Keyless fob went through the washing machine....

Hann

Hann

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.....and now of course does not work, i just get the red light of doom on the screen.🤡

It still works if i hold it under the mudguard and do a reach around to turn the ignition on manually but i get the TFT message "Keyless ride inoperable visit a specialist workshop and be prepared to have your pants pulled down. Take lube"

I`ve not seen that message before (seen the `not in range` and `battery at 50% - replace` a few times) so it looks like it is more than just the battery fubar, although i have ordered some more batteries just in case i get lucky. Current battery is still showing about 2.4 - 2.5V but that may still too low to operate the fob, but i think i`d get a low battery message in that case rather than the `inoperable` one i am getting.

Anyway, is my only option a new two hundred quid + fob from the dealers or is there a more wallet-friendly option available such as buying one from other sources and getting it coded, would a second-hand one be able to be coded to my bike, would BMW even do that? Is BMW the only source to get them coded?

Shall i insist the wife pays for it `cos it`s her job to do the washing and she should have checked all pockets before commencing?

🤡
 
Remove the coin battery. Electricity and water/damp is a bad combination.

You could try the bag of rice in the airing cupboard trick then fit a new battery.

The PCBs on key fobs are often resin sealed/lacquered to resist corrosion so hopefully if it dries out fully it might return to full service.
 
Years ago my wife washed my passport in my work trouser pocket a week before I had a ski holiday booked. I’d been using it as ID as I had just had my wallet stolen with my driving license in it (just not my week !).

She insisted it’s not her job to check pockets as she loads the washing machine.

A quick dash to the London passport office and a few hours later I was sorted (expensively).
 
Pukmeister said:
Remove the coin battery. Electricity and water/damp is a bad combination.

You could try the bag of rice in the airing cupboard trick then fit a new battery.

The PCBs on key fobs are often resin sealed/lacquered to resist corrosion so hopefully if it dries out fully it might return to full service.
Click to expand...

this

hopefully it is just moisture causing a bit of current leakage from the battery and the actual electronics are still intact in potting compound

the fact it still works as a passive RFID is a good sign.
 
You aren't the first and you won't be the last.

Remove the battery. Dry it out in a warm dry environment. Don't use a heat gun or a your wife's mega powerful hair drier. Cup of dry rice may help too.

After a couple of days of drying out, try it with a new battery (CR2032). If it still isn't working, you have nothing to lose by taking it apart even more. Then wipe down the PCB with nail varnish remover and some cotton wool buds. There is a good chance it will work again.

Good luck.
 
My wife has absolutely no idea how the washing machine works, nor the computer, her iPhone (other than answering calls or Facebook), the car audio, the parcel safe, or indeed anything digital. But she’s great with horses, skiing, cooking, and falling asleep on the back of the bike…
 
MotoRevive said:
Don't use a heat gun or a your wife's mega powerful hair drier.
Click to expand...
Errrr, i may have used a hairdryer on it, it`s dry...
The battery was removed as soon as i could.

It looks dry, but to get to the `other side` of the PCB to do a proper inspection and clean requires two small pegs of plastic that hold it in place in the housing to be worked on - they are melted over to form a `mushroom`.

If, once i get the spare battery (i did have a spare one but put it in a `safe place` and now cannot remember where..) and it still doesn`t work i`ll get a bit more involved and get right into it.

I`m not hopeful, i think it`s knackered.
 
So your jacket pocket wasn’t waterproof then? And secondly, maybe it is just the battery not the fob unless I’ve misread the fact you’ve tried another battery already. Good luck.😁
 
I would be dousing it in contact cleaner. This will help flush away moisture and any detergent residue. Ideally, the solvent can get behind the PCB and flow away rather than just evaporate.
 
Hann said:
Errrr, i may have used a hairdryer on it, it`s dry...
The battery was removed as soon as i could.

It looks dry, but to get to the `other side` of the PCB to do a proper inspection and clean requires two small pegs of plastic that hold it in place in the housing to be worked on - they are melted over to form a `mushroom`.

If, once i get the spare battery (i did have a spare one but put it in a `safe place` and now cannot remember where..) and it still doesn`t work i`ll get a bit more involved and get right into it.

I`m not hopeful, i think it`s knackered.
Click to expand...
Hopefully, you will be pleasantly surprised.

Years ago my wife washed a pair of my jeans with my work Nokia 3510 ( i think) mobile in one of the pockets.

I feared the worst but I stripped it down as far as I could, stuck it in a bag of rice on top of the kitchen radiator and by the morning after I had reassembled

it, it worked perfectly! I was amazed.
 
If, and only if, all else fails immerse it fully in 99%+ isopropyl alcohol solution then let it evaporate and air dry.
 
