Increase the range of your remote

[TheViper]

This was the single most useful modification I made and I would not have been able to do it if it were not for the information gathered in this forum.

[JMY]

Well I got mine done... I went over to Frys and bought a pack of JT&T scotchlok tap connectors 22-16AWG. $1.99. part# 1220-2H No soldering needed, I just cut the fabric tape a little and yanked the 4" antenna wire out. I used the tap connector to add another 2 feet. Works great now !

[TheViper]

Originally Posted by JMY

Well I got mine done... I went over to Frys and bought a pack of JT&T scotchlok tap connectors 22-16AWG. $1.99. part# 1220-2H No soldering needed, I just cut the fabric tape a little and yanked the 4" antenna wire out. I used the tap connector to add another 2 feet. Works great now !

Find it hard to understand why it did not come from the factory like this.

[ChrisB]

Originally Posted by TheViper

Find it hard to understand why it did not come from the factory like this.

Particularly since the Cobra installation manual clearly specifies that the antenna should NOT be bundled into any cable harness. I found that it really wasn't necessary to add any extra wire. Mine was a royal pain...I had to have the fob right against the window for it to work before the mod. After just pulling the antenna out of the cable bundle, it now works from at least thirty to forty feet away (maybe more)...about the same as other cars I've had.

[fpitas]

Yes, despite all the warnings, I got sliced open. The only thing I have to add to the descriptions here is that in my case, getting the cover panel to swing outward at the bottom was very difficult until I made a "tool" by bending the last 1/2" of a butter knife 90 degrees. I gently pried behind the bottom of the panel and it popped right out without further drama. Buttspliced a foot or two of wire to the existing wire and threaded the additional length up to the windshield area through the hole previously mentioned. The wire is not visible from the outside. Range is now ten feet or so on the driver's side, where it used to not work at all until I went around to the passenger side.

[TheViper]

Originally Posted by fpitas

Yes, despite all the warnings, I got sliced open. The only thing I have to add to the descriptions here is that in my case, getting the cover panel to swing outward at the bottom was very difficult until I made a "tool" by bending the last 1/2" of a butter knife 90 degrees. I gently pried behind the bottom of the panel and it popped right out without further drama. Buttspliced a foot or two of wire to the existing wire and threaded the additional length up to the windshield area through the hole previously mentioned. The wire is not visible from the outside. Range is now ten feet or so on the driver's side, where it used to not work at all until I went around to the passenger side.

Strange, doing it a similar way I have approx. 80' range

[fpitas]

Originally Posted by TheViper

Strange, doing it a similar way I have approx. 80' range

Reading through the thread, there seems to be a lot of variability in the range people get. Maybe it's a 2005 vs. 2006 thing, or maybe it's the length of wire I used, or whatever. In any event it's good enough now.

[pdemaio]

Yes, I only got about 20' max range, up from about 8.

[tvacc]

Originally Posted by TheViper

This was the single most useful modification I made and I would not have been able to do it if it were not for the information gathered in this forum.

yes...just saw this mod. I will try it this weekend.


Edit...by the way..what is the battery in the remotes and how do you change it?

[Icedog_16]

Originally Posted by tvacc

yes...just saw this mod. I will try it this weekend.


Edit...by the way..what is the battery in the remotes and how do you change it?

It's a CR2032 watch battery. You can get them at Walgreens or wherever. All you have to do is pry the two sections of the remote apart and slide the battery out.

[TimMullen]

Originally Posted by tvacc

by the way..what is the battery in the remotes and how do you change it?

It's all in the Owner's Manual...

[qball]

http://www.whoneedstelevision.com/?video_id=15107

[Joetz]

I was so excited about performing this mod this weekend. I took apart all the pieces and was staring inside that little cubby but I couldn't find the unit. Has anyone done this on a car that was one of the very first to roll off the assembly line? Mine was the 30th car to enter the USA, so it's a very early '05. I spent an hour reaching my hand in behind the dash to find the cobra unit and even removed the right front speaker to get some more light in there. I still wasn't able to find the unit. I'm really disappointed because I was really looking forward to this extending my range. Right now it is only about 4 feet

[TimMullen]

Mine is an early car - post # 96 of this thread for the photos - without the Touring Package. Your's should be the same except for the insulation stuffed in the cubby if you have Touring.

