2006 LS430 - Key and alarm issues!

[Las Palmas]

5 hours ago, DomTurner said:

okay another update, this sounds stupid but...

i mentioned yesterday that my sisters e46 isnt locking/unlocking with the key from the house... tried it again this morning and same result. she moved it 10 feet down the road and it's working fine... move it back and its no longer working

 

Any alarm system in house sending signals? Radio amateur nearby?

[steve2006]

Apparently Wi-Fi can cause problems on the 2.4 GHz band

[DomTurner]

2 hours ago, steve2006 said:

Apparently Wi-Fi can cause problems on the 2.4 GHz band

More info: 

I moved my car not even 5 seconds down the road and it is working fine, keyless, remote etc... Back on the drive and nothing is working again...

I cut all power to the house and tried again and got the same result so I can't see it's anything in my house.

Checked with the neighbour and they have been experiencing the same thing from yesterday afternoon (once they returned home), their key will not work unless pretty much touching the car and pressing the button a few times.

Must be something interfering with the 315/433MHz frequency? Will have to ask around the other neighbours.

Thankfully the master key after will work in the keyhole without setting the alarm off so I can lock/unlock with the physical key and start the car to move it elsewhere. 

I have never come across anything like this in my 20 short years on the planet and I don't even know who to call to check this out...

[steve2006]

For Sale…..a nice property located in Somerset…..Lexus LS430 not included. 😀
 

Reporting radio frequency interference

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/spectrum/interference-enforcement/interference-to-radiocommunications-apparatus

[Malc1]

11 hours ago, steve2006 said:

Reporting radio frequency interference

blimey, who'd have thought this could really be the problem !

Do you ever see a damn big blue balloon overhead and a F-16 jet fighter going past 🤣

Malc

[DomTurner]

Right, final update (hopefully).

RCD started to trip this morning, after the 2nd time we investigated. After going through the house unplugging everything we moved onto the garage.

Turned off the boiler and it stopped tripping.

And guess what - all of our cars are now unlocking fine! 

Must be the wireless control for the boiler interfering with the alarm systems - even a remote control lamp was flickering before when turned on!


Thank you everyone for the info and help, what a weird couple of days.

[steve2006]

If the light was flickering it must be a Glow-worm boiler. 😀

[BigBoomer]

It's a common issue with keyless ignition systems. Since they rely on radio communication (433Mhz in UK/EU) a powerful transmitter on a nearby frequency can knock them out enough to stop them working. Also, any piece of electrical equipment can spew "noise" to the point that it interferes with lots of electronics.
I'm a (now inactive) Radio Amateur and many moons ago I had to trace the source of an intermittent blast of noise that was knocking out all of my communications on the 6m, 2m, & 70cm bands. It turned out to be next doors vacuum cleaner that was 25 years old and the brushes were worn out. I fitted new brushes to the motor and a new condenser and the noise never returned.

[steve2006]

CQ.....Hoover....CQ......Hoover 😀

[DomTurner]

here we go again...

almost exactly a week later and it's back at it.

it isn't what we thought it was and we are sure it cant be anything in the house now.

lucky it didn't happen when i got up for work - not sure the neighbours would have liked the alarms going off at 3am!

[Malc1]

17 hours ago, DomTurner said:

not sure the neighbours would have liked the alarms going off at 3am!

on the Ls400 you can turn the alarm right down to zero sound emitting by turning the knob / dial that's UNDER the console area between the front seats ...............  maybe that's also available in the Ls430  ?

Malc

[rich1068]

Really? I thought it was just a button to turn the lock/unlock beeps off?

[Malc1]

1 hour ago, rich1068 said:

Really?

yes

Malc

[John N]

The system uses the same radio frequency as WiFi. I had the same problem at home because of a neighbours faulty wireless door bell. It affected a few cars in the street. 

[BigBoomer]

It's not the same frequency as WiFi (2.4Ghz, 5Ghz, & 6Ghz) but the remote key systems (433Mhz) are prone to interference from WiFi systems (and other sources of interference) due to the cheap filters used in the 433Mhz receivers.
WiFi has strict limits on how much power is allowed to be used but some of the newer systems have what is called "Beam shaping" technology which allows them to focus what little power they have into a narrow beam, thus considerably increasing the signal. Video doorbells often cause this kind of problem as they force the WiFi router to transmit a narrow powerful beam directly at the doorbell, which then interferes with the cars parked outside the front door.
Also check with your neighbours if any of them have recently installed one of the newer "mesh" WiFi systems (consists of several units that together provide better WiFi coverage) or if any of them have installed a new WiFi router or WiFi device.