Immobilizer and Alarm not working FOB: SOLVED

Hi Guys, just want to post a sticky for the future. If anyone in the future presses their fob button to start the car, or presses the FOB and the car does not unlock it's possibly your fob. I would press my fob multiple times and the red alarm LED would not stop blinking. I'd press it many times and the alarm would not work. Usually when you press the button on the FOB, the red LED in the fob would light up. On my FOB it would light very dimly. I thought it was either the fob or the alarm ecu that was not working. I replaced the fob battery and still no improvement. I needed to press the fob button many many times before I could start the car. As it turns out the contacts in the fob had a fine spot of dark colored oxidation. This would diminish the current throught the fob and it couldn't send a strong signal. Cleaning off the contacts in the fob with a fine sand paper solved the problem. Now I can lock the car from a distance away and the alarm led turns solid with only one press of the fob. Interestingly because of the oxidation, even replacing the battery in the fob did not solve the issue as it should. Just a note to future self.

Lesson: make sure the fob contacts are clean and bare metal where they contact the battery

Keywords: fob, not unlocking, not lock, light not working on fob, dim light on fob, replaced fob battery, no improvment, clean contacts, alarm light flashing, fob not working, alarm not working.

 

Thanks Taz!