i have a saab 900 and i changed the batteries in the keyless entry remote?

[Zach W]

and now the car wont unlock with it. Plus the alarm is on which means i cant start the engine if i unlock it with the key . how do i reprogram the remote right now ?

[eagleye]

Hi there. Did you check to make sure the batteries were inserted properly. I purchased my saab with 1 remote. The previous owner said the remote didn't work. When I checked the batteries, they were backwards. I bought two new ones, put them in and then, I had to hit the button 5 times before the car recognized the remote. After that the car locks and unlocks with the remote fine. I think the car has to be unlocked in order to do this sequence.

What I read in all the forums is that the remote on the SAAB is very important. In order to prevent a theft lockout you need to have two remotes with working batteries. Because of this, I went to GM and purchased a second remote since I only had one. It was only about 100 dollars and they included programming the remote into the car for me. This is because I already had a remote that worked and they say I need a remote that works with the car. Somewhere here I also read that you need at least one working remote to program an additional remote. GM has the programmer to do this and it's a security issue. I've been told without this if you get a lockout you have to spend 1000 dollars and change the remotes and the security control unit.

Because of the remote programming, this is also why I did not buy a cheap remote online. Even a local mechanic didn't have a programmer to program the remote, they recommended GM. When I went to the dealer, it took them about 15 minutes after I purchased the last remote for this vehicle they had in stock, by luck, and I now have a new working remote. I keep the original remote handy in case of emergencies. All batteries are new.

Now, I also replaced the battery in my SAAB because the one in there looked old and I didn't want to take chances with a cold winter. After I had my battery replaced at Walmart, both of my remotes had to be refreshed with the security receiver. With the car unlocked, I pressed the button 5 times and then the car locks and now remembers my remote. I had to do the same for old remote as well. I always did this from an unlocked car state. I also had to get the radio code and reset that from my manual that has the code.

I am very happy with my remote and use the new one all the time. The old one is worn, but works fine. Someday I may fix the rubber, which has worn out. I saw a kit around here somewhere that I could purchase. I was nervous about the alarm system in the SAAB when reading about it, but after puchasing the new remote, I have confidence in the system and use it all the time when out in public. When I store the car, I just lock it with the key and never set the alarm, in case of any battery problems.

I would love to hear if there are other better solutions or shortcuts out there for the saab alarms.

[TP1]

I went to my local Saab dealer when I was having the same issue with my 97 900s and the sold me a wiring harness for $35.00 that connected to the alarm wiring harness to totally disable the alarm system. Everything else still worked fine untill I could get my new keyless entry FOB. And be sure as mentioned by the previous post that you check the batteries are in the Keyless entry remote the right way, I had these upside down in my spare and the lights on the remote actually worked but it would not do anything.