remote key FOB not working? Try this

[Silverblu02SL2]

I have 2 they both used to work. Last week I went to move my SL2 and found one of the FOB's not working anymore. Checked the battery @ 3.1 V, still good IMO but replaced it with a new 2032. Cleaned the contacts with an eraser even though they were not dirty. Still don't work!

Today I pried it apart and took a closer look. It appears the 4 tabs on the negative terminal on the circuit board look too "flat". I took a small flat bladed jewelers screwdriver, pried the 4 tabs up to restore it's "springiness". That did the trick and it works again!

[Silverblu02SL2]

Remote worked yesterday after I made the contact more "springy" by prying them up. Today it stopped working again! Took it apart, flipped the circuit board over to expose the elastomeric buttons and saw the contacts on the circuit board had a dark haze over it. Rubbed the haze away with an eraser, reassembled and it works again! We'll see how long it will stay working this time.

I tried to post pics but couldn't (on my iMac) by using the attachment feature ( could not find the pic on my iMac). Is the Photo Gallery described in the FAQ gone?

[fdryer]

The entire photo albums are residing in the old server when the transition was made to a new server a few years ago. Charlie, the admin, was asked about it and his reply was difficult to impossible to use in the new server.

Most it not all remotes using rubber membranes have a soft carbon like conductive material applied to the underside of rubber buttons. They eventually wear away until little is left. This makes electrical contact between plated circuit lines intermittent. A simple test after opening remotes (key fob, tv, cd player, vhs, camcorder, etc) is applying a metal contact (paper clip, small screwdriver blade, etc) between circuit pads and observing for function to verify the remote works. The gray dull appearance on circuit pads are the powdery residue coming off the rubber buttons.

[Silverblu02SL2]

You are correct about the black conductive material on the polymer buttons. I have a TV remote with an inoperative on/off button that cleaning the circuit board did not help at all. I used a #2 lead pencil on that button and got it to work again. This fix works for about 6 months or so and I'd have to use a pencil again. The Saturn remote still has some conductive material on the buttons. When it stops working, I'll try the pencil trick. Pencil lead has some clay in it. I'll have to try graphite powder that locksmiths use which is pure carbon and see it it lasts longer.

[cujoe_da_man]

Another trick I use on older remotes is to cut a very, very small piece of tin foil and dab a bit of glue on the offending button, then place the tinfoil on it. I find a glue stick works best because you can just touch it a bit to get some glue on it and it won't run everywhere.

I find this works well with cheaper aftermarket remotes too, they always seem to wear out faster than factory.

[Silverblu02SL2]

Originally Posted by cujoe_da_man

Another trick I use on older remotes is to cut a very, very small piece of tin foil and dab a bit of glue on the offending button, then place the tinfoil on it. I find a glue stick works best because you can just touch it a bit to get some glue on it and it won't run everywhere.

I find this works well with cheaper aftermarket remotes too, they always seem to wear out faster than factory.

Good idea! What kind of tin foil? Did you mean aluminum foil?

[cujoe_da_man]

Yeah, I just call it tin foil like everyone else, even though tin foil doesn't exist anymore

[Silverblu02SL2]

Here's a pic of the black smudge on the circuit board. I also cleaned the black dust off the gray part of the rubber polymer (w/o touching the black conduction buttons). I measured the resistance of the buttons and they all had between 1k to 5k ohms depending how far apart the probe tips were. I think the buttons are not deplete of conductive material and the remote is still working till further notice.