Red Key Light&Keyless Entry Problems

[piotrus22]

Hi everyone,

Apologies but I have had no luck for solutions in my google searches and on this forum. (also apologies wasn't sure where this should be posted).

Basically I just bought my 2006 MS6 second-hand from original owner; car was in great shape except the keyless entry does not work. Let me clarify; the remote still opens and locks the car, however the courtesy buttons don't open the doors and the red key light is constantly on in the dash.

From what I've read, issue can be battery in the remote-FOB (changed so not this); antenna in the doors or the actual courtesy buttons. Now, someone also mentioned the rear antenna (antenna C in rear bumper) might also be causing this issue. Today I unplugged it and everything is behaving the same way, which leads me to believe it is indeed faulty.

Questions I have is has anyone had this issue and confirmed fixed with replacing the rear antenna? Is this system such that if one of the antenna's doesn't work the entire "courtesy" feature of "auto-lock" and the courtesy buttons, etc. stop working?

One thing worth noting is when I press the courtesy buttons on the door handle I see the red light flash on my remote. (With the exception of the trunk courtesy button). Again another clue to me that maybe it's just the rear one that's f'd.

Anyway any advice is appreciated - I can get the rear antenna for about 85 bucks but since it's an electrical part I cannot return it, so thinking twice and asking advice!

Thanks!!

One more thing - I can still start the car without using the actual valet key. Thanks.

[SPC123]

Originally Posted by piotrus22 Hi everyone, Apologies but I have had no luck for solutions in my google searches and on this forum. (also apologies wasn't sure where this should be posted). Basically I just bought my 2006 MS6 second-hand from original owner; car was in great shape except the keyless entry does not work. Let me clarify; the remote still opens and locks the car, however the courtesy buttons don't open the doors and the red key light is constantly on in the dash. From what I've read, issue can be battery in the remote-FOB (changed so not this); antenna in the doors or the actual courtesy buttons. Now, someone also mentioned the rear antenna (antenna C in rear bumper) might also be causing this issue. Today I unplugged it and everything is behaving the same way, which leads me to believe it is indeed faulty. Questions I have is has anyone had this issue and confirmed fixed with replacing the rear antenna? Is this system such that if one of the antenna's doesn't work the entire "courtesy" feature of "auto-lock" and the courtesy buttons, etc. stop working? One thing worth noting is when I press the courtesy buttons on the door handle I see the red light flash on my remote. (With the exception of the trunk courtesy button). Again another clue to me that maybe it's just the rear one that's f'd. Anyway any advice is appreciated - I can get the rear antenna for about 85 bucks but since it's an electrical part I cannot return it, so thinking twice and asking advice! Thanks!! One more thing - I can still start the car without using the actual valet key. Thanks.

Sounds like the exact same problem I have. I haven't found a solution yet....

[piotrus22]

thanks SPC123 - have you bought a rear antenna yet to try to see if that fixes it?

[Raider]

I want to say @Nataphen had the same problem and it was the smart key main box or something, and there is a TSB.

[rfinkle2]

I have the same problem. (light for smart key always on).

[piotrus22]

anyone here have a working keyless system and is willing to meet up for me to check if my problem is fixed with the their bumper antenna? i'm in 07094 and will drive to your house!! (with beer or your favorite beverage of course)

[SPC123]

Originally Posted by piotrus22 thanks SPC123 - have you bought a rear antenna yet to try to see if that fixes it?

Nah. Not yet. Looking for solutions first before trial and error

[AtriosMSP6]

I have had the same exact problem as OP. Fix= replace rear antenna, under the bumper. When i pushed the curtesy buttons on the doors, the red light in my remote flashed as well, but nothing happened. By replacing the rear antenna/module, it fixed the curtesy buttons and the red key light on the dash. I'm 99% confident that this is the solution to your problem. Let me know how it turns out. Good luck!

-Surge

Sent from my kickazz HTC Rezound via Tapatalk

[piotrus22]

thanks atrios - i forgot to mention my trunk button does not work (as in it doesn't make the red light on my remote flash).

was your trunk button working?

