PT Cruiser Remote Entry

Anyone know if this is a common happening? The wife's '03 PT with 50k miles decided to start locking and unlocking the doors rapidly for a few minutes while she was driving and continued after she stopped and shut down. The dealer wants $300 to replace the RKE, which may or may not fix the problem. A quick google found a Jeep forum where the keyless quit working and was fixed by repairing the antenna on the rke but nothing about repeated lock unlock. I'm not into working on cars any longer so don't have a fsm, anyone know where the rke is located on a PT? Thanks, BF

Reply to
BF
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How old is the 2003 PT battery? If original and the voltage is too low the body control module may not be functioning properly. If the battery is fairly new and nominal voltage looks good, then check all the door sensors, connectors, and grounds.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Shuman

This vehicle does not use a Body Control Module. If one of the arm/disarm key cylinder switches on either door including the liftgate shorts out it may be telling the RKE to lock and unlock the doors randomly. This would normally occur after a wet day or if the vehicle has been washed but could happen anytime.

Glenn Beasley Chrysler Tech

Reply to
maxpower

Thanks for the reply Bob and Glenn, I'm thinking Glenn may have nailed it. We've had a very dry summer, but it's been raining for the last several days. Maybe some silicone spray in the lock cylinders?? To my knowledge, none have ever been used. BF

Reply to
BF

It has nothing to do with the cylinders, the switch is mounted on the outside of the key cylinders. The problem is determining which one is bad.

Reply to
maxpower

Sorry, a bit dense! Does the cylinder not do the actual unlocking and just energize these switches to do the unlocking? That would be an unfortunate design. To my knowledge the cylinders only unlock the one door they are on, so does the switch turn off any theft alarm? Or, what are the switches for? Thanks again, BF

Reply to
BF

You need to have the SKIM module checked for any fault codes before you start replacing switches. The key cylinders (mechanical) lock and unlock the with key. On the outside of the key cylinders you will see a small switch that just clips on to the outside of the key cylinders. This is used to arm and disarm the vehicle theft alarm and also used for the central locking/unlocking feature, Meaning if you were to insert the key in the drivers door and unlock it twice by turning the key to the unlock position twice it will unlock the passenger door and liftgate door as well.Yes the cylinder does the actual locking and unlocking BUT will also unlock the other doors via the switches sending signal to the RKE module. I hope this helps

Reply to
maxpower

snip

Thanks again Glenn, I love learning stuff. Didn't even know about unlocking twice. So far, it was a one time occurance, so I'm not in a hurry to rip open door panels and maybe won't have to.

BF

Reply to
BF

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