Working on the Keyfob

[razorboy]

Hey Lads,

Got myself a replacement battery for my keyfob as my remote doesn't work at all.

Successfully cut the case apart without hurting anything.
Before I went to replace the battery I decided to measure what power it had and surprisingly it was 3.4VDC.

So now I am believing it wasn't the battery after all and I need to look elsewhere. Has anyone seen a decent troubleshooting thread for the rest of the system?

I've done some searching and couldn't find anything. I have also tried all the reprogramming procedures with no luck.

2003 X5 3.0

Cheers
Bernie

[jfoj]

www.bmwgm5.com also check auto parts stores for the Energizer keyfob tester.

Battery is rarely a problem in these keyfobs.

[puddinboo]

Originally Posted by razorboy

Hey Lads,

Got myself a replacement battery for my keyfob as my remote doesn't work at all.

Successfully cut the case apart without hurting anything.
Before I went to replace the battery I decided to measure what power it had and surprisingly it was 3.4VDC.

So now I am believing it wasn't the battery after all and I need to look elsewhere. Has anyone seen a decent troubleshooting thread for the rest of the system?

I've done some searching and couldn't find anything. I have also tried all the reprogramming procedures with no luck.

2003 X5 3.0

Cheers
Bernie

if you inspect all the solder joints especially the ones where the 3 buttons are they might not be making contact.( take a magnify glass ). you may just need to re solder them and you might be good to go.

[razorboy]

Solder joints all look good.

It would be good to get advise on the other components of the system. I read the antenna is in the rear glass?

Where is the actual alarm module?

B

[puddinboo]

Do you have another key fob to try?

[razorboy]

Originally Posted by puddinboo

Do you have another key fob to try?

Unfortunately, this is the only one.

B

[Qsilver7]

Since you only have 1 remote...before tearing into the car's side of things...stick with the simple thing first...and that's the key.

You've already discovered the battery is ok...now (as previously suggested) make sure the 315 MHZ RF signal is being transmitted from the key before tearing into the car's FZV (central locking system) & DWA (anti theft alarm siren system). Find a local place (usually an auto parts store) that has a remote key frequency tester

BTW, the components for the FZV/DWA systems are similar but in different locations depending if you have a sedan, Touring, or SAV...so don't assume when reading info from a "sedan" forum that it applies to the X5. For example, the receiver in the E53 X5 is located above the tailgate' window...and the antenna is in the left rear cargo window (same antenna location as the Tourings). And though FZV & DWA are controlled by the GM and the signal from the remote key travels through the same components...when it reaches the GM...commands are the split & sent to central locking components to lock/unlock the vehicle & DWA components to arm/disarm the alarm siren system:

[razorboy]

Originally Posted by Qsilver7

Since you only have 1 remote...before tearing into the car's side of things...stick with the simple thing first...and that's the key.

You've already discovered the battery is ok...now (as previously suggested) make sure the 315 MHZ RF signal is being transmitted from the key before tearing into the car's FZV (central locking system) & DWA (anti theft alarm siren system). Find a local place (usually an auto parts store) that has a remote key frequency tester

BTW, the components for the FZV/DWA systems are similar but in different locations depending if you have a sedan, Touring, or SAV...so don't assume when reading info from a "sedan" forum that it applies to the X5. For example, the receiver in the E53 X5 is located above the tailgate' window...and the antenna is in the left rear cargo window (same antenna location as the Tourings). And though FZV & DWA are controlled by the GM and the signal from the remote key travels through the same components...when it reaches the GM...commands are the split & sent to central locking components to lock/unlock the vehicle & DWA components to arm/disarm the alarm siren system:

Thanks for the info!

Will certainly have the keyfob itself tested before I dig any deeper but its good to know where the relative parts are if I need to go further into figuring this out.

Cheers
Bernie