[AtriosMSP6]

Originally Posted by piotrus22 thanks atrios - i forgot to mention my trunk button does not work (as in it doesn't make the red light on my remote flash). was your trunk button working?

No prob piotrus. No, my trunk button on the car was not working.

Summary of symptoms for those aimlessly looking for the same answer as I did a while back:

Issue/Symptoms:
-Door curtesy buttons on MSP6 not working.
-Trunk button on car not working.
-Red key light glowing ON, on the dash.
-When curtesy buttons on doors are pressed, the red light on smart remote on the top corner flashes briefly, but nothing happens.
-The remote does unlock car doors and trunk.
-The car starts fine.

If you (anyone looking at this thread) exhibit all these points listed above, your fix 99% of the time will be replacing the rear antenna module =)

If you do replace the antenna module, located right behind the rear bumper, make sure to seal it some more with some sort of sealant. Yes, the module comes sealed, but trust me because this will increase the longevity of your new antenna module

This post should be stickied somewhere so it's easily accessible, as I can see this being a common problem and a frustrating one if the info is not easily reachable =) I know I had a hard time a while back finding any legit ground info on this.

"Thank me if I helped you out"

-Surge

Sent from my kickazz HTC Rezound via Tapatalk

[AtriosMSP6]

Originally Posted by piotrus22 thanks atrios - i forgot to mention my trunk button does not work (as in it doesn't make the red light on my remote flash). was your trunk button working?

That makes sense. Since your rear antenna module is out and the trunk button is somehow weird to that circuit directly, it won't send any signal to your remote, hence no flashing light. All the antenna modules are wired in a dependent manner. If one antenna brakes, your whole system is shot until the broken antenna module is replaced. This system kind of sucks, but makes troubleshooting or finding the broken antenna module a bit easier. Don't ask me how.....

Keep us posted once you get it fixed. It's always good to hear back from peoples success stories. It keeps the rest of onlookers motivated and spirited to get the same/similar issue fixed

Sent from my kickazz HTC Rezound via Tapatalk

[piotrus22]

hey surge - thanks for the summary. those are my EXACT symptoms and yesterday I bought the new antenna. Should come in in a few days hopefully that'll do it!

When you say seal it- do you mean just around where the wires enter the antenna or all around? i was thinking i would just drop some silicone sealant around the wires and call it a day. what more can I do?

[AtriosMSP6]

Originally Posted by piotrus22 hey surge - thanks for the summary. those are my EXACT symptoms and yesterday I bought the new antenna. Should come in in a few days hopefully that'll do it! When you say seal it- do you mean just around where the wires enter the antenna or all around? i was thinking i would just drop some silicone sealant around the wires and call it a day. what more can I do?

That's exactly it. Make sure to add silicone around any plastic part that may indicate a separation. If I remember right, the only way into the module was through the part where the wires go in. Everything else is one piece. If it's not one piece, make sure to add silicone around anything that may have been assembled together, so where two pieces of plastic come together.

I do remember trying to take apart the module to see what went wrong. Let me tell you, that thing is a huge P.I.T.A. to brake into. It's almost indestructible. I finally did manage to get it opened up, but it wasn't pretty. Long story short, some wires did corrode inside which is the common problem for your situation.

Love to help the community. Been getting lots of knowledge from the community, now it's time to give back some =)

-Surge

Sent from my kickazz HTC Rezound via Tapatalk

[piotrus22]

just want to close the loop here. the antenna came in and that did it. door locks work - WHATSUP!?! haha.

now - does anyone have a hookup to turn on the "auto-lock" feature? it's the one where after you close the door and walk away with the key the car locks itself after 30 seconds.

would a dealer actually charge me for this? i mean, it's not my fault they decided to turn it "off" by default right??

