I just discovered that our portable cooler which plugs into the cigarette lighter of our 2000 Pontiac Sunfire causes problems with the keyless entry system. With the cooler unplugged I can command the system from over 20' away but with the cooler plugged in I have to be right at the drivers side of the windshield and then press the FOB repeatedly. Thought this might help somebody else. Mike
Current draw. That cooler sucks quite a bit of juice - which would explain the decreased sensitivity of the keyless receiver.
I would have thought its EMI
Approximately 11/24/03 05:30, paint8oy uttered for posterity:
Most of them are just thermocouples and a fan. I guess the fan could be generating noise enough to interfere if the fan were faulty. If you can start the vehicle and idle it up to about 1500 rpm and the remotes work normally, would guess voltage drop. If it still interferes, wonder if your fan is arcing internally?
I think your right and the problem is probably noise from the fan brushes. The cooler is about 8 years old and we have used it a lot. The fan gives no indication of problems though. Runs fast and quiet. The current draw is about 3 amps total. When I get a chance I'll try disconnecting the fan and see what difference it makes. Might be time to change it!
Approximately 11/25/03 12:16, Mike uttered for posterity:
First try just running the idle up to about 1500 and see if someone outside the vehicle can use the remote. If that works, maybe adding a cigar lighter type utility outlet with heavier wiring [fused of course] might help. I have a Coleman ice chest sized cooler, doesn't seem to draw a heck of a lot of power.
If is the fan, mayhaps a pair of capacitors might bypass the RF sufficiently, or wrap the power cord thru a big ferrite or both.
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