BryanHall

I will see if I can dig up the page from the manual, I think its on page 33 or close to it if anyone has it around.

Johnhav430

could it be the other way around....that the fob is left in the car....

http://www.chicagotribune.com/classi...13-column.html

rkw77080

Sure enough - there it is...

Johnhav430

That's poor design....maybe this is 2000 technology....shouldn't be called SmartKey, maybe DumbKey......maybe an analogy in networking terms, is a broadcast message--in order to reach something, you tell 7,000 devices on a network about it, instead of only the 1 device you want...

edit: So if you plan on not driving until Sunday 4/16/17, you should disable the system, and use the fob on Sunday, because the smartkey is disabled, or face a dead battery lol And then, insert they key as well--that's what the manual says

BryanHall

Here is what I found in the 05 owners manual.

Johnhav430

It definitely states to disable it as you mentioned. so that means OPs car cannot sit for 5 days, unless the smart key system is disabled, if this is the cause. So when he goes to drive the car on day 5 or 6, or what have you, he'll have to either use the key, or press the fob, as opposed to the door handles. Then, either put the key into the ignition, or, press the button again. That isn't good design imho. Not just because of the extra effort, but if you don't do all this, your car battery is dead? And I doubt this is necessary on a 2017 car. It's not on my 2007.

My car has been sitting since Tuesday, and it may not be driven until work on Monday AM. That would be 6 days--let's see if it will start. I've gone in and out of the car and removed CDs. stuff from the trunk, so this should make things even worse for the battery. I expect it to start, but we'll see....

rkw77080

I routinely park my 2004 at the airport for 10+ days for out-of-town assignments, and never once experienced dead battery.

2KHarrier

My 2005 sometimes sits in the garage for a week without being touched and I've had no problems. Interesting discussion, but I don't agree with John where he states that the design is flawed. I equate that with saying that a vinyl LP is flawed in that you have to flip it over to hear the rest of the songs....

That was the technology available at the time, and the same goes for the Smartkey system in the LS. However, I do feel the button placement could have been thought out a little more.. It's not the easiest thing to reach if one needs to turn on/off the Smartkey system or reset the TPMS.

Johnhav430

Two folks documented that the owner's manual states to disable the smart key system if you don't intend on driving the car for a "long time.' They don't state what that is. imho that's flawed.

I don't get what vinyl records has to do with anything. They're very imperfect, and some folks prefer the sound and feel to them, it's subjective. It's like saying I'd rather play my iPad, why bother to pick up a guitar, it hurts my fingers whereas the iPad does not.

2KHarrier

John, when this system was designed it was as technologically advanced as it could be. No flaws, just designing a system within the confines of the available technology.


The LP as a design is what I was referring to, John. Comparing available technology in a given time to what someone may perceive as being flawed, but I'm getting too far off topic here.

Johnhav430

2K, what I'm referring to, is that if you have a "smart" system, but it needs to be disabled if you're not going to be driving the car daily, and if you don't disable it, it may drain the battery, that's flawed. If there's not technology available at the time to not drain the battery, then it should not have been implemented. Nobody actually knows for sure that this system is the OP's issue, but two folks have provided the manual stating the system should be disabled if the car is not going to be driven. The manual doesn't state exactly how long is a "long time, " but it does imply something is going on. If this is ok because it is what was available at the time, it reminds me of a WWII expression, close enough for govt. work.

BryanHall

I agree that the design is not ideal and the OP may have a charging system issue but it can't hurt to click the button and see what happens before going deeper.

jayclapp

I don't agree that there is a design flaw in the LS430 with smart key. The only start problem I've ever experienced is a dead battery. That happens suddenly and without any advance warning. In my opinion, this car is the most perfectly designed car ever at it's time. When Ford hired the Boeing CEO as their president he was quoted as saying the LS430 was the best car in the world.

There is no LS430 design problem that causes the problem in this thread. Look elsewhere, in my opinion.

Johnhav430

Car sat 6-8 hrs. short of 6 days, didn't have any problems starting this morning, did not disable the smart key, went in and out of the car and loaded cds etc. during the week. Why the manual states to disable the system would have to be explained by the persons who designed it. Likely something else causing a car to not start after a few days imho...I will say that back in Dec., I left the key in the ON position carelessly, and the car could not start half an hour later. Obviously because this is really a key based system where a physical switch is turned, it doesn't have anything that takes it out of ON after a timeout like modern cars today. So anything happening that would simulate that condition, could drain the battery, and it did not take long from my experience last Dec...

Johnhav430

by the way, this is the device I am suggesting if you need to power your car safely, you need to get some sort of cables in addition, but this is so your car can draw 55 amps cleanly, never use a $80 job from Walmart, could damage it permanently with a voltage spike....

http://wfcoelectronics.com/product/wf-9855-55-amp/

Such a device is $120-$135 amazon, ebay, etc....if you have 20 amp receptacles in your house/garage, you can go up to a 70 amp device