Its been cold here lately in Dallas. In the morning when I disarm my alarm it should unlock the car but doesn't and I have to unlock it manually. This only happens when it is cold. Does anyone else have this problem? Should I take it to the Alarm dealer or the Honda dealer?

 

S2KDallas,
I noticed the same thing last winter. Fun thing is, my '99 Acura 3.2TL had the same problem. Can't figure it out. I haven't taken it to the dealer yet. It seems to work after hitting unlock a few times.

-Greg

 

I've noticed this problem several times after I lock the doors and then change from alarm lock/unlock mode to silent mode (by pressing the lock and option buttons at the same time). If I later switch back to the alarm mode, and then try to unlock the driver's door, it will not unlock. Before I can unlock it, I have to switch between the two modes, two or three times, which eventually allows me to unlock the door again, and sets the system back to the alarm mode (the horn beeps twice). (BTW. When I have this problem with not being able to unlock the door, the trunk won't open either. It only opens after I've switched between the two modes a few times.)

 

It seems when it is cold the locks get stuck somehow or the alarm unlocking the door gets stuck? Not a big deal but it is annoying b/c you either have to beep your alarm several times before it works or have your horn honked several times before it works. Should just work on the first time!

 

Does this happen to anyone else up north?

 

Change your battery.....when it's cold you need more juice from the emitter (i.e. the remote). You'll also find car battery's don't fair well either in the cold.

 

Dallas, I feel your pain.

I don't think it's the temperature (it's not cold here in CA.)

I don't think it is the battery. This has now happened to me three times, and there is just NO WAY that BOTH remotes would fail on the same day twice in a row (I didn't confirm it the first time this happened). One of my remotes stays in a drawer 95% of the time, the other is used 95% of the time. After starting this episode with new batteries in EACH remote several months ago I just don't believe they would both fail on the same day.

This has happened to me a couple of times and it is very frustrating. Mine seems to fix itself, but I am not exactly sure how. All I know is I dislike going to the dealer SO much, that I went a couple of weeks without the Alarm or Remote Locks until I got everything to work again last night.

As I scientist, I know I should be more systematic about these things (I SWEAR I will be next time it happens... ). I did a lot of things so I don't know which one(s) solved the problem. I will try to describe everything I did and maybe you can try to replicate it.

First, I tried Utah's FAQ on "resetting the remotes".

https://www.s2ki.com/faqs/showfaq.php?threadid=19438

I did that a week ago with no benefit. But to tell you the truth the sequence in the FAQ didn't make complete sense to me and the FAQ doesn't really say whether it is for the stock alarm or the Keyless Entry system (and the two are clearly different)... Utah, is there any chance you could clarify that--what exactly does that FAQ address and where does the info come from? Thanks in advance!

Next thing, I tried 1Y2KS2K's suggestion above. I toggled between loud and silent modes a bunch of times. The LED on the remote flashes once or twice depending on which mode it is set to. I did this SEVERAL times and it did not seem to help.

Next, I wiggled every wire under the seat, attached to the alarm module or not, and even unplugged one of the harnesses. Nothing. Keep in mind that I'm RIGHT NEXT to the receiver antenna, the LED is working on the remote, and still there is no sign that the receiver is receiving anything from the remote.

Next, while I'm down there, I spy the fuse block (left side of driver's footwell). Hmmmm...I'm thinking to myself, could there be a blown fuse? (my back is starting to ache from the unnatural position I'm in here). It is very difficult to access many of the fuses in the box, but I managed to get the little fuse grabber thingy and I know I pulled at least two fuses. I pulled the "KEYLESS" fuse, inspected it, replaced it (it was not blown). I pulled a fuse labeled "ACG", replaced it. I might have pulled the fuse for the 12V accessory socket as well (I don't remember). I pulled and looked at them one at at time, none were blown, each was put back in its place before the next was pulled.

I put the little fuse puller back in its place. Pressed the remote lock button--BINGO--three beeps. All of a sudden BOTH remotes work fine.

Like I said, I don't know what cured the problem, but you might try pulling those fuses and replacing them to see if it helps. Maybe something just needs to reset itself?????

Otherwise try 1Y2KS2K's trick--MAYBE I did it so many times, than paused, then....??? maybe there was some sequence that made it work?

I would try the fuses first, and if you don't mind trying them one at a time, then testing the remote. Maybe we can nail this down to the correct "fix" procedure.

Let us know what happens!

Thanks and good luck!

-John

 

I tried your sequence and the only thing that worked was pulling the remote entry fuse and promptly replacing the same one. My dealers guru said that what causes it is a loss of power, probably very brief, caused by the boogie man and the only to reset the system is to pull that plug. It shuts the entire alarm system down too which was my biggest worry.

thanks for the input LATEOTT and let me know if you have any other tricks up your sleeve.

 

Forget where I got the reset info but it was probably the Helm Manual....I only post factory technical data.

Utah

 

No problem here on the S2K, but my wife's Saturn is having all types of problems ignoring the remote when it's cold. So, it's not just a Honda thing.