Had small issues with it quite a while back. It didn't want to work sometimes, then it would, back and forth. I figured it was just the battery so I got an exact replacement and it was fine. It actually made the activation distance a little further. Ended up doing the same thing just a couple times though, not wanting to work right. Then the battery in the car died and ever since then it has never wanted to work, not even once. I don't try all the time but on occasion when I think of it and never anything. Is there something else I should do to try, or is my remote shot? If it is done for where can I get a new one and what do they normally run? Thanks

 

Might try reprogramming it - the instructions are in the owners manual.

If that don't work - your little black box unit that actually does the work is probably going bad. It may be the remote - but that's usually not the case unfortunately.

 

Sounds great....thanks for the info.

 

I had this problem in the past and originally changed the battery and it didn't fix it. Not sure what your keyless entry looks like, but for my 96, I noticed that the pads on the little board inside the keyless entry would get dirty.

So, you what I did was open the keyless entry unit, and cleaned 2 things:

1. On the small boards, there's some contact pads where the buttons you push actually makes contact to close the circuit send the lock/unlock/truck/help signal. Just take a papertowel and rub against those pad, and you'll see some black gunk rub off.

2. Secondly, I take the little rubber pad with the pushbuttons, and clean the surfaces that touches the pads on the board. Just rub it with the papertowel and more gunk will come off.

Put it all back to together and see if that fixes it. Else you try re-programming like 94BlackBowtie said.

It could just be an easy to fix cleaning stop for you intermittent connection.

 

I have also noticed that I need to clean the pads in the remote unit fairly often. Clean the back side of the buttons and the metal pads they touch. I have to do it every few months.

 

I'll try cleaning the pads and stuff first. I seem to remember having to do this a couple years ago. Maybe I just thought about it though. Thanks again.

 

100% right. mine got worse and worse. replaced the battery and still I would have to get right next to the car and clamp down on the button before it would work. I cleaned all the crap off the pads and bored and it's like brand new.

also if you have to reprogram the remote to your car just get near it and hold the lock and unlock buttons down at the same time for 8 seconds (or at least thats how mine did it)

 

Just an update. Now that I finally got the car back I took the remote apart and cleaned everything up with a Q-tip and some rubbing alcohol. I also bent the little tabs that touch the batteries up a little more so they had a more "snug" fit. Seems to have fixed the problem perfectly. I can't say if I got my range back or anything since it was raining so hard today I couldn't hear the car locking and unlocking. But it works within' a few feet. Thanks for the help everyone.

 

I don't recommend this often, even though I've done it a few times myself. To get more range with your remote, just touch your remote to the bottom of your chin and press it. Uses your head like a big *** attenna. I don't like the idea of my head being a signal emitter, so I've only done this when I really need to. Maybe brain damage or so...but we all gotta go sometime...what better way then getting in and out of your Camaro??

 

I dunno there's just something funny about watching someone walk across a parking lot with a keyless entry remote stuck to their chin lol. I'm gonna hafta try that one just out of curiosity.