key fob on 2000 corvette not working

**jdel** · 10-25-12, 10:40 AM

The key fob on my 2000 corvette (convertible) does not work. TPMS appears to be working. Holding lock and unlock buttons together near car until horn beeps will get fob working for maybe a minute. Have replaced battery in fob. Also purchased OEM fob from ikeyless (used item). Programmed to car. Does same thing. Can reconnect to car, but stops working after about a minute. Is this a problem with RFA? Is it possible I have two defective fobs?

Also new fob has passive on/off what is that? Fob I got with car does not have passive on/off. I am 3rd owner.

**timfitz63** · 10-25-12, 12:07 PM

Originally Posted by jdel

The key fob on my 2000 corvette (convertible) does not work. TPMS appears to be working. Holding lock and unlock buttons together near car until horn beeps will get fob working for maybe a minute. Have replaced battery in fob. Also purchased OEM fob from ikeyless (used item). Programmed to car. Does same thing. Can reconnect to car, but stops working after about a minute. Is this a problem with RFA? Is it possible I have two defective fobs?

Also new fob has passive on/off what is that? Fob I got with car does not have passive on/off. I am 3rd owner.

Hmm. Difficult to say where the problem lies, since you've got one older and one newer fob; I'm not sure which is compatible with the 2000 models. And unfortunately, the older fobs are not compatible with the vehicles using the newer fob -- and vice versa.

The passive feature was available on the early C5's (my '98 has it), but was discontinued at some point during the production run; my '04 does not have the feature. Basically all the passive feature does is unlock the vehicle when the fob is brought within close proximity of the vehicle, then lock it again when the fob is taken outside of that range, all without touching any of the buttons on the fob. I'd suggest consulting your 2000 model year Owner's Manual, somewhere around p. 2-6, which would describe the features built into the RFA for your vehicle. The passive feature is covered in my '98 Manual starting on p. 2-8.

Once you sort out which fob is the correct one for your vehicle, you can start narrowing down the problem a little better.

**jdel** · 10-26-12, 07:58 AM

Originally Posted by timfitz63

Hmm. Difficult to say where the problem lies, since you've got one older and one newer fob; I'm not sure which is compatible with the 2000 models. And unfortunately, the older fobs are not compatible with the vehicles using the newer fob -- and vice versa.

The passive feature was available on the early C5's (my '98 has it), but was discontinued at some point during the production run; my '04 does not have the feature. Basically all the passive feature does is unlock the vehicle when the fob is brought within close proximity of the vehicle, then lock it again when the fob is taken outside of that range, all without touching any of the buttons on the fob. I'd suggest consulting your 2000 model year Owner's Manual, somewhere around p. 2-6, which would describe the features built into the RFA for your vehicle. The passive feature is covered in my '98 Manual starting on p. 2-8.

Once you sort out which fob is the correct one for your vehicle, you can start narrowing down the problem a little better.

Car does not have passive mode according to manual. Turned passive mode off on fob. Both original and replacement fob will program. Either fob has to be " re-synced" each time it is used. Loses "sync" after a couple of minutes at best. When "synced" either fob performs all functions. Currently fobs programmed as fob 1 and fob 2.

**timfitz63** · 10-26-12, 12:05 PM

Originally Posted by jdel

Car does not have passive mode according to manual. Turned passive mode off on fob. Both original and replacement fob will program. Either fob has to be " re-synced" each time it is used. Loses "sync" after a couple of minutes at best. When "synced" either fob performs all functions. Currently fobs programmed as fob 1 and fob 2.

Odd. I was under the impression that the fob styles were not interchangeable, but perhaps the newer cars will recognize the older fobs...?

Just so I've got the progression straight: You had one fob (newer style) that was supplied with your car. Thinking that the original fob had gone bad (because it consistently lost synch), you first replaced the battery; and that failing to resolve the problem, purchased another fob (older style with 'passive' feature) as a replacement? Now, both fobs are behaving in the same way (losing synch shortly after being re-synched).

Since both fobs are behaving in the same way, my guess would be that the problem lies within the car; perhaps as you surmised, with the RFA module. I'm just employing a little deductive reasoning to arrive at that conclusion; it's not likely that you have two fobs, received from independent sources, that coincidentally have the same problem/failure.

I don't know if there's a good way to test and/or repair the RFA module short of replacing it; perhaps one of the forum C5 gurus will chime in here shortly and let us both know? About the only other thing you could try is to program your fob(s) to another compatible C5 (perhaps owned by a friend) and see if it/they stay synched longer than a minute (say, overnight).

