Hi

Bit of an odd one. Recently the range at which I can unlock/lock my FL has gotten shorter and shorter until I have to get right by it. Affects both keys and new batteries in each.

Nothing on the VCDS scan. Is there an antenna for the receiver or is it built-in to the module, uses radio antenna etc. I wonder if I have dislodged something while fitting dashcam/reversing cam etc.

Any suggestion.

Thanks

Have you tried the "holding the plip against your skull and pressing the button" trick?

Well the neighbours have now had their suspicions confirmed. They now know I'm nuts...

It works, but any ideas on the root cause?

Nope, but I'd love to know exactly why putting the remote to your head actually increases the range..................

 

Mike

Likewise; I knew it should work, and since I had no idea what caused the issue I thought that a workaround was the next best thing.

Same reason as grabbing a radio aerial will improve performance because you're body is extending the the size of the antenna.

 

OP, make sure you have cleaned the battery contacts prior to fitting. Even a small amount of corrosion can reduce the conductivity at such low power. A fibreglass pencil from Halford's works a treat and using a small amount of electrical contact (silicon) grease on connectors. 

Thanks. I cleaned the contacts with some IPA. I think it relates to feeding the reversing camera cable through the tailgate as I needed to disconnect the heated rear window element to aid getting past a tight spot. Might have a check that nothing is damaged or incorrectly connected.

 

Needs to warm up first though.

I seem to have made some progress on this. It started when I fitted the reversing cam. Unplugging the power to it restored the range so it looks like some kind of RF interference. . 

 

I've spent this morning adding clip-on ferrite cores to the cable I could get to. So far, there is an improvement.

Does that mean that the rear window heating element acts as the aerial ?

Does that mean that the rear window heating element acts as the aerial ?

Not sure but the cabling I installed runs very close to the R108 antenna amplifier, which is attached to the heating element.

 

I have the same camera as mikeholroyd has and he's not reported any problems. There looks to be a built-in ferrite core in the fuse box area so will attached some extra cores there too. Many need to revisit the power set up from the camera lead to the main fusebox.

Cheers Mike.

 

I have mine on a permanent live feed so probably not the best idea (too quick and too dirty). If the weather allows on Saturday I'll have another go. The rear wiper sounds like an idea and everything except the RCA cable is in one place.

 

On the plus side, I'm getting a dab hand at removing the rear trim and haven't lost a spring clip in ages.    

And fixed.

 

Root cause analysis = Being an eijit.

 

Swapped power feed to a switched feed and can lock/unlock the car from half way long the road.