P38A Problem with keyfob opening central locking and starting

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Sophia2007

Member
Posts
27
Hi all

I need some help with my P38 4.0 2001

Been a away for a few weeks so car was sat on the drive and as usual the battery went totally dead - i charged it yesterday and as expected it was so flat that i had to go through the keycode process which after a few attempts i did managed to start the engine.

However tried again this morning battery has good charge but it is asking me to put the keycode in again and i cannot open the central locking on the feyfob button, i have 2 keys and tried this on both keys.

Anybody got any ideas on what i can do to fix it. I can't go through the keycode every time i want to start the car not having the central locking working on the buttons.

Thanks
 
Sophia2007 said:
Hi all

I need some help with my P38 4.0 2001

Been a away for a few weeks so car was sat on the drive and as usual the battery went totally dead - i charged it yesterday and as expected it was so flat that i had to go through the keycode process which after a few attempts i did managed to start the engine.

However tried again this morning battery has good charge but it is asking me to put the keycode in again and i cannot open the central locking on the feyfob button, i have 2 keys and tried this on both keys.

Anybody got any ideas on what i can do to fix it. I can't go through the keycode every time i want to start the car not having the central locking working on the buttons.

Thanks
Click to expand...
If the battery went totally flat, it may not be any good now, you need to check the voltage on the battery. Batteries do not take kindly to repeatedly going flat.
What do you call "a good charge". On a typical home charger it takes more then 24 hours to fully charge a P38 battery.
With diagostics, the EKA code can be turned off so you will not need it again.
 
Last edited:
Sounds like your battery is dead. MF-31-1000 from batterymegastore.co.uk is the usual cure.
There is an RF transmitter in the rear shelf, it picks up stray WiFi signals and wakes your becm up, this drains a healthy battery in short time. You can get a filter for it, I have mine disconnected. Fob now only works very close to the vehicle so I just use the key in door.
If you have/find someone with a nanocom they can turn off the need for EKA code
 
RangeRoller dt said:
Sounds like your battery is dead. MF-31-1000 from batterymegastore.co.uk is the usual cure.
There is an RF transmitter in the rear shelf, it picks up stray WiFi signals and wakes your becm up, this drains a healthy battery in short time. You can get a filter for it, I have mine disconnected. Fob now only works very close to the vehicle so I just use the key in door.
If you have/find someone with a nanocom they can turn off the need for EKA code
Click to expand...
Unlikely to be the RF receiver, she says it was "left for a few weeks as usual", any P38 will have a flat battery in that situation.
 
I read it as “battery usually dies when left”?

Mine doesn’t since I disconnected the RF. can leave it for a month or more with no worries.
Old battery repeatedly discharged has likely had it now. A good garage will ‘drop test’ the battery for you, sometimes for free, and tell you for sure.
 
Sophia2007 said:
Hi all

I need some help with my P38 4.0 2001

Been a away for a few weeks so car was sat on the drive and as usual the battery went totally dead - i charged it yesterday and as expected it was so flat that i had to go through the keycode process which after a few attempts i did managed to start the engine.

However tried again this morning battery has good charge but it is asking me to put the keycode in again and i cannot open the central locking on the feyfob button, i have 2 keys and tried this on both keys.

Anybody got any ideas on what i can do to fix it. I can't go through the keycode every time i want to start the car not having the central locking working on the buttons.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Key may have lost sync. I think yours should sync if put in the ignition within a certain time but this may also work.

Put key in lock, press unlock then turn to unlock. Press lock then turn to lock. Repeat until it unlocks on pressing the button. If it doesn't work after 4 attempts try the other fob. Note, this will only work if your RF receiver hasn't been disconnected and it isn't asking for the EKA code.
 
It might help if we knew the OP's general location and then if there's a local person with diags, they might be able to do the necessary changes for unlock/EKA.
 
If it is a Thor 1999MY+ it should sync by leaving the key in the ignition for a few minutes, open the window before doing this, ;)

They do like to lock themselves! ;)
 
Datatek said:
Yes it does. I have one that will drop to 11 volts when taken off the charger which reports it as fully charged in 30 minutes
Click to expand...
Interesting. The Big Duracell battery that is on my P38 was allegedly a "new" one when I bought the car and the other battery it came with died in 2 days. I suspect that the dealers and their "servicing folks" keep "dodgy-but-not-dead" batteries to swap out as "new" as a cheap replacement because it never holds a charge long-term. My last P38 I could leave in an airport car park for a week and it would be fine on my return. I wouldn't trust this one.
 
DanClarke said:
Interesting. The Big Duracell battery that is on my P38 was allegedly a "new" one when I bought the car and the other battery it came with died in 2 days. I suspect that the dealers and their "servicing folks" keep "dodgy-but-not-dead" batteries to swap out as "new" as a cheap replacement because it never holds a charge long-term. My last P38 I could leave in an airport car park for a week and it would be fine on my return. I wouldn't trust this one.
Click to expand...
Even some new batteries are not much good. My project P38 came with a brand new 950CCA Varta. From day #1 it struggled to start the car if the temperature dropped below zero, after 2 winters I now have to keep it on permanent charge, it will have to be replaced before long. I have another Varta on my mini tractor a D59 it struggles to start the 650CC 2 cylinder engine in cold weather. I bought it because it was on offer at a very good price, big mistake.
Hankook for me now every time, the last one on my P38 lasted over 8 years and was killed by an alternator failure.
 
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