I assume mglae is right. So test this /storage/.kodi/userdata/keymaps/keyboard.xml please:
Code
<keymap>
<global>
<keyboard>
<red>VolumeDown</red>
<green>VolumeUp</green>
</keyboard>
</global>
</keymap>
Maybe you just had the wrong file name (keymap.xml instead of keyboard.xml).