Smart Key Battery Draining

[thou1584]

Hello

My car's smart key battery (CR 2032) seems to be draining down within 24 hours, i replaced batteries more than 4 or 5 times, then works fine, but the next morning the battery is dead, & the bulb even doesn't light up on the remote when a button is pressed.

I contacted some guys on the Hit*d & they say to replace the smart key unit, which is a bit costly.

Please enlighten me on what I should consider??

Thanx

Edited April 8, 2013 by thou1584

[MV-5]

This is the first thing you should try to eliminate.

if you keep your fob close to car, then this can happen.

the other thing is, you should have two fobs i think , is this same for the other fob?

[thou1584]

The other smart key is with the leasing company!

Edited April 8, 2013 by thou1584

[MV-5]

you are sure that you dont keep the key closer to car (i think it should be higher than 2m), right?

[Sylvi]

thou 1584,

Contact Mr. Dilantha Karagala. 0777320871. Who is a expert on Smart keys.

He will advice you and will give you a spare key also.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

[HardHat]

  On 4/8/2013 at 11:17 AM, thou1584 said:

The other smart key is with the leasing company!

What the .....? They do that in SL now? Do leasing companies realize and undertake the legal liabilities of keeping a key to a vehicle?

[NZer]

  On 4/8/2013 at 11:15 PM, HardHat said:

What the .....? They do that in SL now? Do leasing companies realize and undertake the legal liabilities of keeping a key to a vehicle?

They have always done this in SL machan and its common practice.

[dreamracer]

guys......once i drove my uncle's toyota rush (wich has a smart key) he advised me not to turn off the engine near "high voltage power cables" if u did so it will be hard to start the engine...

Does something like this really happen?

What is the cause for this?

[thou1584]

  On 4/8/2013 at 11:24 AM, MV-5 said:

you are sure that you dont keep the key closer to car (i think it should be higher than 2m), right?

No,Its quite far away from the vehicle, but earlier it was working fine, this problem started recently.

Couldn't figure out what could be the cause.

[thou1584]

  On 4/8/2013 at 12:54 PM, Sylvi said:

thou 1584,

Contact Mr. Dilantha Karagala. 0777320871. Who is a expert on Smart keys.

He will advice you and will give you a spare key also.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

Thanks Mr. Sylvi, Will contact him & find out.

[Sylvi]

  On 4/9/2013 at 3:40 AM, dreamracer said:

guys......once i drove my uncle's toyota rush (wich has a smart key) he advised me not to turn off the engine near "high voltage power cables" if u did so it will be hard to start the engine...

Does something like this really happen?

What is the cause for this?

dreamracer,

I came across a vehicle In high security zone near Colombo fort area, about three years ago he had stopped his car.

Later when he wanted to start car. He found system was disabled. Then he contacted me.

I toed his car to a friend of mine who did the key re programed. Then he was able to start the car.

My friend who did this also said it is a very strange thing for a key to be disabled.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

[NRX]

With all the issues pertain to smart keys they aren't that smart isn't it xD

Edited April 9, 2013 by NRX

[DVT]

  On 4/9/2013 at 4:05 AM, thou1584 said:

No,Its quite far away from the vehicle, but earlier it was working fine, this problem started recently.

Couldn't figure out what could be the cause.

I had the same issue with my remote key but it was not a smart key.

What happened was ... the vehicle was handed over for a small paint job and they had some how exposed the key to some water and finally found the key not functioning.

Took it to a small watch repairing place to get the key inside cleaned and finally it was working but only for a day.

As you said it started draining after about a day.

Then a couple of guys checked it and said there is a leakage in the circuit. Had to replace the circuit. The problem sorted.

Simple as that

[The Don]

I think there must be a short circuit inside the key, hence why the battery is draining. The solution is to probably replace the key and reprogram it to the car.

As for why smart keys or for that matter remote keys stop working in high security areas and possibly near high voltage lines or transformers is due to frequency jamming and electromagnetic interference.

Basically in high security areas they operate frequency jammers which jam the frequency used by most remotes (including ones used for detonation devices) due to obvious reasons. You can usually get around this problem by keeping the key very close to the start button for smart keys or by simply inserting the key into ignition so that the sensors in the ignition can recognize the key. Remote locking and unlocking might not work.

