Ok so here is my first attempt at a detailed "DIY" thread, also if you mess up your own key trying to do this don't yell at me!:argue:
So I have the 2 key fobs that came with my car when I bought it used. One I use everyday and the second one has had a dead battery since I got the car. When I called the dealership they wanted like $260.00 for a new one. I did a search around here and found you could get deals and what not and possibly get it down to around $90-120 bucks.. still way too much in my book since I already had a working key.
After seeing a thread on here where another member had taken apart a key fob from a car he had already sold I decided what the hell the key was already dead anyways...
Here is the key before I tried anything..
I then proceeded to take a matt knife and xacto knife and basically carefully cut the key open along the seam where the top and bottom joined up.
Next I took a small chisel and broke the spot welds on the battery that connected it to the rest of the circuit board.
Once I had the battery out I looked at it and took the model number "a panasonic VL2020 3v" I found the exact same battery on mouser.com for $4.73. Once I got the battery is was a simple matter of soldering the new one in and making sure everything fit back together.
Before I glued it up I rubber banded the thing together and went out to my car to see if I could program it.
Put the working key in the ignition. Turn to position 2 for like 1 second then back and remove the key.
Press and hold the "unlock" button then press the "lock" button 3 times, you should hear all the locks cycle through.
Now take the non working key and press and hold the "unlock" button then press the "lock" button 3 times.
Then turn the ignition on and off again to end the programming....
I took the car for a drive to charge up the battery. Once I was certain it was all working I glued up the key again with some super glue....
Here is a pic of the key being glued...
While definitely not a hard or complicated "DIY" project I did save myself about $200 and had fun while doing it...
So I have the 2 key fobs that came with my car when I bought it used. One I use everyday and the second one has had a dead battery since I got the car. When I called the dealership they wanted like $260.00 for a new one. I did a search around here and found you could get deals and what not and possibly get it down to around $90-120 bucks.. still way too much in my book since I already had a working key.
After seeing a thread on here where another member had taken apart a key fob from a car he had already sold I decided what the hell the key was already dead anyways...
Here is the key before I tried anything..
I then proceeded to take a matt knife and xacto knife and basically carefully cut the key open along the seam where the top and bottom joined up.
Next I took a small chisel and broke the spot welds on the battery that connected it to the rest of the circuit board.
Once I had the battery out I looked at it and took the model number "a panasonic VL2020 3v" I found the exact same battery on mouser.com for $4.73. Once I got the battery is was a simple matter of soldering the new one in and making sure everything fit back together.
Before I glued it up I rubber banded the thing together and went out to my car to see if I could program it.
Put the working key in the ignition. Turn to position 2 for like 1 second then back and remove the key.
Press and hold the "unlock" button then press the "lock" button 3 times, you should hear all the locks cycle through.
Now take the non working key and press and hold the "unlock" button then press the "lock" button 3 times.
Then turn the ignition on and off again to end the programming....
I took the car for a drive to charge up the battery. Once I was certain it was all working I glued up the key again with some super glue....
Here is a pic of the key being glued...
While definitely not a hard or complicated "DIY" project I did save myself about $200 and had fun while doing it...