Fail-safe for keyless entry

Good idea, but no can do here. Van is a kneeling van with a handicapped ramp that unfolds via the door that has no keylock! Gotta be the fob.

-- Bobby G.

Reply to
Robert Green
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We tried that method. You'd be surprised at all the things that end up in your hands as you exit a vehicle. At least twice the fob activated just from being clutched along with a bag and the GPS. The damn thing's too twitchy and needs to be untwitched.

It's just unbelievable that they don't put "HOLD" switches on these things to prevent accidental activation. Makes me believe without hesitation that Toyota's got a design flaw in their control systems when I see crappy form-over-function design like this from a major automaker.

Thanks for your input. I wish the problem was that cheap and that simple.

-- Bobby G.

Reply to
Robert Green

Please explain.

-- Bobby G.

Reply to
Robert Green

Reply to
Robert Green

Mike, you must have nerves of steel and one hell of an even-flowing glue gun to be able to sculpt glue like that. It would be beyond me. Besides, this is a 7 button (IIRC) remote with four of the keys arranged like pie wedges with very thin separators.

The glue method is a good technique to know, and I've used a similar one elsewhere (superglue and washers and O-rings) but I don't think it will work on this fob.

Thanks for the suggestion, though, Mike.

-- Bobby G.

Reply to
Robert Green

That's actually something I never thought of, since I was obsessed with making something out of that indestructible clear plastic packaging that's so difficult to open. I actually have an old MP3 player case that might be exactly what's needed. At the worst, I could put some of that curved packaging material into a soft case and make it hard enough to withstand accidental pushes. Good contribution. Thanks.

The worst incident was deploying the fold out ramp by accident, turning to try to stop it from hitting the car next to me and leaning on the van's horn button and then grabbing the keys hard enough to hit the panic button. I felt like everyone within 1000 feet was watching me. Yet the other day, when someone cut in front of me, I couldn't find the right area of the steering wheel cover to press to warn them. There's something wrong with a design that goes off when you don't want it to, but doesn't go off when you do.

They've seen my van. They won't ask questions. Aside from a custom motion sensor alarm, a rearview TV camera and on board constant loop 4 channel DVR with a 16GB CF card, I've also added one camera for the front, left and right side and rear window. I was once in a very bad accident where the other party just lied their fool heads off and soaked my insurer for a *lot* of money. It pissed me off so much I decided to get a windshield type "dash cam."

The dash cam I got from Ebay for about $80 was useful, but you really need to have a record of what's happening on all four sides of you if you're in an accident. A windshield cam won't capture the image of someone T-boning you while they're running a red light but a side-view cam will. Put it together from COTS parts for under $200. Starts up with the car, goes into automatic record (with one channel of audio, too) and goes off with the car.

I am going to mod it so that I can also monitor the car when it's sitting parked to see who's looking inside to see what's what. Thieves usually "case the joint" first. The DVR is a small box that fits easily under the rear seat. Cabling and mounting the cams to be unobtrusive was a problem and still needs refinement. Right now it runs off the van battery, but I want to mount a separate 12VDC marine battery to power the rig independently of the van's power supply.

I got the idea from an episode of "COPS" where they rig up a car with all sorts of cameras and remote functions. The leave the "bait" car in places where people are likely to steal them. Apparently, that turns out to be everywhere. With the Toyota debacle unfolding, having a "flight recorder" in the car doesn't seem as far-fetched as it used to. With people texting while they're driving, a visual record might come in very handy if a serious accident occurs. And if I am at fault, a CF card goes missing. (-:

If I power it from a marine battery, I can also add a 2.4gHz transmitter and watch what happens out of sight with my trusty Taser (they're having a big sale on the pro-sumer model).

-- Bobby G.

Reply to
Robert Green

I had been told in safety meetings these "flight recorders" were coming for our company vans....WHoa!!! Union strike...LOL

Gives a whole new meaning to a SSD (solid state HDD). You can get about 60GB for $135 now. Endless loop and keeps the last 15 minutes or so. May go a long way.

Actually. I take that back about the penknife case. After reading your rant about the hands full of crap, I empathise with that and a case would be one more piece of crap in your hands when you are trying to get out of the vehicle.

Solution? Don't carry it or black electrical tape over the buttons to make them hard to push. Replace when gooey.

I like the "O" ring under the button, depending on design.

The dash cam I got from Ebay for about $80 was useful, but you really need to have a record of what's happening on all four sides of you if you're in an accident. A windshield cam won't capture the image of someone T-boning you while they're running a red light but a side-view cam will. Put it together from COTS parts for under $200. Starts up with the car, goes into automatic record (with one channel of audio, too) and goes off with the car.

I am going to mod it so that I can also monitor the car when it's sitting parked to see who's looking inside to see what's what. Thieves usually "case the joint" first. The DVR is a small box that fits easily under the rear seat. Cabling and mounting the cams to be unobtrusive was a problem and still needs refinement. Right now it runs off the van battery, but I want to mount a separate 12VDC marine battery to power the rig independently of the van's power supply.

I got the idea from an episode of "COPS" where they rig up a car with all sorts of cameras and remote functions. The leave the "bait" car in places where people are likely to steal them. Apparently, that turns out to be everywhere. With the Toyota debacle unfolding, having a "flight recorder" in the car doesn't seem as far-fetched as it used to. With people texting while they're driving, a visual record might come in very handy if a serious accident occurs. And if I am at fault, a CF card goes missing. (-:

If I power it from a marine battery, I can also add a 2.4gHz transmitter and watch what happens out of sight with my trusty Taser (they're having a big sale on the pro-sumer model).

