Iq No Go, Then Go

[johnan]

This morning I went out early to a local Asda about 3miles away to pick up some stuff to be back home early for a delivery.

On returning to the car , clutch pedal down pressed start button all the lights came on but......nothing.No clicking of solenoid, dimming of dash lights just ..nothing.

Repeated the process a number of times but still nothing, ie the starter is not turning but the ignition seems to be on. Like when you forget to push the clutch down when trying to start.

For some reason, probably thinking back to jammed ring gear pinions or stuck starter motors in the old days, I gave the car a little push, not in gear, about half a wheel revolution.

After I did that it started normally and has behaved since.

Are those the symptoms of the fob Battery getting low, I have a spare but didn't get to the point of changing it, or a failing microswitch in the clutch to ecu start inhibitor link, or just one of those things?

If it happens again MrT will be informed but I would be interested if anyone else has had the same problem.

John

IQ2, 1.0l, manual ,2011,second generation, 12000miles, never missed a beat until now.

[Soeley]

Did you notice what color the light was on the start button?

Green is good to go and receiving message from the fob, if it stayed amber/orange then looks like the fob Battery is going.

By the way pushing the car to un-jam a starter will only work if it's in gear. If it's in neutral then all you are doing is rotating the gearbox and not the engine.

[johnan]

Did you notice what color the light was on the start button?

Green is good to go and receiving message from the fob, if it stayed amber/orange then looks like the fob battery is going.

By the way pushing the car to un-jam a starter will only work if it's in gear. If it's in neutral then all you are doing is rotating the gearbox and not the engine.

I didn't notice the colour of the start button light..I will next time.

Do all the warning lights illuminate if the fob Battery is too flat to activate the system?

Yes, I know the moving of the car not being in gear "should" have made no difference but 50 odd years of working on cars somehow gave me an instinctive idea that moving the car might help.

Heaven knows why but it did, probably just coincidence.

If it had been in gear and I had turned the engine over, even by a minute amount, might have been enough to change some sensor probe from being in no mans land, to being in a pick up position, but that did not happen in this case.

Unless there is a gearbox sensor that inhibits the starter if something is not right, then what I did would make sense.

Odd though.

John

[craggle]

I had a similar thing once when I had the key in the same pocket as my iPhone. I jumped in the car which unlocked just fine, pressed the clutch down and nothing. I tried a couple of times but still nothing. Unfortunately I can't remember now if the ignition came on or not.

After I took the key out my pocket and placed it near the centre of the car it all worked fine again. It was later that I realised the phone was next to it and maybe that caused the problem with interference?

I have never yet had it re-occur or have managed to replicate the situation though.

I'd suggest you change the Battery anyway if you have a spare one and carry on regardless. If it happens again think more into it and maybe mention it to the dealer.

Craig.

[johnan]

Thanks for the info Craig.

I don't have a mobile phone "on", I just carry one for calling out in emergencies so it couldn't be that in my case.

I did try moving the fob around the dash area but it didn't make any difference.

If it happens again tomorrow I will change the Battery and see what happens after that.

John

[sweet-dentist]

I think you are on to something Craggle...

We have a friend that lives in the north part of Haarlem... so, not where we live.

Everytime when we leave her house and walk to the car... there is no response on clicking the key.. This is the Toyota Verso, of my wife, I am talking about.. Everytime it gives us the creeps... WTF now... and then..pff .. oh yeah...

Only when you are really very close to the car, it responses... We all think this has to do with a GPS-pole nearby. This is going on for years now, so we know why the car does not respond. Same for the Smart when we visit her.

About my iQ I do not know... cause I open it by touching the doorknob. And all the cars start there engines right away.. it's only in the unlocking..

Anyways... could be indeed that GPS-waves (or something like that) do have influence on the transmission of the key.

In this case the Phone... iPhone / Android? ... :-)

By the way... a phone is always "on"... it searches for connection.. if that connection is weak or hard to connect it will be sending a lot of signals...

Anybody who knows more about this??? Please..

[Red Yaris 54]

Just a thought , but a few years back the remote door lock sensors on many Yaris cars had problems locking and unlocking when parked in supermarket car parks

At the time it was attributed to microwave interference from the supermarket tills

Maybe this could be your problem!

[johnan]

Yes it does begin to sound like some sort of interference, maybe there is a strong signal of some kind near my local Asda.

It would have been a bit of a disaster if the engine hadn't eventually started though!

Peter, as far as I know my phone is "off".

I have had this particular one for about 5 years and have only had to recharge it once in that time as it just sits in my inside pocket, "off" and unused, waiting for an "emergency" and then I will switch it on to make a call out. I do not wait for incoming calls.

I regularly check the Battery state.

If it had been "on" in any way surely it would have run the Battery down over the years?

John

[Soeley]

Apparently, they (Police, emergency services) can switch a mobile phone on by remote in emergency situations. So although a mobile may be 'OFF' it is still capable of sending and receiving a signal.

DON'T KNOW HOW TRUE THAT IS BY THE WAY.

[sweet-dentist]

Maybe....better change the Battery of the key anyway... could have been a faulty one...

[johnan]

The car behaved perfectly, as usual, today, so the "interference" theory seems favourite.

Something to remember, if there is no response from the starter but the dash warning lights are lit, move the car a little and see if it helps.

Certainly did for me, for whatever reason!

John

[tarquin]

Ok guys

I can tell you that a lot of remote access key fob problems are caused by data transmissions on pylons quiet often spanning across supermarket car parks. The data is at fairly low bit rate but in the form of square waves. Square waves have infinite harmonics which mean they spread across harmonic related frequencies. The fob frequency is on a license free frequency of 433.92 mhz. Lots and lots of low power equipment use it from door bells to video links Amateur radio also share a group of frequency's just below it. The receivers in the car have a wide band pass input so anything and its dog can effect them. The data sent on the power lines usual run in bursts of 10mins. I also have sat with a group of guys in a tesco car park wait ing to open our cars with me telling them why they cant

David