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KESSY Mystery

10K views 14 replies 6 participants last post by  BigFatPaulie 
#1 ·
Here's an odd one. Returning from a shopping trip yesterday with my partner driving on this occasion the car wouldn't start, tried pressing and poking everything but no deal. I couldn't remember how to do an emergency start but then suddenly out of the blue the car fired up ! On my arrival home I did some research as to possible causes but all I could find was weak battery in the remote and how to do an emergency start.

That evening I needed to pop out to the car to retrieve something but damn it I couldn't find the fob. Searched high and low until I remembered I'd slipped it into a coat pocket the previous day, not a coat I would drive in as it's too bulky but I wear it if the other half is doing the driving and I'm just sitting still in the passenger seat.
Then I realized I was wearing the same coat when riding shotgun earlier, meaning both keys were present in the car at the same time, mine and my partner's. I wonder if they somehow interfered with each other and prevented the KESSY system from working.
Anyone else ever had that problem arise ?
 
#2 ·
Prompted by your comment about the 'emergency start' procedure I have to admit I'd not realised that such a facility even existed so thanks for raising the matter. Now having read the handbook on this I understand that you have to hold the key up-close to the KESSY symbol on the steering column. Presumably the assumption is that the 'key' will always have enough battery power remaining to still operate the system when held up-close. Is that your understanding?
 
#3 ·
I'm not exactly sure how KESSY works, however as a now retired radio communications engineer I do know how similar systems function.
Many office and apartment blocks have keyless entry systems and they all work in the same kind of way. A low power transmitter in the building or in our case a car sends out a radio wave continually, then when a key fob designed to receive a signal at that particular frequency gets close enough to the transmission, the fob receives then re-transmits a signal which the building/car picks up and initiates an action. That could be releasing a locked door, starting an engine or a whole manner of things. For extra security the signals are encrypted although as we all know they can be cloned. A really secure system would change that encryption every time it was used the same way Police two-way radio's do.
Also it could well be that the transmitter in the car can respond to a signal from the fob even if it had no battery power at all, not to release the door maybe but possibly to start the engine. Systems like that work by wave modification, a good example is those security stickers stores put on valuable items that would bleep if you tried to walk out without paying for the item. They can easily be defeated but I'd better not go into that on here !
 
#5 ·
The key radio beam width is very narrow... I can't open the car from the passenger side, so unless they are in the driver area...
But if that was the case you will have seen a key not present warning I would have thought.
The fob battery is not used for kessy (as far as I know) only unlock via the fob.
 
#6 ·
Interesting...no, there was no message popping up at the time so I just couldn't figure out what was going on. It's a pity that unlike the SkyQ box we have here at home if the wireless signal from the remote gets weak, a message appears on the tv screen advising it's time to change the batteries.
It still works ok but at least you're forewarned.
I suppose it's because with a satellite receiver the systems are always up and running even on standby, whereas with a car most are shutdown except for the alarm of course.
 
#7 ·
There should be warnings on the dash for low battery(s) in the fobs... if your not seeing any, I'd assume the key location was the issue, do some experiments with a single key - start the car and move the fob over to the passenger side etc !
To force the battery error, sit in car and turn on ignition (press start).. now on the fob press unlock - if the battery is low a warning will come up on the dash display.
 
#8 ·
If I start the car with my key in my pocket, then get out to close the garage door, a warning appears on the dash to say the key is missing, car still runs though.
 
#10 ·
I'll have to experiment later on when I have time see if I can figure out why the car wouldn't fire up. I can only think it had something to do with two keys being present in the car at the same time causing a conflict. Definitely no warning message though so whatever the cause the car isn't programed to deal with it so does nothing.
 
#12 ·
Been doing some research on this and it looks like I was on the right track re. interference, although probably not from the other key fob.
Even though the signals from the transponder in the fob are coded, they still use radio frequencies shared by other devices and that can cause conflicts. It may well be that what happened at that particular moment in time could never be replicated and was just sheer chance, hopefully that's it and I won't get a repeat performance.
 
#13 ·
very much doubt it... the transfer isn't constant, it authorises about once a minute, and if it looses sight of a key it throws up a warning.
Still, hope you're sorted now... Best not to pray on these niggles, mine is a frikkin rattle near the glove box at the moment !
 
#15 ·
Technician said:
That rattle's not your other key is It :)
Nah :D

Last car was a Leon with a persistent rattle... dealers three times, I took the A-pillar off and packed the wires.... still didn't find it until the day I drove it to the dealer on the last day... rattle gone !
WTF - discovered it was my other key junk weighing down the key, which was bouncing in the lock.... so you wernt far off :)
 
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