Weak keyfob signal

[DezertTitan]

This weekend I remote started my Jeep, but when I got outside it wasn't running. I figured user error. Went to Costco, did some shopping, filled up the tank & ran through the car wash. Got home and after unloading, I tried to lock the Jeep & didn't hear the horn. Go to the door so I could atleast observe the lights flash & push the button again. Nothing. So I walked up closer to the Jeep, pushing the button several times until it locked. Ive had my Jeep since 2019 so I guessed the battery in the keyfob finally crapped out. I grabbed my back up fob from the safe & test it. This one acting up at well.

So I ordered 2 new 2450 batteries & installed both of them. Unfortunately, I'm still having the same issues. After seeing some references to loose door connectors, I disconnected & reconnected both front door connectors & the rear hatch. Broke that cheap ass plastic that holds the hatch connector in place in the process. It seemed to *Maybe* help, very slightly? From about 24" away from the driver door, the Jeep will respond to the fob. None from the passenger. While sitting in the passenger seat & holding the key over the driver's seat, it wasn't responding but moving the key behind the driver seat it did. I remote started it this way. I had to push the start button WITH the fob to turn it on. Loaded up Off-road Pages & watched the gauges. Battery was charging @ 14.0-14.1v. I don't think this is excessive?

I know people have had issues with the aux battery. I've never replaced or bypassed mine. I also never use ESS. It's off by default since a week or two after I brought home my Jeep. The Jeep fires up just fine so if the battery is bad, the main battery isn't suffering, yet. I want looking for it, but I didn't notice any warnings pop up in the cluster.

Had anybody experienced this sudden signal issue with their fobs? 4 years & 40k miles out... No more warranty. Damn driver side visor just broke on me last month as well. Figures...

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[jludave]

The Jeep fires up just fine so if the battery is bad, the main battery isn't suffering, yet. I want looking for it, but I didn't notice any warnings pop up in the cluster.

Had anybody experienced this sudden signal issue with their fobs? 4 years & 40k miles out... No more warranty. Damn driver side visor just broke on me last month as well. Figures...

If the aux battery is bad, it will affect the main. You are 4 years into batteries that generally are found to last 3. Change the main and aux, or change the main only and bypass the aux.

Weak/old/dying batteries cause all types of weird electrical issues in the JL Wrangler.

 

[DezertTitan]

Well, I bypassed the Aux battery - pulled the fuse and disconnected the ground wire from the connection at the main. Came across a video where the guy who did it first pulled the wire w/ the smaller fitting & the Jeep had no power, wouldn't start, then swapped neg wires & it fired up. So I tried the 2nd wire straight away. Everything seemed to work so I taped off the large fitting and cranked everything down.

Later that night I was on the freeway and the ACC shut off. Something about forward braking assist flashed on the screen. A couple hours later the lights briefly flashed. Brakes, ESS, battery and some other warning lights flashed & the Jeep dinged at me. About another 20 minutes and they did it again, then again. "Stop Safely. Vehicle will shut off soon" displayed on the screen.. I was about 10-15 from home so I kept pushing it. Thankfully we made it. I had to press the lock button on the door to lock the jeep up.

So yesterday I had to unlock the jeep with the key - which set the alarm off. Pushed the start button w/ the fob to start the Jeep & kill the alarm. None of the warning lights popped up so I went to the battery shop. They tested it and confirmed the alternator was fine so I went ahead and purchased a battery.

Right as I pulled up to the house "keyfob not detected" flashed on the screen. Hopped out of the Jeep and the range on the fob is still trash. So I looked into the aux-battery swap and saw some saying the 21 & newer models seemed to swap the A/B ground wires, but the A wire (with larger fitting & extra post) is supposed to be the correct one. I thought that it sure as heck shouldn't work, but it won't hurt to confirm. We had a big day planned w/ family yesterday & I had intended on driving my Jeep. So I swap the negative cables - and I'll be damned, the MFer fired right up. Keyfob issues still seem to be there.

