I purchased an original Crossfire key fob off of eBay, the whole thing, not just a case or a knock off copy of one. Mine was in rough shape and this one is like new. I swapped out my key blade and my chip into the new housing and replaced the batteries with new ones.

I cannot get this remote to open the doors, but of course the car starts and runs just fine. I have tried every combination of pressing the lock or unlock button twice (with the key in and with the key out of the ignition) and turning the ignition to the on position. I've removed the batteries from the fob and the positive terminal in the car for over an hour and tried again and it still won't work.

If I press either button on the fob and hold it for a couple of seconds (in low light) I can see the LED on the end blink twice dimly and then once brightly, so I know the batteries are good and it's working. I would use my old circuit board from my old remote, but it has some water damage and the switch buttons are failing.

Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to explain the whole situation. I've searched on here for hours and tried everything I found to no avail. Any ideas or help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Oh, 2004 Limited Coupe, 6spd manual, if it helps and my original fob worked except the buttons were finicky from the water damage.

 

Since you changed the transponder that is why the car will start, but for the remote that has to be programed from mb dealer and if I remember right it can not be done from a fob previously linked to another car.
The pushing buttons combination with it in the ignition is just to resync it to car not to reprogram it.

 

Thanks Speedy4x4. So a new remote can be synced to your car by the two button press and turning the ignition on, but only once and then it is permanently synced to that car? That's not the way I understood it, but would certainly explain my problem...

I thought the chip and key were the only part that made it "car specific".

 

Just to make sure, did you follow these directions?

To synchronize, aim the transmitter eye at the vehicle and briefly
press either the Lock or the Unlock button twice. Within
approximately 30 seconds, insert the key in the ignition
and turn it to the ON/RUN position (just the position no need to start).

 

Yes Bill F, to a tee, multiple times. I'm wondering if Speedy4x4 is right and the electronics (not just the key and transponder chip) can only be mated to one vehicle and those steps just restore the "pairing" between the two.

 

speedy is correct......

 

Verified electronics will not sync to another car with my newest roadster. Right down to fob on top of fob when turning car ignition on. The only "grey" area I left was the fact I didn't remove batteries for a couple hours to "remove" fobs sync prior to trying to sync to my coupe.

 

Thank you oledoc2u and Mrmiata! At least I know it's not something I was doing wrong now. I was getting really frustrated trying to figure it out. I guess I'll have to make due with the water damaged circuit board for now and just enjoy the shiny new case.

Thanks for the "hands on" test Mrmiata and to all that replied! Much appreciated!

 

It was just one of those "questions" in the back of my mind for quite a while.. and it was "well if it jacks it up.. I could use a new key anyways.." LOL

 

Well I'm glad no damage was done in the process, but I guess you'll have to wait on that new key! 😂

 

It just came with the one.. and I've now replaced the fob with a "blank".. but darndest thing.. it doesn't fold flat.. got to looking into and for some reason seems the pivot piece the key goes into was mis cut - molded or something.. and key blade won't fit replacement fobs part.. key is too wide to fit up in slot.. Oh well.. such is life.. LOL

 

That would irritate me if it didn't lay flat. 😬 I know what you mean about the key being too wide for the aftermarket cases because I tried one of them first. That's why I bought the used original Crossfire fob off of eBay. It was $29 and in new condition with free shipping (I was the only one that bid on it!). Too bad I couldn't use the new circuit board though. As you said...such is life!

 

Not like it's a daily driver and used enough to bug the crap out of me.. so I'll patiently wait on Ebay for an OEM being given away and trade everything over one more time.. LOL.


Eventually I'll get a spare from Needswings .. never have liked only one key for a car.

 

I had just replaced the batteries in the wifey's fob about a month ago and all went fine with the programming. Then she walks in the other day and says the fob stopped working. Naturally the first words out of my mouth are "What did you do?" She says she was gonna run up to the store and couldn't find her key, and then remembered that she left it in a pair of shorts that was in the washer. So she freaked, ran out and got the wet key out and immediately tries to unlock the car....... Facepalm1.jpg