Dose anyone else find that the remote central locking on their MK3 is temperamental? Sometimes I can unlock the car with the first press of the button, other times it takes three to four attempts to activate it. Same goes for locking it.
As for the remote locking on the boot. This morning I was standing beside the car and it took several attempts to pop the boot open however at lunchtime I was able to open it from a distance of approximately twenty metres away.
I put a new battery into the key fob about a month ago.
Hmm, check the contacts are making a good connection to the battery, sometimes they get pressed down a bit and lack enough spring for it to be reliable.
Over the years I’ve found this can be a worthwhile check for with all sorts of remotes, not just car key fobs.
Same issue with mine. Changed the battery, worked fine for a few days but now seems temperamental again. Will check the contacts but wonder if there might be an issue with the transponder and/or receiver?
There is a remote (no pun intended) possibility that the aerial coil has cracked its soldering to the PCB after being dropped on a hard surface, or some such accident. I’ve had to resolder this on both keys belonging to a friend’s Mercedes, and while there are small detail differences those looked very similar to my Mk3 key.
But both of my Mk3 keys (2008) are fine, and judging by the lack of any tell-tale marks on the keys when I first had a look in 2014, at the time I thought they were (and still are now) probably on the original batteries.
The remote unlocking for the boot on mine’s occasionally needed a couple of presses of the fob button ever since I got the car (new) even when standing right behind the car but I’ve never had any issues with the doors It’s the same with both fobs - & no change with new batteries.
I think all NCs with remote boot unlocking need the ‘boot’ button (bottom left on my fob) to be pressed for a couple of seconds for it to work…mine certainly does.
If, however, it gets just a quick ‘blip’ press, it can confuse the central locking receiver with effect that the main door locking function is inhibited, if not disabled completely for a few seconds.
Battery life should be at least a couple of years.
I had a similar problem with both my remotes. It was caused by the contacts not connecting with the battery properly. To fix it I carefully bent each of the prongs on the three-pointed connector away from the PCB by a few millimetres. I have not had a problem since.
The remote fob on my previous MK3.5 worked intermittently for a couple of years. If I fitted a new battery it would be fine for a few weeks and then start to work intermittently again.
I ended up sending the key fob to these people for service / repair, they returned the key fob after 3 days and it worked fine with no issues until I sold the car a year later.
I took the key fob apart and adjusted the contacts to ensure they now have good contact with the battery and I also inspected the PCB, thankfully I couldn't see any damage. At the same time I also adjusted the contacts for the boot activation switch.
Just tested the remote and everything operated properly first time, fingers crossed.
Aldi, I'll follow your advice re holding the bottom down for a number of seconds instead of just blipping it.
Looking forward to warmer weather and more opportunities to get the top down.
After reading about bending the battery and button contacts I did the same using a pair of tweezers - works a treat. What a great forum this is .
This brings forth another question about the fob. The owners handbook says the electric windows can be opened remotely by holding the unlock button down for a few seconds after the doors unlock. Mine won’t !! The feature is to allow summer heat to escape before entering the car. I thought this only applied to cars with advanced keyless entry but no, the online 2007 model handbook shows the basic fob as well. Mine’s a 2006 so I’m thinking maybe they didn’t this feature before 2007 ??
2007 1.8 roadster here. Having read this about the windows opening on the unlock button, nipped downstairs to garage, tried this but alas to no avail. Perhaps it’s only on “better” spec models? I did try the holding the buttons for longer thing though, everything works very smoothly now thank you!
There’s no mention of which spec has the feature and the illustration shows both the standard and smart keyless entry fobs. Perhaps if previous owners were unaware and never used the window remote opening the system’s gone to sleep. Mine’s a 2006 2.0i option pack which I would think should have it.
H’mmm…interesting !
I just tried the ‘windows’ trick on my 2007 NC Sport and …Nothing! Perhaps a ‘universal’ manual for USA Miata spec?
My handbook which came with the car makes no mention of it, either.
Perhaps it’s for ‘Export spec’ models (USA market?) only - they maybe get enough sun to warrant it.
Whereas we hardy Brits drop the top at the first rays of sunshine anyway - so it’s not needed.
Like Betabuilda, I too went out to my MX-5, a 2008 NC Sport coupe, to try the ‘window-opening’ feature, but to no avail.
I always understood from our previous 5, that to unlock the boot lid remotely, one had to hold the button (bottom left of key fob) down for about two seconds for it to activate, and this is also the case with my present car too. The doors always unlock with just a ‘blip’ of the appropriate button.
There have been so many different MX-5 models and special additions made over the years, that I’m not surprised the owners manuals are a little vague on this subject.