**jdel** · 10-26-12, 12:48 PM

Originally Posted by timfitz63

Odd. I was under the impression that the fob styles were not interchangeable, but perhaps the newer cars will recognize the older fobs...?

Just so I've got the progression straight: You had one fob (newer style) that was supplied with your car. Thinking that the original fob had gone bad (because it consistently lost synch), you first replaced the battery; and that failing to resolve the problem, purchased another fob (older style with 'passive' feature) as a replacement? Now, both fobs are behaving in the same way (losing synch shortly after being re-synched).

Since both fobs are behaving in the same way, my guess would be that the problem lies within the car; perhaps as you surmised, with the RFA module. I'm just employing a little deductive reasoning to arrive at that conclusion; it's not likely that you have two fobs, received from independent sources, that coincidentally have the same problem/failure.

I don't know if there's a good way to test and/or repair the RFA module short of replacing it; perhaps one of the forum C5 gurus will chime in here shortly and let us both know? About the only other thing you could try is to program your fob(s) to another compatible C5 (perhaps owned by a friend) and see if it/they stay synched longer than a minute (say, overnight).

You have the facts correctly. Good idea on trying another vehicle.

I am contacting a dealer in the area that sells a good number of corvettes to see if their service department has any experience with this problem.

I think the RFA is expensive so I would like to have some assurance that replacement will fix the problem. Is the RFA the receiver or is the receiver separate from the actuator?

**timfitz63** · 10-26-12, 04:33 PM

Originally Posted by jdel

... I think the RFA is expensive so I would like to have some assurance that replacement will fix the problem. Is the RFA the receiver or is the receiver separate from the actuator?

RFA stands for "Remote Function Actuation;" I could be mistaken, but I don't think there's an actuator involved in the module. But I do believe the receiver is integral; and that's probably where the cost comes in. I also believe it handles signals from the fobs and the tire pressure sensors, but they obviously operate on different frequencies, so it may just be one function of your vehicle's RFA module that's been affected. But all of the preceding is a lot of educated speculation on my part. We need one of the gurus to give us the straight facts.

Something else that I'd forgotten before (and will probably be the first thing the gurus ask of you): you should pull error codes. This could also help to isolate where the problem is. The codes flash by pretty quickly, but there's a way to scroll through them one at a time.

**jdel** · 12-10-12, 11:18 AM

Originally Posted by timfitz63

RFA stands for "Remote Function Actuation;" I could be mistaken, but I don't think there's an actuator involved in the module. But I do believe the receiver is integral; and that's probably where the cost comes in. I also believe it handles signals from the fobs and the tire pressure sensors, but they obviously operate on different frequencies, so it may just be one function of your vehicle's RFA module that's been affected. But all of the preceding is a lot of educated speculation on my part. We need one of the gurus to give us the straight facts.

Something else that I'd forgotten before (and will probably be the first thing the gurus ask of you): you should pull error codes. This could also help to isolate where the problem is. The codes flash by pretty quickly, but there's a way to scroll through them one at a time.

To close this thread out. Checked codes and there were none other than some historical codes on door modules that were related to battery.

Was at dealer getting routine oil change and service and told them of my problem. I took their suggestion and ordered a fob from GM. The new fob appears to have fixed my problem.

The fob I ordered from ikeyless.com has been returned and the cost (other than shipping two ways) has been refunded.

**timfitz63** · 12-10-12, 11:33 AM

Originally Posted by jdel

To close this thread out. Checked codes and there were none other than some historical codes on door modules that were related to battery.

Was at dealer getting routine oil change and service and told them of my problem. I took their suggestion and ordered a fob from GM. The new fob appears to have fixed my problem.

The fob I ordered from ikeyless.com has been returned and the cost (other than shipping two ways) has been refunded.

Good deal! Glad you finally got it resolved!

**BigJimZ16** · 12-10-12, 03:59 PM

Originally Posted by jdel

To close this thread out. Checked codes and there were none other than some historical codes on door modules that were related to battery.

Was at dealer getting routine oil change and service and told them of my problem. I took their suggestion and ordered a fob from GM. The new fob appears to have fixed my problem.

The fob I ordered from ikeyless.com has been returned and the cost (other than shipping two ways) has been refunded.

If you open up you old fob, you will most probably find broken solder joints related to the battery connection. I've reflowed the solder on several fobs that had similar symptoms like yours. Quite common I'm told...