You don't need to access the actual remote(Edit: that should have been "alarm brain" not remote). You only need to find the antenna wire on the harness that is just inside the cubby (check my photos). All I did was pull the wire from the harness tape, put some tape on the end so it couldn't short out, and bent it so that it stuck straight up. My range increased quite a bit. Other's have added a length of wire to the antenna wire and made huge increases in the remote's range.

[Icedog_16]

Mine was a reltively early model as well. The alarm brain was behind a foam block, which may be why you didn't see it. Moving that piece was kind of a pain, IIRC. And, now that I think about it, I think the wiring harness where the antenna is bundled actually runs right by the opening.

[tbsmith]

Mine was #2 in the US (according to the dealer) and I am the original poster of this thread, so yours should probably be the same. Mine was wrapped inside a clear plastic bag.

Tom

[Thomasio]

It took me 10 minutes, including stopping the bleeding. (No, I'm not kidding.)

My antenna range went from "useless" to good. In the past, I needed to stand alongside the car and press the button several times to arm or disarm the alarm.

Now I can be several car lengths away, and the remote works fine. I didn't even add wire to the antenna, I just pulled it straight up and taped it in place.

Back to the bleeding... I was very careful, and used duct tape to block the sharp aluminum edges... however, I didn't realize that the *top* of the access hole was also sharp. It was spooky: I brushed very lightly against the top of the access hole w/ my knuckle (imagine a feather brushing against your hand)... and that was enough to leave a bunch of skin behind!

Someone said that the parts are "sharp like a guillotine", but I think they are sharp like a barber's razor! Seriously!

Thomas

[Joetz]

I think all the extra foam that came with the touring package may have been what made it so difficult. Maybe I'll give it another shot when I have some more time and very good lighting.

[Lulu (Italy)]

i am just arrived and here i am; Max in this post too.
in these days i am reading all the forum and my eyes are going to be very tired.
and i am also worried discovering problems and problems on my lotus elise from people who discovered the same problems time before.
after headlights burning now i discover my system alarm is like yours and the key fob is very ... ... (i don't know the word - but you understand, very short distance, i have to arm and disarm very very close the car).
so... i found a lot of posts in this forum about this problem but i think this post is the more recent with the problem probably fixed in the best way.
someone can confirm for me ?
just in case i will force my power to translate all about these 7 pages of this post and next days i will stay with my elise in my box to make "surgery" on the antenna.

i have to know something else about it ? maybe some important posts i didn't read ? but i suppose this post is the most important and it contents all specifies and instructions.
finally, you members have established a real proper lenght of the wire to add ? how many inches ? (centimenters better)
and the proper location ? at side of the door ? inside the panel ? horizontal ? vertical ? in a circle ? in the hands of my girlfriend
thanks in advanced.

Max

PS : the funny and maybe idiot question to send to Cobra or Lotus company is : why you installed an idiot panic button if i have to go directly with my persona to put away all people around my car touching, touching, touching everything and everywhere ? it seems idiot for me to arrive next so close to my car only to push the panic button to insert siren... ... cosidering i am already between disturbing people i prefer to tell them to go far, am i right ?
and the second question is : why people touchs everything ? when i see nice other cars (considering here in italy is very frequent to meet a lot of ferrari, lamborghini, porsche, tvr) i never touch them, i look them from a short distance just because i know the owner probably can see me and he could be worried and i respect him.

[ChrisB]

Originally Posted by Lulu (Italy)

finally, you members have established a real proper lenght of the wire to add ? how many inches ? (centimenters better)
and the proper location ? at side of the door ? inside the panel ? horizontal ? vertical ? in a circle ? in the hands of my girlfriend
thanks in advanced.

You really do not need to add any wire to the existing antenna wire. I just pulled the wire out of the bundle of wires and pointed it up towards the windshield post. I used to have to have the fob right at the car window for it to work. Now it works from at least 7 or 8 meters away. The whole "surgery" took less than 15 minutes.

It is easier in a car without the Touring Package because there were no sharp edges or foam block to deal with (how much sound deadening can that little foam block provide anyway?).