July 14th, 2025 — Issue #0004

Fibbing Fobs: Signal Strength Does Not Equal Signal Sanity

What Reads Right Might Not Be Right—Behind Every Confident Readout Could Be a Confounding Mistake

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Hi Reader,

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Welcome to your weekly boost of inspiration from the shop floor!

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Torque Authority is a compilation of hard-earned life lessons on leadership, resilience, and persistence from my experiences in the automotive industry. It comes delivered with a hint of humor and a dose of inspiration drawn from the frontlines of automotive service.

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The aim of this newsletter is to help you build a highly skilled, confident, and high-paying automotive future—on your terms.

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Ready to unlock the potential within you and become a more confident automotive diagnostician? Check out my book Hotwire Your Skills: The 10-Step Playbook to Six-Figure Success for Automotive Technicians.

Torque Authority subscribers get an exclusive discount here!

From the Driver's Seat—Featured Story

Nothing gets your blood pumping like a 'No Remote Detected' message first thing in the morning.

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Passive entry? More like passive aggression.

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You press the Start button with your foot on the brake—but the dash looks you dead in the eyes and might as well say, “Sorry bud, not today."

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The shop had already tried new keyless start antennas and a new keyless entry control module. Oh, and of course the BCM. But no key fobs yet.

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I traveled to this shop and climbed into what resembled the shell of a vehicle — it now being a center-console crime scene — panels everywhere, plastic carnage strewn across the interior.

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No problem, I thought to myself. Most keyless start vehicles have a backup starting slot for the occasional dead key-fob battery.

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For this vehicle, it was in the cupholder, molded into the center console, which was partially removed and pivoted up at a 45-degree angle.

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So, what did I do?

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I coddled those key fobs and tucked them into the transmitter pocket like its nap time at key fob kindergarten, then pressed the Start button again.

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BAM, the engine roared to life. No more lullabies for this baby.

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Aha! I thought to myself. Something's up with the fobs.

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First, I popped open the key fobs and checked the batteries. The CR3202 is a pretty common button battery for most key fobs out there.

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Experience had taught me these batteries need to be at 3.2 volts for ideal operation. But these two fob batteries were at 2.7 and 2.8 volts each.

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Easy! I thought to myself. I put in two new batteries and tried again.

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But still nothing.

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Cue the RF Tools. First, the older style — it was the first one we could find at the shop. It was tucked away and under only 2 inches of dust—not bad!

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Green means good, right? Unless we're talking about envy, corrosion, or mold. To some technicians, green means 'please don't make me dig any deeper'. But I knew we needed more information.

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At this point, we knew it was sending out a signal.

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But is the signal good enough?

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After a bit of digging, the technician found the newer OEM-recommended RF Tool. This one allows us to see RF frequency and signal strength.

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Right away the key showed a very strong, 100% reading of 315 MHz. That's it, case closed, pack your bags, we're good here. Mission accomplished! Clear the codes and your conscience. Neither will stay clear for long!

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...Unless you count the part where the issue still exists.

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So now wait a second, I thought. Both fobs are sending strong enough signals. So why isn't the vehicle reacting to them?

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Fortunately, this same RF tool has a feature to check if the keys are programmed to the vehicle, which can then be compared to the information in the scan tool.

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Luckily, (or I guess unluckily for me), the information matched, showing the key fobs were programmed properly to the vehicle.

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Programming says it's factory-certified legit. But, I went ahead with reprogramming both keys again anyway.

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After gaining security access with the scan tool, the key programming procedure completed successfully...

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...But the key fobs still didn't work.

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What on earth is going on here?? Something just wasn't adding up. And that's when I dug into the Service Information like it owed me money.

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When in doubt, study it out!

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From my research, I confirmed that the system operates as follows. When you enter the vehicle with the key fob and press the Start button, the vehicle activates the internal antennas to send out a low-frequency signal to the key fob. If a fob is present, that signal from the vehicle antenna wakes up the key fob and the key fob responds with a higher frequency (315 MHz) signal. That signal is then received by another computer module which then compares the value to what the vehicle expects, and if they match, the vehicle is allowed to start.

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In other words (TL;DR), you press the magic button. The car whispers a spell to your wizard wand (key fob). If the wand shouts back the secret word, the car starts. If not... no magic today.

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That's when I had a breakthrough idea. What if I watched the RF Tool for any signal response from the key fob when trying to start the vehicle?

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I climbed back into the vehicle with a key fob and the RF tool, pushed aside some plastic panels, then pressed the start button again. With the RF tool on the signal detection screen and the key fob right next to it, I saw a quick blip of a signal!

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That's it! I realized. I had pressed the magic button. The car whispered the spell to the wizard wand. And I had seen on the RF tool that the key fob was shouting back.

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The vehicle was sending the signal it needed to activate the fob. The fob was activating, but the signal it was sending back was not matching what the vehicle was expecting.

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With the vehicle transceiver already previously ruled out, I went to lunch while the shop put in an order for two new keys. When I came back, I programmed two new keys and Presto! the vehicle was fixed.

