keyfob battery failing with *no* warning

[Sanqhar]

3 hours ago, Gapp said:

Hi RobinH, I agree the KESSY remotes seem a bit sensitive about the battery make, mine just gave out one cold day after driving for about 3 minutes, a message just popped up saying “no key detected” and when I stopped shortly after to pick up my click and collect shopping at my local Tesco store the car would not start, no response at all, I phoned my local dealership and the manager said it’s definitely the battery and came out to me and replaced the battery and it started working again! I haven’t had any more problems with it since but I now keep a spare battery in the car just in case. I know the staff and the workshop technicians at the dealership personally so I will have a chat with them next time I’m there about the remote unit battery issue and reply to let everyone know what they recommend.

might be a specific routine when the battery is changed?

There is a procedure for starting the car with a dead key battery ...push the starter button with the body of the key.  I'm surprised the dealer didn't know this.  

If the car is locked then you use the key in the door lock like we used to years ago, just prise off the lock cover. 

It's all in the manual. 

 

tom

[Gapp]

Thanks for the info, but while I was waiting I found and read the section on the KESSY in the manual and tried pushing the start button with the remote body as stated but with no result, I also tried using the emergency key out of the remote just to see if it would reset the system but again no result, but thanks again for the information.

[Gapp]

Thanks, I will ask my dealership if they can identify if my system is early or late with the new function.

[agedbriar]

1 hour ago, Gapp said:

Thanks for the info, but while I was waiting I found and read the section on the KESSY in the manual and tried pushing the start button with the remote body as stated but with no result, I also tried using the emergency key out of the remote just to see if it would reset the system but again no result, but thanks again for the information.

I think the manual is ambiguous on that. As I see it, the suggested expedient is only meant to fix a system fault. A dead keyfob battery is another matter, although the error message is the same. Hence the Caution.

I too have heard of cases when the suggested procedure didn't work, while a new keyfob battery did.

 

Edited 6 September, 2021 by agedbriar

[Sanqhar]

11 hours ago, agedbriar said:

I think the manual is ambiguous on that. As I see it, the suggested expedient is only meant to fix a system fault. A dead keyfob battery is another matter, although the error message is the same. Hence the Caution.

I too have heard of cases when the suggested procedure didn't work, while a new keyfob battery did.

 

 

That's interesting. My car is a MY 2019 (first reg Oct 2018). 

My wife was locked out with a dead key fob battery  She phoned me and I talked her through getting into the car and starting it by  pressing the start button with the key fob. The car started OK.

Go figure. 

 

tom

 

Edited 7 September, 2021 by Sanqhar

[Berisford]

37 minutes ago, Sanqhar said:

 

That's interesting. My car is a MY 2019 (first reg Oct 2018). 

My wife was locked out with a dead key fob battery  She phoned me and I talked her through getting into the car and starting it by  pressing the start button with the key fob. The car started OK.

Go figure. 

 

tom

 

Yep, same scenario here, talked her through the procedure over the phone.......

[agedbriar]

But was the battery actually dead or did it keep on working after that procedure?

I once tested the procedure with a battery-less keyfob and it didn't work.

 

 

Edited 7 September, 2021 by agedbriar

[DBSurrey]

Could it simply be that a worn battery with low voltage sends out a weak signal such that the fob has to be put next to the ignition button to work ?  Further away such as outside the car the signal is too weak to unlock the car.

[Gapp]

I think that could be the problem, if the battery is low it will not communicate properly and when you get into the car with the emergency key and push the start button with the unit it will work due to the close proximity, When mine went out it was a very cold day and it worked at first and I had started the engine with key in my jacket pocket and de-iced the windows and the message appeared after driving away, after a 10min drive to Tesco’s and stopped to pickup my shopping the car would not restart and the message would not go away. I think the battery was low and after being outside for a short while the -3deg C temperature took the battery too low to function. Maybe a good idea to replace the battery every year in the late autumn before the temperatures go close to freezing, just a thought.

[Gapp]

I am familiar with the Vauxhall keys, the earlier systems use the battery for the remote function and the starting function is done by a small ferrite chip in the remote that the car picks up and enables the start, they were able to drop out of the unit if dropped and it fell open and without it put back you could not start the car as the immobiliser would not enable the ignition and starter. It would then need a new chip to be programmed to the engine controller before the car would start.

the KESSY version works similar to the Skoda system but we never had the same problems and a new battery always sorted the nonstarter unless the key was faulty.

[Sanqhar]

4 hours ago, agedbriar said:

But was the battery actually dead or did it keep on working after that procedure?

I once tested the procedure with a battery-less keyfob and it didn't work.

 

 

Battery was apparently dead, no little red light. 

 

[patrolman]

The battery in the key fob has nothing to do with the starting of the vehicle (see my video earlier in this thread ) when the ignition is switched on the vehicle looks for the transponder in the key ,this transponder doesn’t need power,

 if the vehicle is unlocked with the remote this will trigger the immobiliser to start looking for the transponder but if unlocked with the key this won’t happen 

 

 

Edited 9 September, 2021 by patrolman

[agedbriar]

1 hour ago, patrolman said:

The battery in the key fob has nothing to do with the starting of the vehicle (see my video earlier in this thread ) when the ignition is switched on the vehicle looks for the transponder in the key ,this transponder doesn’t need power,

 

It seems that we are either dealing with different versions of KESSY or experiencing problems (and testing) in different contexts (even different timing?).

