineers visit - no charge if the fault is in someone else's house.

Common causes of interference:
Wireless doorbells
Wireless thermostats
Wireless weather stations
Video sender remote controls
Door/Gate remotes.

Their number is 020 7981 3131

In reply to jkarran:

The "every time I go round a lefthand bend, my feet get wet" question?