-- Bobby G.

Reply to
Josepi

If you are out of range and are still keeping the remote buttons pressed, it will run down the battery in the remote. The terrorist crack is referring to the fact that you could activate something unintentionally. The insurgents in Iraq use all sorts of remote technology to set off IED's. It was levity.

TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

Maybe get a third party system that is designed better than the junky stuff the car manufacturers use? Thats what I have done on the last two vehicles we own.

Reply to
George

My fob needs to be reprogrammed every time the battery is changed. I would imagine yours is similar.

Disconnecting the battery would have the same effect. It would get very annoying to have to reprogram the fob every time I wanted to get into the car.

Try wearing pants that aren't so tight when you keep the keys in your pocket.

Reply to
mkirsch1

The obvious solution is to tie the ramp deployment system into a different fob that doesn't have the same problem.

Reply to
mkirsch1

Reply to
Robert Green

It makes economic sense given the liabilities. In tough economic times, there is in increase in people that insurers call "jumpers." They look for a company van or an expensive car at an intersections and for drivers fussing with cell phones and not paying attention. Then they "jump" out in front of a vehicle hoping to get hurt just enough to make an insurance claim.

You really don't need anything more than the last minute of a recording to deal with car accidents. They happen pretty quickly. A 16GB card is overkill, really, but it allows for faster FPS's and higher resolution, and that's a good thing to have. The CF card format means after an accident, I can just pop out the card easily. Don't know about you, but I've had stuff disappear from cars that have been towed to wrecking yards.

My major concern is that testing to make sure the data is actually written and is readable after a crash could be very expensive. (-:

Agreed, it's not the ideal solution, but it may be a decent work-around until I can explore some of the options that people have contributed here.

Tried that, actually. Two weeks of gooey tape riding around in a typical pants pocket looks like a furry little mouse. It really just needs a harder plastic "skin" around it that makes the buttons a little harder to press than they are now. I was kinda of hoping someone would post something telling me "that's the fobshield 101, and you can get it at so and so's."

That whole concept has a lot going for it. No soldering, for one. The problem is that there are seven buttons on the remote. A spacer between the two halves of the fob may be the best bet.

-- Bobby G.

Reply to
Robert Green

I inadvertently did the experiment that Ian first suggested because when the fob is popped open, the battery goes with one half, the circuit board with the other. After being disconnected for several hours, it still locked the car (I looked out the window to see the lights flash). This is a TRW remote for a 2002 Chrysler Grand Caravan.

Yes, that would be a deal-breaker. That's why I suggested to Ian that I would look for a way to insert a second switch into the circuit that did not affect the trickle current going to the IC. That should be pretty easy since it's an open circuit anyway. Adding a second switch would just mean that both had to be pressed simultaneously.

Thanks for the caveat, but as far as I can tell, my unit doesn't have a sophisticated fob. Perhaps that's because the keys have RF immobolizers built into them and the security is "concentrated" at that point.

Reply to
Robert Green

If it was new, I might, but it's 8 years old and I believe that there's a cheaper, easier, simpler way around the problem, even if it does come down to putting it in a hard shell case of some sort. There seems to be enough space to put a micro-pushbutton on the fob. I am just not sure that one button will serve all 7 fob buttons.

I may also be able to rewire the panic button, which we never use, to serve as the second pushbutton. My preliminary scan of the circuit board wasn't very encouraging, though. There are a lot of tiny traces around the panic button pad.

-- Bobby G.

Reply to
Robert Green

Ask DerbyDad03 - I am humor challenged. He has to explain all his jokes to me, too.

Oh well.

I get your point, though. It's just not an optimum solution for me.

-- Bobby G.

Reply to
Robert Green

Wear the fob attached to a wrist band, like a big wrist-watch, or Space Ghost's magic bracelet thingie?

-- aem sends...

Reply to
aemeijers

You say its too old after only 8 years?

I put a remote door/ trunk opener with starter into a 15 year old mustang. It was the best thing I ever added to it. Unfortunately last year (at 19 years old) it was t-boned and written off (too bad for me it did not have side air bags - my replacement does).

My new car will re-lock the doors if the unlock button is pressed but a door (or the lift gate) is not opened within 30 seconds.

Reply to
Ned Flanders

The panic button is like life insurance. You don't use it often, but when you do need it, you wouldn't want to be without it.

Reply to
Jim H

A fob sleeve holder in the vehicle may work for the sleeve.

You push the fob and condom into a hlder, pull out the fob and use it. When complete, you push the fob into the holder, grab both and remove them for your pockets. Trouble is you want the buttons usable outside the vehicle and the flow logic isn't there.

I am still not convinced, on my Camry that I have actually pushed the buttons. When hearing lock clicks, a few times, I have looked down and fingers could not even reach the buttons in my hand??? However, if the buttons were transmitting intermittently, one would think a dead battery would happen in a few months / years. Mine is 9 years old (some like it hot...)

My work van unit had a long range ( a 100 meters or so) and the panic alarm was doing it's thing a few times, while I was in a public building, just being in my pocket. GMC van. Got embarrassing, a few times, wondering who the idiot is and finding out it's you...LOL ASt least the Camry is 30-40 feet to the front and about 10 feet to the rear of car. Doesn't help find the car when you parked at the same mall a few times and can't remember what day it is.

Reply to
Josepi

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