What is the cost of a new receiver compared to a new key fob/remote? If you’re going to throw parts at it, start cheap and work your way up in price.
That makes sense.
Where do you guys recommend getting chip key remotes from?
What do they typically cost?
I recommend checking with a dealership first to see how much they are. How much they cost depends on how sophisticated they are in terms of anti-theft technology. If you can get the product ID from the dealership, you can use it to comparison shop online. However, if you buy one online, you might have to take it to the dealership to have it programmed. Fortunately, because you have two functioning (partially, anyway) key fobs, it’s usually cheaper to program a new one to match the others than it is to replace and program one after you’ve lost both of them.
Really this sounds like a car problem rather than a remote problem, because both remotes do exactly the same thing and the owner has replaced the batteries and cleaned the contacts. So, is there a remote receiver for just the trunk? Where is it? Could it be limited because something is covering it somehow?
Anyway, I tried Googling the following string of words chrysler 300 trunk remote release forum, and got A LOT of citations to complaints and discussions on dedicated forums. So, I suggest you start looking that way, because it seems you are not alone.
Thanks for the suggestion! I tried that, but it didn’t help.
No one was discussing the same problem that I have (intermittent remote).
They were mostly talking about how to retrieve keys locked in the trunk and how to open the trunk when the battery is dead.
Does anyone have any other suggestions?
Alan
You may need to buy the Factory Service Manual - I recently bought for my latest car - came as 2 volumes each as big as Grandmas Bible, for around $40. It (they) have a wiring diagram where you can determine if there is indeed a separate relay or circuit involved with the trunk release FOB button.
This is never a bad investment even if it doesn’t help; use it as long as you own the vehicle, then offer it along with the car if you sell it down the road, or simply hop back on the internet and sell it for almost what you paid for it.
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I agree, the FSM is almost never wasted money.
Neither would be the $20 it costs for an inexpensive voltmeter to do the test I described above.
When the trunk latch is operating, it has 12 volts and clicks.
When it is failing to operate, it has zero volts and remains silent.
Alan
Been looking for schematics online but no luck so far. Lots of hits for it not working at all but no one has just the remote issue I could find.
I ran across the owner’s manual which describes the FOB trunk release method. Different from every one I’ve used before. You have to press twice within 5 seconds to activate the release…
Wow. I think you might have just saved the OP the trouble and cost of throwing parts at a problem that is likely not a mechanical problem at all. Good job.
Guess it pays to read the manual. Just my own story: I replaced the two fobs last week in my Pontiac. The dealer needed to do the programming. So when I got home I naturally tested each fob-lock, unlock, trunk, remote start. Both fobs started the car in the garage. A few hours later I went out to use the car and tried the remote start. No workie. So went to the store and came back and tried the remote start again and it worked. So what I had was an intermittent condition.
So while wondering if it was worth it to go back to the dealer or not, I pulled the manual and re-read the remote operation. Um, you get two starts per key activation. Third one won’t work until you turn the key to on and off again. Glad I didn’t go make a fool of myself at the dealer.
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I am aware of the double-click requirement. I even mentioned it in my earlier reply to Whitey.
"Also, it has worked flawlessly for years with a double-click but has recently become intermittent."
Alan
Not to be Captain Obvious or anything but you need to locate the radio receiving unit wherever it is located. The factory service manual will tell you where and if it is the same unit as for the doors. Then you have to check to make sure the antenna is ok and not blocked and so on. But I suspect a new receiver is going to be needed. This is what the factory manuals are good for. They have the trouble trees to track down the problems.
I think wentwest and Twinturbo have identified your problem; it’s not the remotes or the batteries.Same problem with both remotes and new batteries don’t help. Receiver gone bad or gotten disconnected.
You might have the power wire to the trunk release separating. It can fail where the wire flexes near the trunk hinge.
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I agree. That’s why I expressed the thought that I should replace the receiver.
But I don’t know where it is located.
Can’t be disconnected, though because it still works intermittently.
Alan
If the wire is broken inside the insulation, it could work intermittently. But I still feel like it’s possible that the receiver is somehow partially shielded from receiving a signal.
That would make it intermittent in the sense that it might work one day and then not the next.
But it wouldn’t explain why it fails 20 times and then works one second later, on the 21st (for example).
Alan
You’ve run me dry of ideas. I can tell you that when I find I need help locating something in a car body, the people that work at body shops are pretty helpful. Usually they are not dealerships, and it can be easier to get talking to someone who actually works on cars. They helped me get a hood open when the pull cable came loose, for example.