[AtriosMSP6]

Originally Posted by piotrus22 just want to close the loop here. the antenna came in and that did it. door locks work - WHATSUP!?! haha. now - does anyone have a hookup to turn on the "auto-lock" feature? it's the one where after you close the door and walk away with the key the car locks itself after 30 seconds. would a dealer actually charge me for this? i mean, it's not my fault they decided to turn it "off" by default right??

Excellent! Glad to hear it worked good.

Your bring up a good point....I wanted that feature as well, but never had time to look into it when I first found out about the 30s auto lock.... hmm... now that you bring it up again, it's worth looking into that. Let me know what you find out....I'll do some digging around for that as well.

Edit 1:

To add to the auto-lock feature.....

read me ---> Auto lock feature <--- read me

[piotrus22]

yeah i saw that - anybody got a hookup at a dealer?!

[Punteh]

With mine the drivers door courtesy button worked fine for a while after I bought the car, then it started working seemingly when it wanted to work but the trunk button worked fine, and then the trunk button stopped working. How much do the rear antennas cost?

[greg08]

how much does an antenna cost. my key hasnt worked for awhile

[MazdaSpeedster]

Hello Everyone,
I just stumbled across this thread. I had the same exact symptoms as the OP:

Issue/Symptoms:
-Door courtesy buttons on MSP6 not working.
-Trunk button on car not working.
-Red key light glowing ON, on the dash.
-When courtesy buttons on doors are pressed, the red light on smart remote on the top corner flashes briefly, but nothing happens.
-The remote does unlock car doors and trunk.
-The car starts fine.

So I finally decided that I wanted this feature back so I bought a new rear antenna for $65.00. This did not seem to fix the problem which surprised me as the new antenna seems the be the remedy for this problem for many others. Once you install the new antenna is there something that I need to do in order for the system to pick-up the new antenna? Thank you in advance for your help

[Balthazar]

I am glad I stumbled on this thread, I've had intermittent problems with that for a while and it's getting worse. Rear antenna it is!

[Mazd1222]

Having a similar problem request buttons will not respond.
Smart key opens doors but does not lock them.
I have to repeatedly hit the unlock on the key pad and turn the knob to start the car
When the car is started the key light flashes red while driving
Any ideas what can be causing this.
I replace the rear antenna did not work.

[Vansquish]

Originally Posted by Mazd1222 Having a similar problem request buttons will not respond. Smart key opens doors but does not lock them. I have to repeatedly hit the unlock on the key pad and turn the knob to start the car When the car is started the key light flashes red while driving Any ideas what can be causing this. I replace the rear antenna did not work.

Originally Posted by MazdaSpeedster Hello Everyone, I just stumbled across this thread. I had the same exact symptoms as the OP: Issue/Symptoms: -Door courtesy buttons on MSP6 not working. -Trunk button on car not working. -Red key light glowing ON, on the dash. -When courtesy buttons on doors are pressed, the red light on smart remote on the top corner flashes briefly, but nothing happens. -The remote does unlock car doors and trunk. -The car starts fine. So I finally decided that I wanted this feature back so I bought a new rear antenna for $65.00. This did not seem to fix the problem which surprised me as the new antenna seems the be the remedy for this problem for many others. Once you install the new antenna is there something that I need to do in order for the system to pick-up the new antenna? Thank you in advance for your help

You need to determine which part of the system has failed rather than simply ordering and replacing parts.

Go to Autozone, O'Reilly's, or something similar and borrow a code-reader. When the red "KEY" light is illuminated and the RKE system isn't functioning properly, a code has been stored in the system. It should be something like "B1131" if it's the rear sensor, and if it's not, then some other sensor is likely the culprit.

If the key-card/fob works to unlock the doors and the little red light on the fob blinks when you hit the "request" buttons on the doors/trunk of the car, then obviously a signal is being generated, but there's a lock-out set because one of the sensors isn't doing what it's supposed to.

It is also possible (though much more unlikely) that the BCM or central RKE unit may have failed.

