Sounds like an rke module / wiring issue.

Have you tried disconnecting the battery for half an hour to force a full reboot of the PCM and rke?

The only thing you lose is your radio presets. I don't remember second gen s cars having adaptive transmission curves.

Another fun way to absolutely rule out the remotes is to find a buddy with a second gen s car and ask him to let you attempt to sync your remotes with his rke.

I'm trying to remember where the rke is located

 

Is the PCM and engine from a later 3rd gen s car?

 

Zero for three on the feedback, derf. I'm amazed that you even bother to answer anymore. I still appreciate all of your efforts, but I'm not too sure about the people that you're actually trying to help.

 

Just reread your thread.

After the chirp, you are supposed to press and hold down the lock and unlock until the door lock cycles, no?

That is from ancient memory, could be wrong.

If it is a third generation PCM, you cannot use this method to program fobs. Dealer must do it with a tech II

 

I am reviving this thread because I seem to be experiencing exactly the same problem as the other person... and I cannot find a solution.

I had an aftermarket keyfob purchased from Amazon and was able to get it working just fine.

I bought a second fob to have an extra one... however when I tried to program them both, only the new fob would work. I could not get the older one to work anymore... so I left it at that, and just used the newer one.

Today the new one stops working.

Now when I try to program them through the methods described above, both transmitters do cause the car to confirm a sync by chirping the horn 4 times (because I set it to mode 4), but neither fob will work.

The locks also do not cycle at all during the process.

Now I have zero functioning fobs.


I have put fresh batteries in both fobs. No effect.

The charm manual makes distinction between "synchronization" and "programming"

My suspicion is that the car is in synchronization mode and nor programming mode, or something like this, because the vehicle does respond with chirps for both fobs during the process described above.

Please advise.

 

There must be, logically, some way to reset the RKE module to factory default programming such that it is a clean load of the original software. Would probably need a Tech 2 or something that can communicate with the r k e system to determine its status and to take it out of purgatory. It's a crime how much a GM dealer would charge you diag and reset the RKE. Make sure the frequency listed on the back of your fobs is the same for both of them and that they match what is required for the frequency range for your year Saturn.

 

SOL on confirming frequency... aftermarket ones don't have that information anywhere on the device. But they both worked up until a certain point, which means they must have been correct.

 

Should be with the FCC ID information. Most fobs have this information molded into the plastic of the outer side of the case, usually the bottom. I think it's an FCC regulation that the info needs to be on there somewhere. Might be on the circuit board inside or the inside of the fob itself

 

26,000 Mhz.


Edit:
Some quick research revealed this is not the frequency used to transmit but something else internal to the device.

There is no FCC ID or frequency on the device's internals or externals, nor on the packaging. These fobs from Amazon must not be compliant. Anyways, I don't know what the problem is... but there has got to be a solution because the other fellow had the exact same identical issue that I am having.

I tried clearing the RKE memory by performing a capacitor drain but it did not work. The rke still retained memory of what security mode was previously set...

So I suspect that the fobs simply failed, or there is some piece of information missing on the distinction between "synchronization" and "programming."

The charm manual uses the two terms in mutually exclusive senses. This excerpt should demonstrate what I mean (taken from 97 Saturn SL1 RKE System Check):





So here we see that programming and synchronization are two discrinct processes... but alas, I have not been able to find the "Synchronization" document that this chart refers to (the programming one is here).

 

I believe synchronization of the fobs refers to running each fob through use of all four buttons in the same order, thus being 100% certain that all the fobs are in the same programmatically defined state relative to each other, and have all successfully communicated with the RKE module to reach the exact same state.

I could see where pressing the panic button on fob number one would have the RKE looking for the canceling button push of the panic button to come from the same fob #1. Therefore if fob number one activated panic mode, but fob number two tried to cancel it, there likely isn't any programmatic logic written into the RKE programming to handle such a situation.