remote issues

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

dwsdad

Junior Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2012
Posts
12
Reaction score
7
Ram Year
2012
Engine
Hemi
2013 Ram 1500 Laramie. The key fob is really starting to act up. Remote start works when it wants to. A couple of days ago, I replaced the battery in the fob, stepped out on the porch and was able to lock, unlock, and remote start. I put the fob away for the day. The next morning I went out to remote start the truck.....and nothing...no lights flashed. Ok, this isn't the first time this happened, so I got in, depressed the brake and pushed the start button. No go, then the dash comes up with key fob not found. I used the fob to push the start button and she fired up.

The truck has a new battery. The hood, doors, tailgate are all closed. I'm even having issues where I can't remote lock or unlock. Today I tried remote start again and it failed. I got in the truck and tried the fob in there. The dash lit up, but that was it. Has my fob bit the bullet???
 

Ken226

Senior Member
Military
Joined
Mar 12, 2017
Posts
1,092
Reaction score
1,597
Location
Washington State
Ram Year
2013
Engine
Hemi
Aftermarket ones from Amazon and Ebay tend to stop working within a few days and give all kinds of grief. I would stay with OEM Mopar, if possible.

It's interesting. When I look up the part#, I see this notification:

1737080631513.png

When I search for the part# is states is correct for a 2013, it loops back to the part# that it says is unavailable, yet showing that they ARE available. :rolleyes:


Mopar Parts Giant has them too, but says it "don't fit". Just like my EPS rack & pinion didn't fit, that has been on my truck for a year now.



Rock Auto carries a bunch of Dorman key fobs. I have no idea how good they are.



Use AlfaOBD to program them, or a Bidirectional scan tool. It'll probably be cheaper than having your local dealer do it, but that is an option too.
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
D

dwsdad

Junior Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2012
Posts
12
Reaction score
7
Ram Year
2012
Engine
Hemi
Thanks. I've looked at those fobs on eBay and Amazon and wondered about their reliability.

Is there a specific dongle to use with AlfaOBD?
 

Hudson

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2018
Posts
178
Reaction score
118
Location
GA
Ram Year
2018
Engine
5.7L Hemi
I might be worth for you to check RF hub that is behind the passenger back seat on the back wall of the cab. Especially if you have a 3 window in the back, if they leak they will drip on the hub and short it out. While in there check the passenger side cab exhauster for leaks as well since its a 20213 truck.
 

mtofell

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2014
Posts
2,811
Reaction score
2,554
Ram Year
2014
Engine
Hemi 6.4
I was recently in Costco and they had a person at a booth selling OEM fobs. $180 for my 2014 Ram and that included programming, etc. Not sure if that's a good deal? I'm still limping along on my 2nd fob - first one failed after about 5 years. My problem seems to be more of a physical one. If I just hit the unlock button it rarely works but I can tilt over to one side of the button and it works every time. I'm sure I'll have to just get a new one at some point but for now am making due.
 
OP
OP
D

dwsdad

Junior Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2012
Posts
12
Reaction score
7
Ram Year
2012
Engine
Hemi
I might be worth for you to check RF hub that is behind the passenger back seat on the back wall of the cab. Especially if you have a 3 window in the back, if they leak they will drip on the hub and short it out. While in there check the passenger side cab exhauster for leaks as well since its a 20213 truck.
I do have a rear window. Question though. If the hub is bad, would nothing work from the remote? Lock, unlock, and panic work.
 
OP
OP
D

dwsdad

Junior Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2012
Posts
12
Reaction score
7
Ram Year
2012
Engine
Hemi
I should have asked, but do you have a spare fob to try?

If it's a bad RF hub, it should behave the same with both key fobs.
I have another remote, but I think it was my original and when it started acting up, I switched to this one. But, hey, I'll give it a shot.
 

Ken226

Senior Member
Military
Joined
Mar 12, 2017
Posts
1,092
Reaction score
1,597
Location
Washington State
Ram Year
2013
Engine
Hemi
I have another remote, but I think it was my original and when it started acting up, I switched to this one. But, hey, I'll give it a shot.

The probability of both remotes going bad at the same time are very slim.

If both remotes are having the same issue at the same time, you should scan the trucks bcm and RF hub for stored codes.

To access the BCM and RF hub, you'll need AlfaOBD or a higher end bidirectional scanner.
 

Hudson

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2018
Posts
178
Reaction score
118
Location
GA
Ram Year
2018
Engine
5.7L Hemi
I do have a rear window. Question though. If the hub is bad, would nothing work from the remote? Lock, unlock, and panic work.
If lock unlock and panic work the rf hub is not your issue. Is it only auto start that does not function on both remotes?
 
OP
OP
D

dwsdad

Junior Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2012
Posts
12
Reaction score
7
Ram Year
2012
Engine
Hemi
Remote start is the only button not working.
 
