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Interference with Key Fob and heavy Equipment??


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Hi all, newbie here.

I bought my 2013 C-MAX Hybrid used about a month ago.  Everything is going great... until this morning.  Came to work, parked the car.  Was told I need to move it because they need to remove stumps where I was parked.  They were working a little ways down from me with a (I assume it's called a Stump Remover) loud and large piece of heavy equipment.   I get in to start and nothing happens.  I follow the manual and put my 3 button key fob against the steering wheel and after a couple of tries, it starts!   But.... I can't get into drive!  None of the gears work.  I keep going backwards until I am at the curb.   I did see one error screen about my parking assist wasn't working other than that the panel was normal.   I ended up turning it off.  Tried again, got it started and was finally able to move forward and park across the way.   But again, once I stopped and turned it off, the panel was dead again.  I couldn't lock the car up or anything.   The manual did say that interference (like metal and cell phones) can cause the vehicle not to start.   But what about stump removers??  LOL    I will test it again after they leave, but it was really freaking me out.   Has anyone else had this happen?

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Interference is certainly a possibility but I'd check the keyfob battery first thing.  You didn't have an issue getting into the car?  Or was it unlocked?

 

Battery is a CR2032 type.   You might get lucky and find one at work. 

Edited by fotomoto
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Thank you for your reply! I went out after they left and it was not the interference.  But the FOB still didn't work.  You were right!  I found a spare battery here at work. Changed it but, it's still not working.  It won't come on unless I put the fob against the steering wheel.  It seems to work, then not work.  I was able to lock the car, and then I couldn't.   guess I'll be calling the dealership.  Thanks for your help.  this sucks  :(

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Have the dealer also check the 12V battery in your car (see other posts in forum on 12V battery issues for details). It most likely supplies power to the main receiver that picks-up transmission from FOB. A low/faulty 12V battery might also explain the other electrical issues you noted in original post.

Edited by Zathrus
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I hate to admit being so stupid, but here goes...

 

Last Spring, I changed the 2032 in a key fob for my Pontiac Vibe, and I discovered that at least one company (Energizer, I think, but I'm not positive) sells them in the blister multi-packs and now applies a gray plastic sticker on the 'bottom' side of the battery, the one without the battery number. The sticker on the bottom does say 'Remove this before using' or something to that effect.

 

The reason that is significant, is because a year or so before that, the other Pontiac key fob stopped working.

Bought a pair of 2032's at the store, came out to the car, quickly stuck in the 'fresh' battery, but it still didn't work.

 

Even went through the whole dozen-or-so-steps of reprogramming to recognize the fob, figuring the car stopped recognizing it when the battery went dead.

The fob is 10 years old at that point, so I figured it wasn't really worth spending $30 on a new fob, and simply stopped using that one. It's the 'spare' key, anyway.

 

So this Spring, after discovering the sticker on the bottom of the one I just replaced, I checked the old fob, and sure enough, the new battery in the other fob didn't work because… there was STILL a sticker on the bottom!

Edited by kostby
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Well you were right, it was the 12 volt battery.   Went to the dealership after taking quite awhile to get it to start.  Of course when I got there the problem didn't replicate. :( 

They took it back and did some testing and found that my 12 volt battery was bad.  Replaced it free since still under warranty.  Yay!

 

But here's the kicker.  The car is only a year old.  How could the battery already be bad?   I did buy it used, so maybe the prior owners drained it many times?   the ONLY thing I could think of was that I have a cell phone charger I keep in the 12 volt adapter plug.  As it emits a blue light, its always on even when the car is turned off.  Do you think that it could have drained it?    I know that sounds crazy, but in my old car, once I turned the car off, the charger went off too.   I'm pretty sure it stays on in the Cmax.

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the ONLY thing I could think of was that I have a cell phone charger I keep in the 12 volt adapter plug.  As it emits a blue light, its always on even when the car is turned off.  Do you think that it could have drained it?    I know that sounds crazy, but in my old car, once I turned the car off, the charger went off too.   I'm pretty sure it stays on in the Cmax.

I can't say how long it would need to drain to become an issue. On the other hand, you should check to see about getting your cell phone installed with a connection that shuts off when the car shuts down.

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Well you were right, it was the 12 volt battery.   Went to the dealership after taking quite awhile to get it to start.  Of course when I got there the problem didn't replicate. :( 

They took it back and did some testing and found that my 12 volt battery was bad.  Replaced it free since still under warranty.  Yay!

 

But here's the kicker.  The car is only a year old.  How could the battery already be bad?   I did buy it used, so maybe the prior owners drained it many times?   the ONLY thing I could think of was that I have a cell phone charger I keep in the 12 volt adapter plug.  As it emits a blue light, its always on even when the car is turned off.  Do you think that it could have drained it?    I know that sounds crazy, but in my old car, once I turned the car off, the charger went off too.   I'm pretty sure it stays on in the Cmax.

 

That 12v outlet will shut down about 5 minutes after you turn the car off.

Leave the console open and look in after at least 5 minutes.

Don't open the door AND don't carry the key fob with you, the blue light should be out.

 

If it's on then you do have a problem.

 

The 12v outlet in the back is always on but doesn't keep the car awake.

The 12 volt battery is tiny, doesn't do much but operate some relays so the HV (high voltage) battery can start/run everything (AC, ICE (internal combustion engine) else).

 

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That 12v outlet will shut down about 5 minutes after you turn the car off.

Leave the console open and look in after at least 5 minutes.

Don't open the door AND don't carry the key fob with you, the blue light should be out.

 

If it's on then you do have a problem.

 

The 12v outlet in the back is always on but doesn't keep the car awake.

The 12 volt battery is tiny, doesn't do much but operate some relays so the HV (high voltage) battery can start/run everything (AC, ICE (internal combustion engine) else).

 

A/C, ICE, and all accessories run off the 12V system the same as all cars. The HVB charges the 12V battery when

the vehicle is running. The HVB has nothing to do with the 12V operating systems. Charging is run though the DC/DC converter

into the 12V battery and it runs everything. Headlamps, dash cluster/speedo and information displays, electric power steering,

brake lamps, shifter interlcok, brake regen control, PCM, BCM and all other control modules. 

 

This is why the OP's car only had limited/basic functionality.

Edited by drdiesel1
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thanks again to everyone who helped me on my topic!   

 

I did test the 12v outlet with my car charger in the one in front under the shifter.  And you were correct, the blue light did go out.   I tried to test the one inside the arm rest console but I had a hard time trying to crawl in through my open window to see if the light was still on.  LOL  I probably should have waited until it was dark.  :/

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