 

 

 

Edited 9 September, 2021 by agedbriar

[patrolman]

36 minutes ago, agedbriar said:

 

It seems that we are either dealing with different versions of KESSY or experiencing problems (and testing) in different contexts (even different timing?).

 

 

 

I think the hand book is lost in translation even the latest build vehicles will start 

[agedbriar]

1 hour ago, patrolman said:

I think the hand book is lost in translation

 

... and the reports of cases when a new keyfob battery fixed the no-start problem are lost in translation as well. 

 

The Czech and German handbook version. One of them should be the source text.

 

 

 

Edited 9 September, 2021 by agedbriar

[smipx]

I think that without a battery the transponder inside the key still works but only in very close proximity to the reciever behind the stop/start button. This is why you have to have the transponder within 1-2mm of the stop/start button (or to keep it simple press the start button with the key which by definition means its less than 1-2mm from the button if the battery is flat). The transponder requires no power.

 

E.G.: https://www.lockfix24.co.uk/our-service/more/car-keys-explained

 

Regards,

 

Paul

   

Edited 10 September, 2021 by smipx

[agedbriar]

Perhaps we should have paid more attention to the spotlit words below...

It would seem that the suggested expedient is based on marginal conditions (hence "try" resp. "pokuste se", "ist zu versuchen"   ) which would explain the different results reported.

 

 

 

 

Edited 12 September, 2021 by agedbriar

[agedbriar]

Adding here a precious bit of info, found on another Karoq forum:

 

"Starting the car with the key against the start button worked, but took several attempts while the alarm was sounding."

 

(posted by Milfmog, on karoqforums.co.uk, Oct 12, 2021)

[CJJE]

Knowing the problems owners have been having with KESSY keys, I replaced the batteries in my 3 keys on the car's first birthday, (Panasonics out and Duracell in). All 3 Panasonics were showing low on my battery tester while the new Duracells were fine. But today, I got a warning message from the car telling me to change the key battery! Do I need to hunt down some Panasonic 2025s??

 

Chris

[DBSurrey]

I get the impression there are a lot of fake brand batteries about so the Duracell ones may be in that category.  I replaced my Panasonic fob battery after 23 months with a Varta one from Screwfix.  Lasted a fortnight but a second Varta one from the same bubble pack is still working after 12 months.  I don’t mind if one out of four is faulty (although Varta has a good reputation).  Good price from Screwfix as well.  Now keep at least 2 fresh batteries in car just in case and on long trips take a second or third spare key as well.

[CJJE]

2 hours ago, DBSurrey said:

I get the impression there are a lot of fake brand batteries about so the Duracell ones may be in that category.  I replaced my Panasonic fob battery after 23 months with a Varta one from Screwfix.  Lasted a fortnight but a second Varta one from the same bubble pack is still working after 12 months.  I don’t mind if one out of four is faulty (although Varta has a good reputation).  Good price from Screwfix as well.  Now keep at least 2 fresh batteries in car just in case and on long trips take a second or third spare key as well.

I bought the Duracells at Boots, all with a decent life left, so would hope they're not pirated ones! I've been looking for Panasonics today since that's what came out of the keys, but the only ones I've seen are short-lifed ones in Amazon. 

 

Chris

[SurreySlowCoach]

I get through quite a few of these batteries as our cats have direction finders on their collars. Bought quite a few duracell via amazon and they look genuine with long dates but the odd one just doesn't work.

[Gapp]

Hi all, I have asked a good friend of mine that was a Skoda technician up to a few months ago and has now retired if he has any information on changing the key remote batteries from the workshop point of view and will post his thoughts as soon as he replies.

[rogertaylor]

A couple of months ago one of my fobs failed (car wouldn't unlock via Kessy or button on the remote) so I used the spare one. 

When I checked the original fob later by pressing the button the red light on the fob didn't illuminate so I assumed the battery was dead (although there had been no prior warning message in the instrument cluster) so changed it for a new one (after checking the new battery with my voltmeter) but it still didn't work so I assumed the fob was faulty and booked the car into my local Skoda dealer under warranty.

Took the 'faulty' fob out of the drawer the evening before going to the garage and it now worked (with new battery still in it) - strange!

Explained all this at the garage the following morning.

They said that Skoda had issued a technical bulletin telling garages to replace both front door locks to fix this problem!!!!

Garage ordered the new locks and I took the vehicle back a few days later.

Last week the fob failed again (no prior warning message in the instrument cluster). When I checked the battery it was low so I fitted a new one (Duracell again) and it worked

Unfortunately, the fobs got mixed up when it went to the garage the first time so I'm not sure which one had the low battery last week

[CJJE]

21 hours ago, CJJE said:

I bought the Duracells at Boots, all with a decent life left, so would hope they're not pirated ones! I've been looking for Panasonics today since that's what came out of the keys, but the only ones I've seen are short-lifed ones in Amazon. 

 

Chris

OK... so I ordered 5 Panasonic CR2025s from RS Components, which arrived the next day. 

 

On testing them, they were reading 3.1 volts, while my new Duracells were only 2.8 and 2.9 (very close to the year-old Panasonics I'd removed after a year's use!) 

 

Hopefully this will keep the car happy for another year!!  

 

Chris