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Hann said:
.....and now of course does not work, i just get the red light of doom on the screen.🤡

It still works if i hold it under the mudguard and do a reach around to turn the ignition on manually but i get the TFT message "Keyless ride inoperable visit a specialist workshop and be prepared to have your pants pulled down. Take lube"

I`ve not seen that message before (seen the `not in range` and `battery at 50% - replace` a few times) so it looks like it is more than just the battery fubar, although i have ordered some more batteries just in case i get lucky. Current battery is still showing about 2.4 - 2.5V but that may still too low to operate the fob, but i think i`d get a low battery message in that case rather than the `inoperable` one i am getting.

Anyway, is my only option a new two hundred quid + fob from the dealers or is there a more wallet-friendly option available such as buying one from other sources and getting it coded, would a second-hand one be able to be coded to my bike, would BMW even do that? Is BMW the only source to get them coded?

Shall i insist the wife pays for it `cos it`s her job to do the washing and she should have checked all pockets before commencing?

🤡
Click to expand...

As others have said, dry it out and fit a new battery. The voltage on your battery is very low, needs to be above 3v and is very likely to be the main problem.

The only batteries I've found to work for more than a month are Energiser.

Fingers crossed.
 
I wonder if there is a statistic how many people washed the fob. I mean a solution to a problem which never existed which created an other problem?
So the fob is not waterproof and needs a faraday pouch...good to know.
 
So, an update on this tale of washing machine woe.
I tried: drying it out, a new battery, waiting a week until it `properly` dried out, washing the PCB with solvent, prayer - nothing worked, it was dead.
I found a key fob repair service online and sent the fob off to them after email correspondance suggested that they were confident that it could be repaired, although it would need a `donor` fob (which raised the cost of repair by 20 quid over their usual fee for the other fobs listed on the website). So at a cost of 80 quid and a promise of no fix no fee it was worth trying.
I don`t know what the part the `donor` fob plays in this scenario whether it can be cloned to my original fob or whether essential components are swapped over to my broken fob but whatever, it is now fixed. (it did take two attempts though, i had to send it back to them after the first repair didn`t work..)

In case anyone ever needs to take their own fob apart i took some pics;

Remove the battery cover and battery - you will see two screws, remove them (i think they`re a T5 - tiny)



You then need to access the `hidden screw` which is underneath the chrome trim piece.
To remove the trim piece a small locating `tang` needs to be pressed/pushed.
If you gently pry open the end of the fob you will see the shiney chrome tang so will know where to press/push your tool of choice to release it`s grip on the fob body - you can just see the tang in this pic;



Press/push to release;



The trim is released;



Very carefully wiggle/rock the trim piece to disengage the other smaller (and very fragile!) tang at the other end of the fob body;



With the trim off you can see the `hidden screw` - remove it with a T6



Undo that screw and the two halves can be separated. Be aware that the key blade is sprung loaded and will try to rotate the fob half as it is removed.



If you want to remove the PCB from the body hold a soldering iron tip on the two peened-over retaining pips whilst pushing the PCB (from the battery cover side) off the body;





I thought i was going to be lucky with mine - see that small bit of green corrosion on the chip?
After cleaning it off it made no difference..





A new fob from BMW is £231.00
 
Hann said:
So, an update on this tale of washing machine woe.
I tried: drying it out, a new battery, waiting a week until it `properly` dried out, washing the PCB with solvent, prayer - nothing worked, it was dead.
I found a key fob repair service online and sent the fob off to them after email correspondance suggested that they were confident that it could be repaired, although it would need a `donor` fob (which raised the cost of repair by 20 quid over their usual fee for the other fobs listed on the website). So at a cost of 80 quid and a promise of no fix no fee it was worth trying.
I don`t know what the part the `donor` fob plays in this scenario whether it can be cloned to my original fob or whether essential components are swapped over to my broken fob but whatever, it is now fixed. (it did take two attempts though, i had to send it back to them after the first repair didn`t work..)

In case anyone ever needs to take their own fob apart i took some pics;

Remove the battery cover and battery - you will see two screws, remove them (i think they`re a T5 - tiny)



You then need to access the `hidden screw` which is underneath the chrome trim piece.
To remove the trim piece a small locating `tang` needs to be pressed/pushed.
If you gently pry open the end of the fob you will see the shiney chrome tang so will know where to press/push your tool of choice to release it`s grip on the fob body - you can just see the tang in this pic;



Press/push to release;



The trim is released;



Very carefully wiggle/rock the trim piece to disengage the other smaller (and very fragile!) tang at the other end of the fob body;



With the trim off you can see the `hidden screw` - remove it with a T6



Undo that screw and the two halves can be separated. Be aware that the key blade is sprung loaded and will try to rotate the fob half as it is removed.



If you want to remove the PCB from the body hold a soldering iron tip on the two peened-over retaining pips whilst pushing the PCB (from the battery cover side) off the body;





I thought i was going to be lucky with mine - see that small bit of green corrosion on the chip?
After cleaning it off it made no difference..





A new fob from BMW is £231.00
Click to expand...
Do you have the link for the repair company you used ?
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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