JG

Hello,

Strange thing 1:

Just recently my doors have taken to locking themselves on their own as
I drive along ( 99 2.0 Ghia 5 door ) I hear about 4 clicks then they
lock. Any ideas?


Strange thing 2:

Some months ago my remote key stopped working and it was not the battery
as I tried a few new ones so on last weeks service when I got the car
back I was amazed to find it now works? Ford did ask me if I wanted the
key doing but I declined on reasons of cost. Anyway its the same key and
I certainly was not charged for any key work so once again any ideas?

Thanks.

John.
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Chris Whelan

JG wrote:

> Hello,
>
> Strange thing 1:
>
> Just recently my doors have taken to locking themselves on their own as
> I drive along ( 99 2.0 Ghia 5 door ) I hear about 4 clicks then they
> lock. Any ideas?
>
>
> Strange thing 2:
>
> Some months ago my remote key stopped working and it was not the battery
> as I tried a few new ones so on last weeks service when I got the car
> back I was amazed to find it now works? Ford did ask me if I wanted the
> key doing but I declined on reasons of cost. Anyway its the same key and
> I certainly was not charged for any key work so once again any ideas?

My remote got weaker. I replaced the batteries twice to no avail. I tried
various methods to align the transmitter to the car also unsuccessfully.

I needed the same size battery for a doorbell, so I took the one out of my
key. I didn't get round to replacing it for a month or so. It then started
working again! It fact, it's range seems better than when the car was new.

That was over a year ago and it still works. I'm sorry this doesn't directly
answer Strange thing 2, but does show that the failure mode can be
intermittent. I also wonder whether leaving the battery out for an extended
period forces the key to re-learn it's settings?

Chris

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JG

Chris Whelan wrote:
> JG wrote:
>
>> Hello,
>>
>> Strange thing 1:
>>
>> Just recently my doors have taken to locking themselves on their own as
>> I drive along ( 99 2.0 Ghia 5 door ) I hear about 4 clicks then they
>> lock. Any ideas?
>>
>>
>> Strange thing 2:
>>
>> Some months ago my remote key stopped working and it was not the battery
>> as I tried a few new ones so on last weeks service when I got the car
>> back I was amazed to find it now works? Ford did ask me if I wanted the
>> key doing but I declined on reasons of cost. Anyway its the same key and
>> I certainly was not charged for any key work so once again any ideas?
>
> My remote got weaker. I replaced the batteries twice to no avail. I tried
> various methods to align the transmitter to the car also unsuccessfully.
>
> I needed the same size battery for a doorbell, so I took the one out of my
> key. I didn't get round to replacing it for a month or so. It then started
> working again! It fact, it's range seems better than when the car was new.
>
> That was over a year ago and it still works. I'm sorry this doesn't directly
> answer Strange thing 2, but does show that the failure mode can be
> intermittent. I also wonder whether leaving the battery out for an extended
> period forces the key to re-learn it's settings?
>
> Chris
>

Thanks Chris that was interesting to read, perhaps that might be the
case when the battery is removed for a long period of time. I cant
actually remember if I removed the battery or not. Something to bear in
mind for the future though.

John

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Benjamin Robinson

In alt.autos.ford.focus, on the "Re: Door locks and keys...strange things part
1&2!" thread, Chris Whelan wrote:

>I needed the same size battery for a doorbell, so I took the one out of my
>key. I didn't get round to replacing it for a month or so. It then started
>working again! It fact, it's range seems better than when the car was new.

I remember reading -- somewhere -- that if you don't use a worn-down battery for
a while, they sometimes "bounce back." That is, if you rest the battery for a
while, and then use it again, it will appear to have a bit more juice than the
last time you used it. This effect is temporary, as you might imagine, and
you'll eventually need to get a new battery.

Perhaps something similar is happening in the case of your key battery. (By the
way, I'm in the States. I assume you're talking about the button battery that
goes in the key fob, right?)
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ford_technical_

i work in a main dealer(in the uk)we can not do any additonal work without
the owners consent-its illegal i think. your remote was just
reproggrammed by the technician who done the service(it only takes about
10 sec's to do)
after you said no, he could't go back and unproggramme it so hes just
moved onto his next vehicle


as for item 1- could be many things without listening myself is it
recyling? is the clicking noise from a door latch assy? or from the
module maybe a wiring problem?

Chris Whelan

Benjamin Robinson wrote:

> In alt.autos.ford.focus, on the "Re: Door locks and keys...strange things
> part 1&2!" thread, Chris Whelan wrote:
>
>>I needed the same size battery for a doorbell, so I took the one out of my
>>key. I didn't get round to replacing it for a month or so. It then started
>>working again! It fact, it's range seems better than when the car was new.
>
> I remember reading -- somewhere -- that if you don't use a worn-down
> battery for
> a while, they sometimes "bounce back." That is, if you rest the battery
> for a while, and then use it again, it will appear to have a bit more
> juice than the
> last time you used it. This effect is temporary, as you might imagine,
> and you'll eventually need to get a new battery.
>
> Perhaps something similar is happening in the case of your key battery.
> (By the
> way, I'm in the States. I assume you're talking about the button battery
> that goes in the key fob, right?)

Yes, the coin sized cell. In the UK, the remote function is built in to the
key, not a separate fob. The principle of operation is the same however.

I should have made it clearer that the battery I fitted to to the remote
that eventually made it work was a new one.

Chris

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JG

ford_technical_ wrote:
> i work in a main dealer(in the uk)we can not do any additonal work without
> the owners consent-its illegal i think. your remote was just
> reproggrammed by the technician who done the service(it only takes about
> 10 sec's to do)
> after you said no, he could't go back and unproggramme it so hes just
> moved onto his next vehicle
>
>
> as for item 1- could be many things without listening myself is it
> recyling? is the clicking noise from a door latch assy? or from the
> module maybe a wiring problem?
>

I did think the likely thing was that it was re-programmed. 10 seconds
huh... not bad at over £40 per go. Nice work if you can get it.

As for the clicking it sounds like its coming from the doors, but then
I'm not totally sure. Where abouts is the module?

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ford_technical_

its called the GEM module its the black one next to the silver PCM module
at the drivers footwell

warning though!!
if you disconnect the gem module you might lose the memory of the remote
fob and may need reproggraming again.

while your in the footwell there check the carpets and underfelt for water
ingress