2003 156 JTS remote key fob central locking problem - re-posted

[Prana69]

Posting this in correct forum (156)....

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Hey all

I have a problem with my key remote.  The central locking / unlocking process is not working correctly.

The remote will lock the doors and give me the flashing indicators to confirm, but it will not unlock the car again. When I hit the button to unlock, all I get is a single indicator flash, but the doors do not unlock. There is also no noise from a motor.  I can unlock the doors manually with the key in the lock, so I know the motors are OK.  The remote boot unlock mechanism works fine too.  It just seems to be the remote doors unlock mechanism.  Maybe the receiver is not receiving or recognising the "unlock code"?

My car was recently repaired after a relatively minor rear-ender, and much work was done on the boot and spoiler and a bit on the front.

It was in the panel shop for 16 days.  When it came out, it had this central locking fault as well as a rear passenger window power window fault which was fixed when I took it back to the panel shop.  But they could not diagnose the central locking fault.

Any ideas?

Thanks
Dave
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For a start, its in the wrong column, put this post in the 156-147-166 section, it seems the computer is not sending power to unlock, but its getting the message to flash the lights, take it back to the panel shop, or talk to your insurance company, as it worked before the accident, it may need to go to an Alfa specialist with the Alfa Romeo diagnostic computer, great car 156 JTS and its Silver just like mine, Colin.
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Thanks Colin.  Been a while since I posted here, so I forgot about putting it in the right forum.

Yeah, I notified the insurer and took it back to the repair shop.  That's when they fixed the power window issue, but they said they were unable to identify the cause of the remote failing.  Suggested I talk to the assessor again and see if an auto electician canbe arranged.  The assessor said (this is the insurance company line): "we'll get an assessment done by our auto elctrician.  if they find that the issue is consistent with the accident, then we will be liable for the repair.  If not, then you will be liable".  I said that's not right because I already know that the issue was not cause dby the accident because the remote was working fine after the accident and before the car went into the shop.  When it came out of teh shop it was no loner working.  So no matter what your auto electrician says, as far as I am concerned the issue happened when the car was in the repair shop to which you assigned it, so you are liable"..

I haven't heard from him or the auto electriciam yet.  I just wanted to get an dea of what the cause might be so I can tell if they are telling me BS. The first thing he said was actuator failure thru normal wear and tear, but I told him the motor is working fine to lock the car, so why not unlock it?  It's not the acctuator; it's a signal issue.

I'll keep you posted.

Thanks
Dave

[Davidm1600]

Most intriguing mate.  Can't say I have had that problem, yet with mine. Hope I don't.

I did recently have one of the rear power window switches fail.  Not quite sure what the problem was but it is fixed now.  Mind you the main control, for the driver's side window is not 100% and the auto electrician advised me I probably will need to replace the unit.  Havn't looked into this yet.

Will be interested to see how you go with your remote issue, if you can get it sorted.

[colcol]

I would say that to get it fixed properly it will have to be hooked up to an Alfa Romeo diagnostic computer, i doubt whether the insurance company auto electrician will have one, in the old days of my 33 there was a relay that sent power to all the 4 doors to lock them and unlock them, quite simple, the Alfa 156 JTS has a CANBUS wiring system that everything is run from a central computer, so backyarders stay away, am i allowed to know what insurance company is giving you the runaround?, Colin.

[Prana69]

Hi Colin

The auto electrician contacted me today to arrange for the inspection report.  I also don't think he'll discover anything.  Its too "alfa specific".

AAMI....of course.

Dave

[colcol]

Ah yes, i should have known, they take your car to a warehouse after it has been pranged, and panel beaters walk round, pick a car, you see them getting quotes from parts suppliers, wreckers and non genuine suppliers, and then they put in their price, and the cheapest get the job, and so you don't know where the car ends up, non tradesman fixing your beloved Alfa!, i know a few years ago i was with them, and in the days when you used to drive around and get 3 different quotes, say to some panel shops you are with the before mentioned insurance company, they would refuse to deal with them for various reasons, its good to see the same level of satisfaction still exists...., Colin.

[Craig C]

If they have been messing around with the door trims they could have slightly bent the links that connect the motor (servo?) to the locking button.  If there is pressure here on any one the whole system won't unlock. Unscrewing and removing the plastic buttons relieves that pressure and if it then works could help with your diagnosis.

