Door not unlocking with key problem

[bruinfan90241]

OK so my key battery died and I replaced it but it lost the sync with the car. I tried to re-sync, not working. So in the meantime i've been locking and unlocking the vehicle with the key in the driver door. However as of late it sometimes doesn't want to unlock all the doors. It always unlocks the drivers door, but sometimes it won't unlock (super-unlock?) all the doors which disengages the alarm. If you open the door, the alarm goes off. I've tried the EKA method (1515) and sometimes it will work other times it won't.

This is getting frustrating because sometimes when you're in a hurry the car won't let you in!

Any help or suggestions you guys have would be extremely welcomed. Thanks!

[Pascaltissot]

Hi first I think you should disconnect the battery and reset every thing and see if there is any change in the reception of the door code (don’t do it if you do not know haw to reset the windows sun roof and radio code etc) Some times it is a mater of the receptor deactivated or broken ,this is not very common but it does happen to change it is very easy, I would do first a reset of every thing and see if it works O.k.
Keep me informed.
Saludos cordiales,

Pascal.

[Pascaltissot]

Official Battery Replacement Procedure
When replacing the battery on 4.0/4.6 and later model Range Rovers, you should leave one of the doors open (preferably the drivers door) to prevent being locked out. This should prevent the locking system from automatically locking the vehicle and arming the alarm when the battery is being disconnected. Then, disconnect the battery negative lead first, and complete the replacement procedure normally. Afterwards, you need to put the key in the ignition to reset the alarm system and ignition transponder. You also need to key in the radio code to get it working again, and resynch the windows and sunroof. This procedure is described in the owners handbook. On the Mk III Range Rover, you even ave to reset the steering sensor after reconnecting the battery.

In Europe and other markets where passive immobilization is enabled (see alarm system page), the official battery disconnect procedure is to put the ignition key in, turn it to the on-position and back to off. You then have something like 10 seconds to disconnect the battery. If you don't follow this procedure, you will have to use the Emergency Key Access (EKA) method to get the engine started when you reconnect the battery. Kent Clarstroem reports that after many trials, he has found the best solution if you have not used the complete official procedure is to at least leave the key in the ignition. BUT, make sure you leave the drivers door open or you will be locked out! Also noteworthy is that if you do end up having to use the EKA procedure, close the bonnet/hood first. Otherwise, EKA will appear to work but the engine will stay immobilized!!

More details on the problems and pitfalls of the official battery changeover procedure for the 4.0/4.6 are posted on Andy Cunningham's P38 site at http://www.cunningham.me.uk/rangie/battery.php.

Improved Unofficial Battery Replacement Procedure
To avoid having to mess with all the details and problems caused by disconnecting the old battery, especially if you catch the problem before power is lost completely, you can maintain power during the changeover by jumpering the cable clamps using wither the new battery or a spare, such as a jump starter pack. Marlon Patton first reported this ingenious procedure as follows:

"My battery was recently dead, and to avoid having to reset the codes I performed an experiment and it worked. I took another old battery and jumper cabled it to the range rover terminal clamps towards the back so I could still get to the terminal bolts. I had the new battery ready and took off the clamps and had a friend hold them by the cables so the jumpers were still attached. Then I lowered in the new battery and attached the terminals and it worked! I didn't have to reset the codes or even worse take it to the dealer and be charged $200 for a battery change."

Kevin Kelly came up with the same idea. When he got in his new Range Rover 4.6HSE at the airport recently he noticed that is cranked a little slower than normal. Picking up a new battery on the way home, he then reviewed the hazards and travail of using the official procedure and decided that it was a lot easier to just use his 12V jumper pack when changing the battery so he would not have to re-set anything or enter the radio code. The photo at right shows the jumper cables attached to the cable terminals of the old battery on Kevin's 4.6 HSE.

Note: In attaching or removing the jumper cables, there is a danger of a spark causing a fire by igniting gases from the old battery. This is why jump starting instructions always tell you to conect the ground last and somewhere away from the battery. You can minimize this risk if you are in a well ventilated area (you can also blow around the battery or spray comressed air if available). If your jumper battery pack has a switch in it as many do -- then you can connect it before switching it on. Otherwise, you might try using a spare jumper cable to connect to the negative battery terminal lead and make the final connection somewhere away from both batteries. As always, be careful and use these procedures at your own risk.

