TXNR609 with RC-803M controller, controller sometimes works no ON/OFF

Hi, I've had my Onkyo TXNR609 recvr/amp in for about a week now. I have the Onkyo RC-803M controller. The controller will not turn on OR turn off the receiver. It will only control the volume. I have attempted to reset the controller and the receiver via the controller as specified in the manual and get no responce.
I have new Energizer 8Xs lithium batteries installed so I know that isn't it. All the functions and buttons work on the receiver but not the controller???? The light comes on on the controller for most all buttons except those I would think it shouldn't anyway. But I get no responce except volume.
What else can I do? Is the controller bad?
Please help! Thank you.

Hi MarvW,

Make sure the remote ID on the receiver is set correctly and since you've reset the remote the remotes id is now set at the default of "1" so the receiver's remote ID also needs to be set to ID "1". To set this you would go into the setup then scroll down to hardware setup then select remote ID and make sure it's set to "1".
If this does not work and if you have a digital camera try pointing the remote at the camera and see if you see a light coming from the end of the remote, if you do not see a light then the remote is bad. On the other hand if you see the light that means the sensor of the receiver is bad and will need service under the warranty. If that is the case you can find authorized service centers on our main page under support.