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The antennas were activating, RF tools were reacting, but those transmitters were sending ghost signals. Good frequency, bad vibes.

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This shop had spent months disassembling the vehicle and replacing unnecessary parts because the key fobs 'tested good'.

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Turns out, signal strength doesn't equate to signal sanity. And strong RF readouts don't mean those signals are saying the right things. They're just saying them confidently... like that one coworker who's always wrong, but really loud about it.

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Here is what I learned from this case:

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1. Green doesn't always mean good. And 100% signal strength doesn't always mean 100% good. A solid understanding of the system will help you more than blindly trusting tool readouts.
2. When you get stuck, go back to the basics. Read the System Operation and Description—and yes, actually READ it, don't just flat-rate read it. You might just have a new idea come to you!
3. If you don't understand something, keep digging into it until you do!

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I hope you enjoyed the story! Please share this article with a friend if you did.

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And now it's time for an EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

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Drumroll please...

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Ba dum ba dum ba dum...

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Mark your calendars for August 19th at 1:30PM EST (11:30AM MST).

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Torque Authority Collective will be hosting our first LIVE LAB next month!

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🚨 LIVE EVENT ALERT — AUGUST 19TH @ 1:30PM EST 🚨 "Diagnose Electrical in 30 Minutes or Less!"

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You’ve seen those no-starts, flickering modules, and ghost signals steal hours of your day. What if you could cut the noise, find the fault, and OWN the outcome — fast?

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On August 19th, join three seasoned techs for a no-fluff, LIVE session that teaches you how to diagnose ANY automotive electrical issue — in 30 minutes or less.

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✅ Perfect for new techs looking to build confidence

✅ Perfect for experienced techs tired of wasting time

✅ Perfect for shops that want smarter, faster diagnostics

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This isn’t a webinar. It’s a diagnostic bootcamp in real time. Tools. Techniques. Mindset. All packed into 30 minutes of pure troubleshooting muscle.

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💥 Walk away with tips you’ll actually use

💥 Learn shortcuts that don’t cut corners

💥 Finally diagnose with confidence — and speed

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Seats are limited. Real learning. Real results. 🔌 Tap in. Level up. Be there.

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Reserve yourself a seat by joining the community here:

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Join Torque Authority Hub: Where Automotive Technicians Transform into Diagnostic Daredevils. Embrace your worth, master your craft, and drive towards financial autonomy with a community that gets it.

In this section each week I will highlight a person—an innovator, subscriber, engineer, or even a business—who has made a positive impact in our industry. This is the place in Torque Authority where their authority in the Automotive Industry is highlighted.

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This week's spotlight is on Justin Russell, Automotive & EV Expert Trainer.

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From the intricacies of PicoScope waveforms to the rollout of cutting-edge EV platforms, Justin has spent the past decade diving deep into diagnostics with precision and purpose. His seven years in advanced automotive diagnostics have made him a go-to resource for technicians tackling the toughest issues — not just for what he knows, but how he shares it. Whether leading training sessions or collaborating one-on-one, Justin brings a rare mix of technical fluency and human connection that transforms teams and elevates conversations. With dual bachelor’s degrees from Weber State University and three years supporting electric vehicle launches, he balances deep subject matter expertise with an educator’s heart. He thrives where knowledge meets people — solving, teaching, and listening with the kind of intentionality that makes a lasting mark. If you’ve ever had the privilege of working beside him, you’ve felt it firsthand: the enthusiasm, the insight, and the unwavering drive to make the complex understandable. Not only is Justin advancing technology, he’s advancing the people behind it.

One quote of wisdom to consider this week...

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This is where I share one practical resource: a tool, app, book, strategy, or event to add utility and help you gain something valuable for the week.

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This week's Toolbox Tip is on the Vibrate Software NVH Application: (Vibration Diagnosis for Cars and Trucks with the NVH App)

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Turn your Smartphone into an all-in-one Noise, Vibration, and Harshness (NVH) diagnostic tool! The App allows you to use your device’s internal sensors to diagnose automotive, light truck, SUV, and commercial truck vibration problems. The NVH App will identify the type of vibration on your vehicle. Follow the context-sensitive diagnostic help file with solutions to nearly 300 vibration sources to locate and repair the source of the problem. The NVH app is designed to automatically detect the type of vibration your vehicle is experiencing, provided the instructions of the road test procedure are followed.

There are 14 types of vibrations the NVH app can automatically detect:

• Tire speed-related (1st, 2nd, and 3rd order vibrations)
• Driveshaft speed-related (1st, 2nd, and 3rd order vibrations)
• Engine speed-related (0.5, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th order vibrations)
• Electric Motor Speed Related (1st order vibrations)

Each type of vibration has unique causes. A vibration type is not the same thing as a vibration source. There are many possible causes (sources) for each vibration type. The NVH app includes step-by-step instructions on locating the vibration source once the app has identified the type of vibration.