Keyless Entry Not Working-Help! - Land Rovers Only

troverman · 12-29-2008, 07:15 AM

Hi everyone,

Without warning, the remote locking / unlocking on our '05 LR3 quit! When we left our house, it worked fine. When we stopped at a store, it wouldn't lock! We manually locked it, and when we came out half an hour later, it unlocked fine! Since then, no amount of pressing any of the buttons does anything. I left the battery unplugged all night twice. On the first morning, I reconnected and started the vehicle, letting it warm up for 10 minutes. After shutting it off, I tried to lock w/ the remote and it worked! I then tried locking / unlocking, programmable button, everything worked! But an hour later, I tried again, and nothing worked.

The next morning after a night of the battery off, I reconnected it and immediately tried the key--nothing at all. I started the LR3, ran it a couple of minutes, shut it down, and tried to lock--now it worked, but after 30 seconds it stopped responding again.

I have had no messages about low battery and I know it self recharges. Since both keys stopped working about the same time, I ruled out a battery problem w/ the remote. I have been using the emergency access. It seems like the keys need to be re-synchronized with the car. Does anyone know the procedure for this? Or is it a dealer-only thing?

Also, I think the book says the emergency lock should lock / unlock the whole car as well as arm / disarm the alarm. It does neither, it will only lock or unlock just the driver's door. Is this normal?

drzjoint · 12-29-2008, 12:00 PM

the battery in your remote may be getting weak the battery charges while driving

troverman · 12-29-2008, 12:51 PM

I don't think this is a battery issue w/ remotes. Keep in mind, both remotes stopped working at the same time; the likelihood of both needing a charge at the same time is very low. Also, the car is getting plenty of miles on it with the key obviously in the ignition. Plus, after reconnecting the vehicle battery the remote worked fine, if only briefly.

I know the vehicle manual says the re-sync procedure is let the engine run for about 6 minutes. This does not do it.

sideview · 12-29-2008, 01:17 PM

Maybe it's the BCU - trouble in the wiring or memory screwy.

CalmerThanYouAre · 12-31-2008, 12:40 PM

I just called the dealership about the 05 LR3 I'm about to receive and this was one issue that they had worked on. They said it happened once in November and again a few weeks ago and that the solution was to reprogram something in the BCU. I don't know what that means as I'm a newbie but hth.

troverman · 01-02-2009, 07:28 AM

I assume the system needs to be re-synchronized by the dealer, so the car will be taken to Land Rover of Bedford sometime next week. I am willing to try all ideas that cost less than $97/hr before then, however!

Hopefully this is not recurring too often.

troverman · 01-07-2009, 06:25 AM

OK, it still hasn't gone to the dealer. They suggested removing the second-row light cluster in the headlining and checking the green wire w/ white tracer for power with the engine off. I did this and there is no power. I can see the receiver unit which sits just above the right outboard seat in the second row. The wiring appears to be in perfect condition here. The dealer said if there is no power, there probably is a wiring harness problem from corrosion due to water ingress. I did have the sunroof drain problem last summer, but resolved it. I can't believe there is a harness problem since if I leave the battery off overnight and then reconnect it, the remotes work normally for a few minutes. Is this system on a circuit breaker? Perhaps that could explain why it works for a few minutes and then quits; maybe something is shorting, tripping the breaker after a few minutes. Anyone have a schematic?

NIM · 01-14-2009, 07:20 AM

Hi there is a splice connector on right side sill panel, i think the wire is grey and white or green and white , that is where the power is supplied for the rf receiver, i have seen a lot of this problem in canada especially when there is some moisture in that area. let me know if that fixed it . Thanks Nim

troverman · 01-14-2009, 07:26 AM

My dealer has been repeatedly telling me to check in this area for a "broken, cracked, or corroded" wire. I did remove the kick panel where there are a lot of connectors. Everything looks new, no sign of water or corrosion anywhere. I think I even spotted the wire that goes to the RF receiver--it looks fine. However, I did not remove the sill and look further back. Perhaps I'll check for continuity between what I think is the RF wire and what I know is the unpowered wire up in the ceiling.

Still, the big unanswerable question is about when I disconnect the battery overnight and then the system works for a few minutes the next morning!

How can it be a broken wire?

NIM · 01-19-2009, 09:33 AM

Hi the splice is about 2 inch from the front of the seat, just pull on the wire and it usuall just come apart and you can see green stuff all over the wire cut and repair and it should be fine 99% of the time that is the fault the other time is the key programing or module.

troverman · 01-20-2009, 06:48 AM

Well NIM, you are absolutely right. On two occasions I looked at this wiring but the carpet is very stiff to pull up, and it was like -16F so we took it to the dealer. It was indeed at this splice that there was the problem. They said both remotes needed to be reprogrammed anyway, so they did that, fixed the splice, and washed the truck for $105. I didn't think that was too bad. I appreciate all the replies--boy it sure is nice to have the remotes working again!

Perhaps this should be made sticky about the splice and the exact location, maybe some photos. The dealer said this is very common...

kevcam1030 · 01-21-2009, 10:35 AM

I have the exact same symptoms as described. I couldn't follow the description of where the splice is. It sounds as if it is under the carpet 2" in front of the seat. But is this the front or rear seat? I've never attempted to pull anything apart on this vehicle, is there anything I should know about pulling up the carpet?

troverman · 01-22-2009, 07:14 AM

We are talking about the front seat, passenger side. Start by removing the kick panel (right below the glovebox on the right side). You will see a bunch of wiring and connectors. Next, take up the sill plate (the plastic piece that sits just under the bottom of the door when shut). You should be able to take up the carpet now, but it is a pain because of the foam sound deadening attached to the bottom. You may have to remove other trim as well.

lexor40cal · 07-08-2009, 05:25 PM

New owner of an '05 LR3

I had exactly the same issue, after the dealership had me order a new key at big $'s, they tried to reprograme it and presto, it didn't work either. So after them telling me they might spend hours trouble shooting, or it might me the inline crimp connectorin the sill, under the kick plate, front passengers side, they renewed the connector and bam, now it works.

So today it rains heavily, as I pull away there is a few drops of water from the stem of the visor, and when I investigate the sill channel where the above said wiring harness is is full of water and the carpet wet along there.

Is there a down pipe from the sun roof enclosure that is supposed to channel the run-off out, down the window pillar? Where do I start too look for the ingress point?

troverman · 07-09-2009, 05:49 AM

Had this problem too, only in a heavy rain water poured in, from around the sunroof area, the visors, the pillars, the mirror. Yes, there are actually 4 drain tubes, one on each corner of the sunroof. The ones in the front that go down the a-pillars (windshield pillars) tend to be the problem. They plug up and cause the sunroof drain channel to overflow into the headlining, where they leak at various points.

Search for 'sunroof drains' and you'll find plenty. You have to remove the pillar trim, the visors, the overhead lights / sunroof switch, etc to be able to pull down part of the headlining to gain access to the tubes. I just unplugged mine by blowing on them, you could feel the blockage release. Its not too hard of a job, or the dealer can do it for you.