[markswi]

I disconnected my vehicle battery to access the left front headlight for replacement. After reinstalling the battery, the keyless remote no longer works. Another clue is after locking the doors with the door lock switch, the car no longer beeps once and flashes the parking lights when the door is closed. Total time with the battery disconnected was about an hour. I previously had the battery disconnected for a timing belt replacement for about 8 hours with no ill effects on the remote, so I was surprised when this happened. Any help is appreciated.

 

[bbottomley]

I see that this is your first post, so welcome! We're glad to have you here.

The car needs to be reprogrammed to recognize the remote. Check the owners manual, or look up the procedure at www.cars101.com.

 

[markswi]

Thanks for the reply.

I have tried the reprogramming process as described in the owners manual with no success.

I think the problem is that the security system is not working at all. I believe this is the case because before I disconnected the battery, whenever I would lock the doors using the door lock switch instead of the remote key fob, when I close the driver's door the system would beep once and the running lights would flash. This is no longer happening.

 

[2.5x_sleeper]

@markswi is the security LED in the combination meter... instrument panel flashing?

Bobby...

['07 FSXT Member Journal] ['03 X Member Journal]

 

[markswi]

Hi, Bobby. I was hoping you'd check in on this because before I posted I was looking at other posts on keyless entry and your advice was all over them. Thanks.

I don't see any security light flashing, where is it? I'm sure I would have noticed as I've tried to fix this in semi-darkness, but I looked in the manual and didn't see it anywhere. Is it down low where I might have missed it?

Here's a little more background that might offer a clue. We got this car 4 years ago for my wife. The keys provided were one chip key and the valet key, along with one key fob. Since it's my wife's car, she got the real key and fob, while I got the valet key. I seem to remember that when I unlocked the door with the valet key after my wife locked it with the fob the alarm would go off. I probably went online to figure out how to get around this and succeeded. Things worked well since then, and that included a battery disconnect for around 8 hours when I replaced the timing belt. I didn't think I'd need to keep power on in the short time it took to replace the headlight.

Any help you can offer is appreciated.

 

[2.5x_sleeper]

@markswi the security LED is pictured in your Owner's Manual, "Keys and Doors", 2-13.

Your '07 doesn't have immobilizer security, so when the security system is not activated, it should not be flashing. If it is flashing, that could be a clue.

Disconnecting the battery should not affect the keyless entry or security system. It hasn't been an issue on either of our Foresters.

There are fuses associated with the keyless entry & security system, if blown, would only affect those systems. Have you looked for blown fuses in the engine compartment & cabin fuse boxes?

Bobby...

['07 FSXT Member Journal] ['03 X Member Journal]

 

[Kerby]

Not to be a smart a$$, but when was the last time you replaced the battery in the key fob?

 

[markswi]

No problem Kirby, I appreciate you checking in.

I checked the battery in the fob and it measured a few hundredths over the required 3 volts.

 

[markswi]

No light flashing. I did a quick visual check on the relevant fuses, but my eyesight isn't the greatest. I will continuity check them.

 

[2.5x_sleeper]

@markswi try disconnecting the battery again. This is basically a system reset.

[1] Disconnect the battery ground cable.
[2] Press the brake pedal & hold for 5-10 seconds. This will operate the brake lights, draining any residual voltage in the system.
[3] Reconnect the battery cable.

Note on the first start after a reset, turn the ignition key to run, but don't start for 5 to 15 seconds. This gives the ECM time to reinitialize & the engine won't stall after starting.

Once the reset is complete, while standing outside the driver's door, use the electric lock switch to lock the doors. Close the close the door. Was there a chip"?

Bobby...

['07 FSXT Member Journal] ['03 X Member Journal]

 

[markswi]

I'll try this when my wife gets home from work today, Bobby. Thanks.

 

[markswi]

I got back on this today.

First, the fuses. The only fuse that relates to keyless entry seems to be #3 under the dash. According to the manual, this handles both keyless and the electronic door lock button. It checks out okay, and the manual button works fine. Are any other fuses a possibility?

