ghorg

I own a used (no owner's manual) '99 SL2 that has an odd, intermittent problem. I'll lock my car with the remote and most of the time I'll be able to unlock the car again with the remote. However, sometimes the remote will not work. None of the buttons will work when this happens, neither will replacing the battery or resetting the remote. If I unlock the car with the key, the alarm goes off (very annoying at 4:30 am) and I either have to wait 5 min or pull and replace the chime fuse from the passenger fuse box. Is there a way I can disable/fix/reprogram this thing
or do I have to take it to a dealer?

Ssicarman

Assumption is that you have they factory key fob.

Disassemble the key fob (remote). Pull the circuit board out and clean the contact buttons and where they make contact on the board.

__________________
A lousy day in Paradise is still a day in Paradise.

ghorg

That was the first thing I tried. I cleaned the circut board and the contact buttons with rubbing alcohol and a clean q-tip, but that didn't fix the problem. Thanks for your help though.

Let me clarify some things, just in case I was causing some confusion by being too vague:

- the car has a factory alarm and a factory key fob
- cleaning the contact buttons and circut board with rubbing alcohol doesn't
work
- the problem is intermittent. This has happened after the car sat for a
week while I was on vacation and it has happened after the car sat for
15 min. while I went to a store
- putting the factory ignition key in the ignition and turning the key
doesn't stop the alarm. (is this a feature of the security system?)
- Just in case weather might be a problem, I currently live in middle TN

I hope this helps some. Thank you for your time.

CAmos

IF you are sure it is not the fob, I would say the security module behind the pass. rear seat back would be the next thing I would try.

Personally though, I would get a new fob and program it to your car, to make sure this is not the problem first. Then you know, and worst case, you wind up with a spare fob.

Good luck.

__________________
2002 SC2 31k 5spd Red / Gray leather
1999 SW2 105k Auto Brown / Tan leather
1998 SC2 106k 5spd(sold) White / Gray leather
1995 SL2 190k 5spd, (sold) Plumb
1993 SC2 121k 5spd, Red / Tan leather

ghorg

I got an extra fob when I discovered that they were necessary to unlock the car without setting off the alarm. When this problem occurs, both fobs will not work, and nothing will happen when I press the lock + unlock buttons to reset them; the lights won't flash, the horn won't beep, and the fobs won't unlock the car (could there be a problem with the reciever thingy?).

I am fairly inexperienced when it comes to these type of things and I only have the basic tools like wrenches, screwdrivers, and pliers. What will I be looking for and what will I do with it when I find it?


Thanks for your time.

ghorg

Problem solved. I took the car to a Saturn dealer and they told me that the fuseboxes were worn and shorting out and needed to be replaced (I guess after 200K + miles that isn't too suprising...). It cost somewhere between "arm and leg" and "pants down, bend over, here comes the red-hot spike!", but everything works fine and I should be able to get a couple hundred K miles out of it. Thanks for all the help!