Car key fob back to life.

[DIYspanner]

Just a mention in case its of interest to anyone.

I've been having trouble with the remotes for my Rover 45 TDI.

The one I've used for years suddenly stopped working even with a new battery and I couldn't get the spare to work either.

After a while of using the key instead, I read somewhere that its best avoid skin contact with the batteries as this can shorten their life.

I took the fobs apart, cleaned inside the battery envelopes with PC screen cleaner wipes, the same for the batteries and avoid skin contact, put batteries back in.

I now have two working key fobs.

 

[Agile]

I thought that it was well known that you should not touch batteries with your fingers because it creates a layer of non conductive oxide.

In theory you should use plastic tweezers!

But dont use metal tweezers as that will just short the battery!

I often wipe battery contacts hard with a cotton cloth to remove any grease before fittting them!

Tony

 

[DIYspanner]

So its this layer of non conductive oxide shortens the battery's life?

If you don't have any tweezers, you could use a polythene food bag like a glove as I did to avoid skin contact with the battery.