Needless to say, I didn't drive my Jeep yesterday. It seems weird that the Jeep functioned whether I isolated the A or B neg cables. I don't have time to really dig in on this until next weekend. I think the next step will be to completely remove the Aux battery & see how things go from there...

 

[DezertTitan]

So I figured it out and its possibly the last thing anybody would have considered. It was spurious RF signals caused by the alarm system on my old truck.

Long story short - I noticed another vehicle was having some weird keyfob issues. Initially I didn't catch it - then I thought it was just user error. After noticing it, I paid careful attention and tested THAT vehicle while we were out. Our ring doorbell had just began acting up, sending frequent motion sensor notifications. I also had an antenna for our GPS tracking get damaged on my work truck which was parked out front. So once I saw another vehicle suddenly had the same issue as my Jeep, I knew it had to be something around the house. I pulled the power to the doorbell, no change, drove the work truck a block down the street, no change, then did the same in my old truck - and sure as heck that was it.

So I think the factory battery might had still had some life left to it. The battery lights and all that must had come on because the alternator couldn't effectively charge the main battery after I bypassed the aux battery & hooked up the "B" ground cable. It must have some sort of ground. I drove the Jeep on Monday & Tuesday and had no issues after swapping over to the "A" ground wire.

Anyways, I just wanted to update this thread -- Spurious RF Signals were the problem all along.

 

[DonH63]

So I figured it out and its possibly the last thing anybody would have considered. It was spurious RF signals caused by the alarm system on my old truck.

Long story short - I noticed another vehicle was having some weird keyfob issues. Initially I didn't catch it - then I thought it was just user error. After noticing it, I paid careful attention and tested THAT vehicle while we were out. Our ring doorbell had just began acting up, sending frequent motion sensor notifications. I also had an antenna for our GPS tracking get damaged on my work truck which was parked out front. So once I saw another vehicle suddenly had the same issue as my Jeep, I knew it had to be something around the house. I pulled the power to the doorbell, no change, drove the work truck a block down the street, no change, then did the same in my old truck - and sure as heck that was it.

So I think the factory battery might had still had some life left to it. The battery lights and all that must had come on because the alternator couldn't effectively charge the main battery after I bypassed the aux battery & hooked up the "B" ground cable. It must have some sort of ground. I drove the Jeep on Monday & Tuesday and had no issues after swapping over to the "A" ground wire.

Anyways, I just wanted to update this thread -- Spurious RF Signals were the problem all along.

Nice detective work!

 

[Rhinebeck01]

So I figured it out and its possibly the last thing anybody would have considered. It was spurious RF signals caused by the alarm system on my old truck.

Long story short - I noticed another vehicle was having some weird keyfob issues. Initially I didn't catch it - then I thought it was just user error. After noticing it, I paid careful attention and tested THAT vehicle while we were out. Our ring doorbell had just began acting up, sending frequent motion sensor notifications. I also had an antenna for our GPS tracking get damaged on my work truck which was parked out front. So once I saw another vehicle suddenly had the same issue as my Jeep, I knew it had to be something around the house. I pulled the power to the doorbell, no change, drove the work truck a block down the street, no change, then did the same in my old truck - and sure as heck that was it.

So I think the factory battery might had still had some life left to it. The battery lights and all that must had come on because the alternator couldn't effectively charge the main battery after I bypassed the aux battery & hooked up the "B" ground cable. It must have some sort of ground. I drove the Jeep on Monday & Tuesday and had no issues after swapping over to the "A" ground wire.

Anyways, I just wanted to update this thread -- Spurious RF Signals were the problem all along.

Recently there was a forum member that found his/the Pet Containment System for his dog was causing the same issue that you say was triggered by your work truck. A month ago, I also read a similar tale of a JT's signal being stepped on by an outside signal. If I remember correctly, a baby monitoring system was causing that interference.

Sorry I did not see your thread earlier or I would have let you know that the key fob issue you were mentioning may very well be caused by an outside signal(s) stepping on the signal tied to your JL.

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