[Pascaltissot]

Remote Handset Synchronization and Desynchronization

The remote handset uses a "rolling code" algorithm, meaning the code is changed every time remote locking or unlocking is performed. The BeCM stores the code sequence in its RAM and has a capture range of 100 codes after the previously received value, so should be able to remain synchronized with the handset unless more than 100 attempts have been made to operate the remote while out of range, or the remote's batteries are removed or die, or the vehicle's battery dies or is disconnected. That is the theory -- in real life it seems to lose synchronization more often, such as when the vehicle's RF receiver has been activated by other spurious sources of 315 MHz (or 433 MHz in other markets) transmissions.

Resynchronization is accomplished by performing a key lock or unlock within 30 seconds of requesting a remote lock, superlock, or unlock. The BeCM senses the change in state of the "CDL" (Central Door Locking) switch in the driver's door to initiate resynchronization.

On 1997 and later models (all markets?), "friendly synchronization" is provided whenever the key/remote is inserted into the ignition. The passive immobilization coil around the ignition barrel activates a pickup coil in the remote, causing the remote to transmit an unlock signal to remobilize the vehicle.

Resynchronization Exception Mystery:
The driver's handbook, shop manual and ETM all contradict their own instructions on resynchronization, stating that it cannot be achieved by the above procedures if the vehicle security system is "active" (Shop manual) or "armed" (driver's handbook). In this case, you have to resynchronize by the Emergency Key Access method (see below). These instructions do not make sense to me, since the alarm is nearly always armed if the vehicle is locked. Perhaps it means if the remote is desynchronized and the alarm has meanwhile been set off somehow, the EKA procedure has to be used for resynchronization. Or, perhaps the exception refers to when some malfunction is present. In any case, probably the best method of resynchronization is to first unlock the vehicle with the key so the alarm will be disarmed (if everything else is working right), then perform the synchronization routine. If you can shed light on this mystery, please email me.


If the usual Synchronization Procedure Does Not Work:
If after replacing batteries and attempting the usual resynchronization procedure it still does not work, you can probably get the remote to work again using a special procedure (formerly known only to dealers) that is used to program new remotes. See the section on "Replacing and Reprogramming Remote Handset" on the Replacement and Reprogramming page. above procedures,


Emergency Key Access ("EKA") Procedure
(Disarming Alarm & Starting Vehicle when Remote is Lost or Fails)
Overview and Instructions
The EKA procedure is provided as a back-up method of disarming the alarm and re-mobilizing the vehicle if all else fails. It uses a series of locks and unlocks with the key in the driver's door lock cylinder. From owner reports to date, this feature seems to be enabled on 1996 and later models in Europe, but not North America or Australia -- but see below for a generic EKA code procedure that works in North America. Iif you have more information on this please email me).


The manuals are vague and contradictory on when EKA might be necessary -- the shop manual says it is if you lock the vehicle with the remote handset and then you lose the remote or it fails. (This is understandable on models with passive immobilization which cannot be started without the remote, but the manuals are enigmatic on why this could happen on vehicles without passive immobilization). You still need the key part of the remote, or one of the spare mechanical keys supplied in later model years.

According to the manual, if the remote has failed or been lost and you try to open the door with just the mechanical key, the alarm will sound twice. (Of course, this does not make sense because you should be able to get into all models quite satisfactorily with just the mechanical key. Perhaps they are referring to situations when the remote has malfunctioned in a way that upsets the BeCM, or the alarm has been set off for some reason). If you then try to start the car, the message center will display "ENGINE DISABLED PRESS REMOTE OR USE KEY CODE". (This part makes sense on vehicles with passive immobilization, as described above, or perhaps if the alarm has been activated).

Make sure the doors, windows and bonnet/hood are closed, get out and lock the car again with the key. (Note: on 1996 and later models, you have to turn the key to the lock position four times for this step if the remote handset was not used to lock the vehicle). Then turn the key the required number of times according to the following sequence. (At each step the side lamps warning light on the dash will light to show it has recognized the input).


To enter the first digit, turn the key the required number of times to the unlock position.
To enter the second digit, turn the key the required number of times to the lock position.
To enter the third digit, turn the key the required number of times to the unlock position.
To enter the fourth digit, turn the key the required number of times to the lock position.
Turn the key to the unlock position to unlock the doors. The alarm will now be partially disarmed; if you try to open the hood the alarm will sound. After five incorrect attempts (3 for 1996 and later models) at this procedure, the BeCM goes into a 10 minute lockout mode (30 minutes for 1996 and later models), during which time the message center displays "KEY CODE LOCKOUT" and further attempts at EKA will not work.