High voltage lines and transformers usually have strong magnetic fields around them which might interfere with electronic devices (they are also a hazard to human health particularly if exposed for a long time). This is why your remotes might not work.

[DVT]

  On 4/9/2013 at 12:24 PM, The Don said:

I think there must be a short circuit inside the key, hence why the battery is draining. The solution is to probably replace the key and reprogram it to the car.

As for why smart keys or for that matter remote keys stop working in high security areas and possibly near high voltage lines or transformers is due to frequency jamming and electromagnetic interference.

Basically in high security areas they operate frequency jammers which jam the frequency used by most remotes (including ones used for detonation devices) due to obvious reasons. You can usually get around this problem by keeping the key very close to the start button for smart keys or by simply inserting the key into ignition so that the sensors in the ignition can recognize the key. Remote locking and unlocking might not work.

High voltage lines and transformers usually have strong magnetic fields around them which might interfere with electronic devices (they are also a hazard to human health particularly if exposed for a long time). This is why your remotes might not work.

Replacing the key is a kind of expensive job.AxW asked for rs 35k in my case and it was too much. I went for the best alternative at a cost of 9k but still the same result and the same original key.

[The Don]

  On 4/10/2013 at 12:41 AM, DVT said:

Replacing the key is a kind of expensive job.AxW asked for rs 35k in my case and it was too much. I went for the best alternative at a cost of 9k but still the same result and the same original key.

What does the company who supplied you "the alternative" have to say about the battery draining issue?

[Rumesh88]

  On 4/8/2013 at 5:50 AM, thou1584 said:

Hello

My car's smart key battery (CR 2032) seems to be draining down within 24 hours, i replaced batteries more than 4 or 5 times, then works fine, but the next morning the battery is dead, & the bulb even doesn't light up on the remote when a button is pressed.

I contacted some guys on the Hit*d & they say to replace the smart key unit, which is a bit costly.

Please enlighten me on what I should consider??

Thanx

Do you keep your smart key by the side of other RF devices such as cellular phones, bluetooth devices, wifi routers etc?

[thou1584]

  On 4/10/2013 at 11:07 AM, Rumesh88 said:

Do you keep your smart key by the side of other RF devices such as cellular phones, bluetooth devices, wifi routers etc?

Yes I hang it by the side of my van's remote (normal), just thought of avoiding that & try for a few days.

Lets see if it works.

[DVT]

  On 4/10/2013 at 9:42 AM, The Don said:

What does the company who supplied you "the alternative" have to say about the battery draining issue?

The company did not provide an alternative.But I got hold of the the guy who work for the electronic div.He said he will buy a similar key from delkanda and replace only the circuit. Then reprogram the key. He did as said and that was it:-)

[Crosswind]

Can't you find a unprogrammed smart key off ebay and do the programming yourself?

Couple of weeks back, I got down a brand new unprogrammed key for my Ford Focus off ebay and got the programming steps off the net. The whole exercise cost me 20 sterling pounds with postage and all!

[Rumesh88]

  On 4/10/2013 at 11:14 AM, thou1584 said:

Yes I hang it by the side of my van's remote (normal), just thought of avoiding that & try for a few days.

Lets see if it works.

Come to think of RF transmissions around us these days there can be so many things around us like cellular base stations, FM transmissions, HF transmissions etc which are way beyond our control. Also there are so many other devices like power supplies, cheap CFL lamps etc that emit significant amount of RF. (There are regulations on EMC compatibility in some countries to keep these things under control but none that I know of in SL). Why not keep your smart key inside a tin can or a metal box (May sound like a stupid idea to some, but technically speaking it is a Faraday cage to shield the key fob from external RF) for sometime and see.

Edited April 11, 2013 by Rumesh88

[Clark's son]

  On 4/9/2013 at 6:20 AM, NRX said:

With all the issues pertain to smart keys they aren't that smart isn't it xD

Yes because the hardest thing known to mankind is turning the key.

And when they get their Alligon with puss start everything is solved.

The key costs more than 35k to replace and if you replace the battery at the company it costs around Rs.1200(2 years ago) just for a CR2032 bat.

[thou1584]

Hello

I replaced the battery once again tried moving the smart key away from all the other electronic devices, & kept it a little distant from the vehicle, &, 3 days have passed & it seems fine now. I think the problem was hanging the smart key with my van remote key together.

Finally sorted out the problem i hope

Thanx a lot guys for ur help...