[Mazd1222]

Thanks I will check it out tonight and let you know

[Mazd1222]

Just pulled the code b1600

[Vansquish]

Originally Posted by Mazd1222 Just pulled the code b1600

Immobilizer ODB Codes - Mazdaspeed Forums Mazdaspeed 3/6 Wikispeedia

SECURITY LIGHT 13, DTC B1600/P1260

It sounds like you might have a problem with the ignition coil transponder antenna. That's going to be...pricey, if memory serves.

[Mazd1222]

I just spoke to Mazda they said that it's more than likely the key.
The key that I have is in bad condition getting replaced next week.
Hope this solves thanks vanquish

[Gs1n372]

So here I am years later reviving this thread.
I have most of the same issues as above...
-Smart key locks and unlocks the doors/trunk
-Req buttons on the trunk and passenger doors lock and unlock the doors.
- the drivers Req button is missing, but if i use a small tip to push the button nothing happens.
- to get the cat to start i have to keep hitting the unlock button. Sometimes even lock the car and unlock several times then it will let me start it.
I replaced the rear antenna, no luck. I tried swapping the door antennas and the Req buttons worked the same.
I an assuming the antennas in the doors are linked to the respective Req buttons.
Next thought is to replace the drivers request button, but not sure if that would actually be causing any problems.
I bought the car used and everything worked fine for ay least t we o years. The cat only had 87k miles, so it has been taken care of pretty well.
Any other ideas would be great! Some suggested autozone to pull the code, its this a special scanner or jest and obd II scanner? I have one already, but it doesn't normally pull codes unless there is a CEL.
I live the system when it works, but it had caused some drama on days where it takes 10 minutes to get the damn ignition to work because if the not-so-smart key system!

[Thor Hammer]

Originally Posted by Gs1n372 So here I am years later reviving this thread. I have most of the same issues as above... -Smart key locks and unlocks the doors/trunk -Req buttons on the trunk and passenger doors lock and unlock the doors. - the drivers Req button is missing, but if i use a small tip to push the button nothing happens. - to get the cat to start i have to keep hitting the unlock button. Sometimes even lock the car and unlock several times then it will let me start it. I replaced the rear antenna, no luck. I tried swapping the door antennas and the Req buttons worked the same. I an assuming the antennas in the doors are linked to the respective Req buttons. Next thought is to replace the drivers request button, but not sure if that would actually be causing any problems. I bought the car used and everything worked fine for ay least t we o years. The cat only had 87k miles, so it has been taken care of pretty well. Any other ideas would be great! Some suggested autozone to pull the code, its this a special scanner or jest and obd II scanner? I have one already, but it doesn't normally pull codes unless there is a CEL. I live the system when it works, but it had caused some drama on days where it takes 10 minutes to get the damn ignition to work because if the not-so-smart key system!

I can promise you none of what you mentioned or replaced is the problem. Its the card key itself. There is an IC chip soldered to the board inside. The solder connections come loose over time from flexing and normal use.

Next time you're in your car and it acts up, pinch the key card to the right and a little below the unlock button as you turn the ignition to start the car.

If it starts either take apart the key card and have a pro re-solder the chip connections or get a used on on FB or Ebay and get it programmed at the dealer.

Also, try changing the battery in it. But before putting in the new battery bend the contact tab inside down. It needs to make solid contact with the coin battery.

Good luck!

[Gs1n372]

Originally Posted by Thor Hammer I can promise you none of what you mentioned or replaced is the problem. Its the card key itself. There is an IC chip soldered to the board inside. The solder connections come loose over time from flexing and normal use. Next time you're in your car and it acts up, pinch the key card to the right and a little below the unlock button as you turn the ignition to start the car. If it starts either take apart the key card and have a pro re-solder the chip connections or get a used on on FB or Ebay and get it programmed at the dealer. Also, try changing the battery in it. But before putting in the new battery bend the contact tab inside down. It needs to make solid contact with the coin battery. Good luck!

So pinching it seems to definitely work! I have noticed since changjng the rear antenna that the "key" light is now on in the cluster and red all the time. That is something new, but i am. It currently having issues starting the car with pinching the remote. Would a professional know what needs resoldered? I appreciate the help!