The EKA code is supposed to be on your "security card" but I don't have one for my vehicle and Staffan Tjernstrom, who first alerted us to this information, mentions that getting it probably involves knowing your dealer very well, and maybe a few pints of good beer! Alex Rudd informs me that he has used the EKA method to recover from alarm problems, and that in the UK you can present or fax your owner's log book (or email a photo of it) to a Range Rover dealer to prove ownership, and they will give you the code.

Update February 2005: Confusion between LHD and RHD vehicles has been reported regarding this procedure. Alex Rudd from the UK reports "I have seen quite a few versions of using the EKA code on the net, most of which are wrong (I know, I've tried them all, and waited hours during the EKA Key Lockout session!). The correct one to follow is the version from the Range Rover handbook, which starts the key code entry on the clockwise turn - most of the others I have read refer to starting on an anti-clockwise turn, which then doesn't work." I think this contradiction is due to the difference in key lock direction between LHD and RHD vehicles (Alex's is a RHD model). This was confirmed by Ian Gibree who had to use the EKA on his Dutch-plated LHD Range Rover when interference from a cell phone tower stopped his remote from working. He used the procedure in his handbook starting withteh anti-clockwise turn and it worked. Thus it seems that the first turn should always be to the "unlock" position. If anyone has further clarification of this please email me.

Generic EKA Procedure on NAS Range Rovers
The EKA feature does not seem to be enabled on US vehicles, or some Australian ones, and is not mentioned in their owners' handbooks (but see "rest of world" section below). However there does seem to be an abbreviated version of the procedure available on NAS models, intended to be known only by Land Rover dealers and using a generic code (1515) for all vehicles. One US owner with a 2000 Range Rover had his vehicle stranded with a dead battery and no remote available, but when jumpering it got the message "Engine Disabled, Press Remote". Since he did not have a remote, he managed to reactivate the vehicle using a variant of the EKA procedure that the dealer confided -- the dealer was fairly sure that almost all NAS P38's have the same EKA code, which is:
Unlock once
lock 5 times,
unlock once,
and then lock 5 times.
Aidan confirms that he found out from Land Rover that the normal EKA is not applicable to US spec P38A Range Rovers, but the generic "null" code (1515) is used. For example, when replacing a BECM it asks for the code and a null # is inputted (1515).

Ignatius Wong wrote in to say the generic 1515 code he got from this page also worked on his 1996 Discovery when it its alarm system froze everything and prevented him from turning over the engine. starting the vehicle.

Rest of World:
Kieran McCoey reports from Australia that in the case of his '97 build, '98 reg 4.0 rangie the EKA procedure does definitely work (here we are speaking of the method requiring a special code for each vehicle, not the generic code). "I've had to use it a few times, when inadvertently parked next to mobile phone towers. (In fact, there is a spot in a popular skiing town we frequent notorious for immobilising Land Rovers!)." The method he used is a little different from that described above. He describes the method given in his owner's handbook as follows: To initiate the procedure, one must first turn the key anticlockwise (locking the car) 4 times. The 4-digit EKA code can then be entered- first clockwise, then anti, etc. After all 4 numbers have been entered, turn once more clockwise to unlock the vehicle, disarm the alarm, and re-mobilise the engine.

Ove Sognnes from Norway reports that the generic code worked on his also: "Range Rover Norway didn't supply me with the correct procedure for opening RR when remote is lost, but you did. Thanks again. Your procedure works perfectly on my 97 range rover HSE, open door, lock 4 times, then starting procedure. Smashing."

Tip: Check Door Handle If Vehicle Will Not Accept Code:

Shaun Dale, an Autodiagnostician in the UK, had a P38 that would not accept the EKA code to re-initialise the system. The alarm made a beep every time he opened the driver's door. The problem was traced to a sticky/corroded driver's door handle. If the door handle is not fully retracted, the system will not accept the EKA. A squirt of WD40 or similar and a vigorous working of the handle enabled him to put the code in. This seems to be a relatively common symptom as it was suggested as a possible cause by a main dealer.

Shaun notes that when the vehicle is immobilized, diagnosis is rather hit and miss on early models such as the one he was working on. This is because the vehicle will not talk to T4 diagnostics if immobilised, whereas later models will.