Remote Start

[Redneck56]

i had a 07 silverado with the factory remote sure it wasnt great but would still start the truck from across the parking lot. i took that truck back when the lease was up and bought a 09 silverado with the factory start again and now its horrible i have to be within 20-30 feet for it to even lock the doors and start. is anybody else have this horrible range?

[HeyJoe]

I don't know if it still works, but someone showed me years ago that if I pressed my IR-based remote against the underside of my chin (as in, aimed it right at my head and made contact with my skin), I could lock or unlock my doors from 3 or 4 times as far away as if I didn't do that. I guess it used my whole head as an antenna. I'll probably die from something horrible as a result of doing this some day. It doesn't seem to work with my Chevy key fob.

[brims]

IR is light like your TV remote. Holding it to your head would block the signal if it was IR, but I doubt they've ever made an IR key fob for a car.

 

The signal that comes out of a key fob for your car is nothing, your cell phone pumps out more power than the fob.

 

If that trick did work, it was probably because it worked on a different frequency than todays keyless entry fobs.

[HeyJoe]

You're right. It looked stupid as soon as I posted it, but then the whole trick was stupid anyway so I figured it didn't matter. The remote had a little translucent red plastic window in it though, like a TV remote, and it seemed to make a difference if you pointed it at the car or away. I might just be misremembering the pointing part. It was a long time ago.

[ColoradoSkiCountry]

The remote to my chin thing is something I was taught as well, made all the difference. I've also found at work that if I press the remote against the window frame (Aluminum) it extends the range even further. With the Clifford Remote Start I had on my 07, the range was great, but that was because there was an antenna up on the front windshield. With the factory remote start system on my 08, the range sucks but the chin trick and windowsill thing does help.