I tried the reset process without success, but in re-reading the instructions I realized that I did not get out of the car and press the lock button. I know the car knows I was still in the driver's seat because of the seat belt warning sensor, so I'll try again in a little while.

Tried again after getting out of the car, no luck. I also forgot to mention that the first time I tried this, I must have still had some residual juice as the radio still had the presets. The next two times I left it disconnected longer, and the radio went into system check mode. That mode goes away when you turn on the radio. The system check happened before I started this post and thinking it may be referring to the ECM, I let it go for a while. It never went off until I turned the radio on.

 

[2.5x_sleeper]

@markswi lets focus on the system first... we can address the remote fob operation later. 😉

I have more questions:

[1] The security LED is not flashing in the combination meter... the instrument panel. Correct?
[2] When you get out of the vehicle, lock the doors with the electric door lock switch, close the door, there's no audible chirp or a flashing security LED in the instrument panel? Is this correct?
[3] When you unlock the door with the key & open the door, the alarm doesn't sound. Is this correct?
[4] Is the CEL - check engine light on... lit?

There is the possibility your security system is in "valet" mode. In your Owner's manual, take a look at "Keys and Doors", 2-15.

Bobby...

['07 FSXT Member Journal] ['03 X Member Journal]

 

[aperegudin]

Hi I had a similar experience when I tried to upgrade my dome light and map light on my 19 Crosstrek, the keyless stoped working or flashing, so like you I first checked the fuses, for the center lock, there were fine, then I decided to check the fuses one by one, and I found one bad one 10amp which was ignition coil I think it was burnt, I changed that using spare in fuse box under the hood and that was it, kinda odd experience, also couldn't find a stick to remove them, weird too, so I used my Letherman which works great, hope it helps! Good luck!

 

[markswi]

@2.5x_sleeper

Bobby,

I got busy with work and had to ignore the Subaru for awhile. Once I was able to get back to it, I bought a digital manual for '03 to I believe '10 Foresters and attempted to track wiring issues that I believed I caused when I had to remove the battery. The manual showed specific voltages and conditions that should exist at the keyless entry module connector behind the glovebox. The connector illustrated in the manual I had showed, I believe, 16 pins. The one on my car has, I believe, 24 pins. I tried to do the tests based on wire color as detailed in the manual without success. After awhile, it dawned on me that Subaru may have changed things. Sure enough, when I searched for a keyless entry module for an '07, the pictures showed 24 pins. When I searched for a keyless entry module for an '03, the pictures showed 16 pins. I contacted the vendor I bought the manual from, and he was kind enough to send me an '07 only manual. Armed with the correct pin diagram, I was able to find fault in my module. I bought a used one on Ebay, plugged it in, and locked the door using the interior lock button. When I heard the single chirp and saw the turn signal lights flash when I closed the door, I knew I was back in business. I programmed the new module per the instructions in the owner's manual, and my wife is happily opening and closing her car with the key fob.

I wanted to update this post now, first to thank you for your efforts in trying to help me here, and second to let others know what I did to solve my problem. It always bugs me when someone doesn't share a solution.

Mark

 

[2.5x_sleeper]

@markswi thank you for updating your thread with the solution! Always good to have thread closure... "the rest of the story"! I'll add "SOLVED!" to your thread title!

Curious that removing & reinstalling the battery caused the keyless entry module to fail? I don't recall reading that on past forum posts!

Bobby...

['07 FSXT Member Journal] ['03 X Member Journal]

 

[markswi]

@2.5x_sleeper

I don't know how the battery disconnect could have caused the module failure either. It may just have been a coincidence, but it happened immediately after I pulled it out of the garage and tried to lock it.

It will remain one of life's great mysteries to me.

Mark

 

[2.5x_sleeper]

@markswi it will remain a mystery, but you found the problem & repaired it, which could help the next poor soul that experiences this same problem!

Bobby...

['07 FSXT Member Journal] ['03 X Member Journal]