SA Footy

I have a VS Commodore that has a tempremental key now, the battery seems to be on it's way out. Can anyone tell me whether this affects the ignition, it seems that since the battery hsa deteriorated it gets harder to start the car.

I've made a few enquiries with different results, all seem to be pricey with no guarantee that the problem will be solved, has anyone experienced the same problem and got a result.

The funny thing is, I have seen over the past few weeks 2 cars the same model as mine struggling to start whilst in shopping centre carparks, they must be going through the same problem.

The clue to the battery being the problem in any car is the starter motor simply not turning over - you may get a few clicks.
If the battery is not quite that bad the starter motor may turn over slowly but the car struggle to start, or not start at all.
The quick test is hook up some else's battery with jumper leads. If that battery starts their car but not yours the fault is elsewhere.

Psyber wrote:The clue to the battery being the problem in any car is the starter motor simply not turning over - you may get a few clicks.
If the battery is not quite that bad the starter motor may turn over slowly but the car struggle to start, or not start at all.
The quick test is hook up some else's battery with jumper leads. If that battery starts their car but not yours the fault is elsewhere.

Car battery is fine, the battery for the key that struggles to unlock the car and let the immobiliser know that it's ok to start. Perhaps.

Yeah, I own a VS too, had the same problem.
It only happened to one of my keys tho, the other key never had a problem.
Then i lost both keys in a series of unfortunate instances and now i have new keys.
No immobilizer probs at all now! Costs around $200 for new keys.

not always a true diagnostic test though psyber, if the offending battery is extremely dead it will draw current from the good battery but not enough to wind the car over. the problem with VS commodores can be varied in this situation, the security system is controlled by the BCM which is inturn controlled by your key pad. call me after 5 ill give you some ideas and hopefully get more info

Pretty embarrassing having to lock and unlock your car until the immobiliser kicks off, but yeah, if you are keen to keep your keys, just keep locking and unlocking the car and the immobiliser eventually goes off.

Lightning McQueen wrote: Car battery is fine, the battery for the key that struggles to unlock the car and let the immobiliser know that it's ok to start. Perhaps.

Ahh.. I get you know. I don't know about the Commodore, but my experience is that with the remote being down they either respond or not as the remote just sends a triggering signal. However systems apparently vary as crushinator has said. [Yes he was right about the failure of my test with a very flat battery too. I'd overlooked that.]

A drop in voltage getting to the alarm chip may cause it to malfunction. I had one instance where the doors would unlock but the immobiliser stayed set, but that was because the car battery was down a bit in voltage not the remote control. In that case the car battery voltage was still good enough to start the car once the alarm was off, and recharging the car battery often worked for a while, but I had to replace it a month or so later. Then it all worked fine until the next battery died.

Lightning McQueen wrote:

Psyber wrote:The clue to the battery being the problem in any car is the starter motor simply not turning over - you may get a few clicks.
If the battery is not quite that bad the starter motor may turn over slowly but the car struggle to start, or not start at all.
The quick test is hook up some else's battery with jumper leads. If that battery starts their car but not yours the fault is elsewhere.

Car battery is fine, the battery for the key that struggles to unlock the car and let the immobiliser know that it's ok to start. Perhaps.

replace the battery for the key- you'll be fine.

bring the car to Elizbeff, we'll fix it for you.

CENTURION wrote:bring the car to Elizbeff, we'll fix it for you.

he's not doing an insurance job...

Punk Rooster wrote:

CENTURION wrote:bring the car to Elizbeff, we'll fix it for you.

he's not doing an insurance job...

you can't claim if your car is stolen in elizbeff. It's not stolen anyway, it's "re-located".

Lightning McQueen wrote:I have a VS Commodore that has a tempremental key now, the battery seems to be on it's way out. Can anyone tell me whether this affects the ignition, it seems that since the battery hsa deteriorated it gets harder to start the car.

I've made a few enquiries with different results, all seem to be pricey with no guarantee that the problem will be solved, has anyone experienced the same problem and got a result.

The funny thing is, I have seen over the past few weeks 2 cars the same model as mine struggling to start whilst in shopping centre carparks, they must be going through the same problem.

My old boy had the same issue. His was diagnosed as the little metal piece protruding from the key that touches the locking mechanism when you plug the key into the ignition being worn down. This meant that when the key was in the ignition where its battery is recharged as you're driving around, it wasn't being recharged and hence died.

2 solutions:

1. Buy a new key as mentioned above - but this option sucks.
2. Whip out the old soldering iron and give the little protrusion a bit of extra length. After all, whose protrusion couldn't do with a bit extra?

Punk Rooster wrote:

Lightning McQueen wrote:

Psyber wrote:The clue to the battery being the problem in any car is the starter motor simply not turning over - you may get a few clicks.
If the battery is not quite that bad the starter motor may turn over slowly but the car struggle to start, or not start at all.
The quick test is hook up some else's battery with jumper leads. If that battery starts their car but not yours the fault is elsewhere.

Car battery is fine, the battery for the key that struggles to unlock the car and let the immobiliser know that it's ok to start. Perhaps.

replace the battery for the key- you'll be fine.

Hey Punky, are you talking from experience?

devilsadvocate wrote:

Lightning McQueen wrote:I have a VS Commodore that has a tempremental key now, the battery seems to be on it's way out. Can anyone tell me whether this affects the ignition, it seems that since the battery hsa deteriorated it gets harder to start the car.

I've made a few enquiries with different results, all seem to be pricey with no guarantee that the problem will be solved, has anyone experienced the same problem and got a result.

The funny thing is, I have seen over the past few weeks 2 cars the same model as mine struggling to start whilst in shopping centre carparks, they must be going through the same problem.

My old boy had the same issue. His was diagnosed as the little metal piece protruding from the key that touches the locking mechanism when you plug the key into the ignition being worn down. This meant that when the key was in the ignition where its battery is recharged as you're driving around, it wasn't being recharged and hence died.

2 solutions:

1. Buy a new key as mentioned above - but this option sucks.
2. Whip out the old soldering iron and give the little protrusion a bit of extra length. After all, whose protrusion couldn't do with a bit extra?

Cheers d.a, I've heard something along them lines, at least it's a cheap 1st option along with Punky's that has had some backing from a discussion with Crushinator.

A big thankyou for all that made suggestions, I was half expecting the old "Buy a Ford" comment and then a debate on car types after that.

This forum just keeps getting better.

Lightning McQueen wrote:

Punk Rooster wrote:

Lightning McQueen wrote:

Psyber wrote:The clue to the battery being the problem in any car is the starter motor simply not turning over - you may get a few clicks.
If the battery is not quite that bad the starter motor may turn over slowly but the car struggle to start, or not start at all.
The quick test is hook up some else's battery with jumper leads. If that battery starts their car but not yours the fault is elsewhere.

Car battery is fine, the battery for the key that struggles to unlock the car and let the immobiliser know that it's ok to start. Perhaps.

replace the battery for the key- you'll be fine.

Hey Punky, are you talking from experience?

yes- but that was for an immobiliser for a Ford Courier!
But, what I said was true- the Immobiliser was being "difficult"- new battery, no problems!