[colcol]

They could have bent all the relay rods and pullrods and they could be rubbing on the trim, but that would be one door only, if the four doors don't work, then its the computer, i know i spent hours straightening and realigning the rods in the 33, and 3 doors work perfect.... one needs work, its the problem of the insurance company as it worked before it went in for repairs, Colin.

[Prana69]

UPDATE

Been a while but I can finally give an update......

AAMI have accepted responsibility for the fix.

I took the car to their nominated auto electrician (who was actually really good) about 3 weeks ago and they submitted their report to AAMI.  I have not seen the report itself, but the auto elec said the control module that resides in the boot is faulty.  He said the structure itself is not damaged, but the bits inside are not working correctly.  He said he needed to talk to the panel shop to get a better idea of what work they did before he could make his recommendation to AAMI.  However, he did tell me that he was pretty sure they would do the repair.  Which I'm obviously very happy about because that module costs $600!

WRT AAMI's processes, yes I did originally have to take the car to the assessor's warehouse in Moorabbin where there were approximately 100 other cars being pored over by assessors.  But they did give me the name and contact details of the panel shop it went to, and I did speak to them about some existing damage that I wanted them to look at.  They were also pretty good about the faults the car had when it was returned to me, and willing to have a look to see what they could fix. 

Luckily, all of the service shops I've had to deal with are within a 10 minute drive of my home or work, so that's not too bad.  I assume AAMI (and other insurance companeis) have similar warehouses on the north side.  If not, I feel sorry for people who have to travel to Moorabbin for assessment.

AAMI actually weren't too bad.  I had someone from their customer service dept calling me once a week to check the status of the problems.  The assessor/s were not so communicative, but it's not really their job I guess.

I'd probably be saying something different if they decided NOT to cover the cost of the faulty module. But I was prepared to push this pretty hard.  I don't know how they could possibly claim "normal wear and tear" when the fault appeared when the car was in the panel shop, and not experiencing any "wear & tear".

The auto elec has ordered the replacement part and it will be swapped out on Wednesday or Thursday. I'll come back and confirm once it's done.

Dave

[colcol]

Thanks for the update, the module obviously got damaged in the prang and the new module will cost $600, i wonder if they will put a new one in or a second hand one?, my money is on a second hand one which i reckon is ok as long as it works and has some sort of warranty, i have heard horror storys about insurance companys and cars, nice to hear one with a happy ending, ps., i was going to insure my car , a 2002 JTS with AAMI, cause i have the 33 with them, and much to my surprise Shannons were cheaper!, go figure, Colin.

[Prana69]

Auto elec said they have received the part from Alfa, so I'm assuming it's new.

AAMi were pretty good throughout this, but they are certainly pricey at $1200 pa.  Especially considering if I lived at either of the houses next door to me, I'd get the cover for approx $200 less.  I challenged them on that and they said "well, maybe a previous owner of the property had a poor history".  I said "I am the first owner. It's a 7 year old house in a new estate"..... crickets.

I'm in the market for a new insurer, so I might check Shannon's out.  How do they compare products / features wise?  I do like that AAMI have a very "human controlled" claims process and are pretty good at communicating the status of a claim.

Dave

[colcol]

Like any insurance, you find out how bad or good they are at claim time, people at work with Commodores and Falcons have recomended Shannons to me!, and i have not heard bad reports about them, not to say there are not any, another really stupid reason i chose Shannons is because they sponsor channel 31's Classic Restos and they sponsor the motor racing on tv and Jim Richards and all things i am interested in, AAMI sponsor the Melbourne cup, apparantly thats a horse race in Melbourne, Colin.

[Prana69]

Fixed.  Eventually.

The auto elec received the replacement control module on Wed. I dropped the car off for the installation on Thursday.  Mid afternoon I got a call from the auto elec to advise that there was a problem.  The car needed to go to an Alfa dealer to have the key/s re-programmed.  Auto elc said they asked the Alfa supplier several times if this was required, but they said "no, no, it's just plug n play".  After several hours of no success, the elect called Alfa again and this time they said: "actually, yes, it will need to be re-programmed".

So I had to drop the car in again on Monday.  Which I did.

All done.

Dave