OP
OP
D

dwsdad

Junior Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2012
Posts
12
Reaction score
7
Ram Year
2012
Engine
Hemi
So, yesterday the wife and had to run some errands. Hopped in the truck at home and started up fine. Drove to Sam's, did our shopping, loaded everything up, pushed the start button....key fob not found. Dug it out my pocket, fired it by using the fob against the start button. No other issues on a couple of other stops

Later in the day I had to run another errand and it started fine, but when I got to where I was going I got out of the truck and it running. Normally when do that I get the fob has left the vehicle message for a few seconds when I get back in. This time it never went off. Dinged all the way home.

This morning I grab a dongle (ELM) and fire up AlphODB. No error codes. Everything is fine. But I'm not really sure what category to look in. I think I went through everything. Oh, yeah, this time I'm using the backup fob and got it to remote start once.
 

Ken226

Senior Member
Military
Joined
Mar 12, 2017
Posts
1,092
Reaction score
1,597
Location
Washington State
Ram Year
2013
Engine
Hemi
Try the RF Hub

On mine, with AlfaOBD I can get codes from the individual modules that don't show up in a general OBD2 scan.

Screenshot_20250118-120633.png

My Innova 7111 scans all the modules, which takes awhile, but shows absolutely everything.
 

Wild one

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2016
Posts
18,377
Reaction score
36,774
Ram Year
14 Sport
Engine
5.7
So, yesterday the wife and had to run some errands. Hopped in the truck at home and started up fine. Drove to Sam's, did our shopping, loaded everything up, pushed the start button....key fob not found. Dug it out my pocket, fired it by using the fob against the start button. No other issues on a couple of other stops

Later in the day I had to run another errand and it started fine, but when I got to where I was going I got out of the truck and it running. Normally when do that I get the fob has left the vehicle message for a few seconds when I get back in. This time it never went off. Dinged all the way home.

This morning I grab a dongle (ELM) and fire up AlphODB. No error codes. Everything is fine. But I'm not really sure what category to look in. I think I went through everything. Oh, yeah, this time I'm using the backup fob and got it to remote start once.
Did you try a new 2032 battery in the fob,might not be your issue,but it's pretty easy to try first
 
OP
OP
D

dwsdad

Junior Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2012
Posts
12
Reaction score
7
Ram Year
2012
Engine
Hemi
I grabbed the "spare" fob and went out to the truck this morning. When I opened the door, the dash said remote start disabled. So I opened alpha and started reading the RFH. I did screenshots of every. page, but I saw no errors. I shut it down, got out of the truck, waited for the dash to go black, then tried to remote start standing next to the truck. On the 3rd try it started. So, I think the other fob is bad because of all the other weird stuff happening and I also think there's some IBK happening on part with the button timing.

I really appreciate all the input and direction from y'all .
 

Hudson

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2018
Posts
178
Reaction score
118
Location
GA
Ram Year
2018
Engine
5.7L Hemi
I would take both remotes apart and check the PCB for gunk buildup around buttons. Also on the rubber side where the buttons are you should see metal discs on all of your buttons. Make sure those discs are there and they are in the right position on the rubber (they give you the click feel). If they are slightly out of position they will possibly active the buttons next to itself as well.
The "remote start disabled" will show if the truck is low on fuel, your hood latch is not reporting closed properly or when you have a DTC.
 

Deadsmiley

Junior Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2019
Posts
4
Reaction score
5
Location
Bowling Green, KY
Ram Year
2016
Engine
Hemi 5.7
I had an issue with one of my fobs on my 2016. I took it apart, thinking the battery was getting weak, and some small metal discs were loose. These were the contacts that were attached to the underside of the rubber buttons. This made my remote do all kinds of things like not unlock the doors or remote start the truck instead. I ordered couple of aftermarket fobs from ebay and swapped out the rubber buttons and this fixed my issue. It was around $20. Note that I kept the rest of the fob OEM. All I needed were the buttons.
 

HDRam

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2020
Posts
9
Reaction score
5
Location
Pa.
Ram Year
2014
Engine
6.7
Try taking your remote apart and push the start button to see if it works that way.
 

Dusty

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2013
Posts
1,609
Reaction score
1,905
Location
Rochester, New York
Ram Year
2019
Engine
5.7 Hemi
I would take both remotes apart and check the PCB for gunk buildup around buttons. Also on the rubber side where the buttons are you should see metal discs on all of your buttons. Make sure those discs are there and they are in the right position on the rubber (they give you the click feel). If they are slightly out of position they will possibly active the buttons next to itself as well.
The "remote start disabled" will show if the truck is low on fuel, your hood latch is not reporting closed properly or when you have a DTC.
I'm surprised no one mentioned this earlier.

Since I always carried the FOB in my pocket, every once in a while the buttons would be intermittent. I'd take the FOB apart, remove the rubber membrane and clean the contacts with contact cleaner and remove all the pocket fuzz.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33-gallon fuel tank, 18” wheels. Build Date: 3 June 2018. Now at 125398 miles.
 
Top