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I'm finding the plip central locking on the Megane a waste of space - hardly "remote" if you have to be within two feet of the car. Is this, and the extremely short delay between unlocking & starting to stop the immobiliser cutting in, a "feature" of this car, or do I have a problem with the battery for the remote??
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You don't say which year Megane. My old model 2002 Megane always amazes me with the 30 feet plus distance I can open the car from - not necessarily a good thing in some circumstances. As for the immobiliser I can start the car when I like once I'm in so you certainly have a problem there.
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It's a 1996 1.4RT. My father's Laguna estate of the same year exhibits similar characteristics.
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The company I work for has used several Renault 19's, 21's Meganes, Scenics and Lagunas and all could be opened from a great distance. Those with immobilisers could be started when the driver wanted. You could sit in the car for an hour and then start the car.
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I'm finding the plip central locking on the Megane a waste of space - hardly "remote" if you have to be within two feet of the car.
Is the system infra-red? With a lot of the Pug's you have to stand by the door and point the remote fob at the sensor in the roof panel to unlock the c/l.
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I guess its infrared, but yes, I do have to stand by the window and point in exactly the right direction - which is why as a remote it's very irritating.
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I guess its infrared,
Couple of ways to tell.
Point said plip at a video camera or cctv camera. Can you see flashes on the screen? If yes, definately infra-red.
Hold plip next to a radio tuned to MW. Can you hear beeps/pulses out of the loudspeaker? Infra-red if so.
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"...Point said plip at a video camera ..."
Thanks DD for a very useful tip. I tested your idea with a digital camera, and all my infrared TV/video controls and remote car keys show up on the screen - except for my 306's faulty remote key.
A decent test of whether or not the key was actually transmitting anything was what I needed to track down the fault in the circuit board. And it's now fixed!
For the record, one of the plated through holes in the circuit board wasn't passing the signal from one side of the board to the other. The hole was directly underneath, but not touching, the battery. I suspect that the close proximity to the battery had something to do with the failure.
Ian
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Fantastic bit of advice - has helped me solve my problem with Megane Scenic Plip.
I have a 97 Scenic and frequently irritated by the poor distance of the remote control and the need to lock and unlock having put all the kids into the car. Recently worked intermittently - seemingly temperature / weather related. And assumed it was a receiver fault.
Now knowing how to test to see that the plip is working have found a dry joint on the IR LED on the plip - a bit of solder and now all back in working order - now all I need to do is get a lift to where I left the broken down car earlier today!
Many thanks Dave!!
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This is very strange. Not one of the Renaults I've used in the last 10 years needed the key pointed at the car. Even from 30 feet away you could press the button while the key was still in your pocket and the car would open. I do this all the time with my current Megane with armfuls of shopping - very useful. I guess you could try changing the batteries, but I remember my Dad's Renault 21 had about £6 worth of coin batteries to replace in the remote.
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Mike H
Mine is exactly the same, 2ft distance, very directional, I thought they were all like that. Been like it since new, 6 years ago. The delay once inside the car is about 20 mins though
Baz
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I have 1998 Scenic - same "problem", Infrared remote must be pointed at the receiver by the rear view mirror, hence the range is limited to almost touching the windows! ... and same annoying problem of only 20 seconds to unlock and put key in ignition and turn to position II. In practice, by the time you have opened rear doors for kids to get in, or opened boot to place briefcase/shopping etc inside, you get in, have to lock and unlock again before attemting to start the car. Sheer madness and very infuriating. IIRC Renault changed the immobiliser in 1999 to a better type that is not time-limited but just requires the key to be close to the ignition lock barrel, and is presumably radio-frequency as it works over much longer distances. No consolation for those of us with older models though :-((
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