Hi guys, did a bit of a search for a problem I am having with my keyless remotes. Both have had batteries replaced both work well after reprogramming but within a few days stop working - reprograme few days later same thing - repeat process.

Found the link to this guys page here http://martybugs.net/magna/remote.cgi - great step by step guide to fixing these remotes. So looking at mine, it appears that the solder joins from the battery holder to the PCB are broken and dont have continuous contact (explains why they work for a bit then stop), and one has a broken battery holder as well (battery doesnt sit securely in there).

So my question is, I have absolutely no soldering experience or clue on soldering. I had a quick look on Jaycar and they sell some relatively cheap soldering equipment. How easy is it to solder the battery holder into the PCB, what equipment would I need and roughly how much would I be looking at paying for this?

At the moment I have given up on the remotes and just use the key anyway. If I stuff them up trying this im not going to be any worse off.... Thanks

It's not that hard - if you have a steady hand and can control the tip to only melt the solder you want, and not other components around it, you should be right.

I first used a generic ?20W? soldering iron with a medium tip - managed the job but wasn't neat mostly due to the fat tip.
I since upgraded my soldering iron to a this temperature controlled one - http://dicksmith.com.au/product/T2200/temperature-controlled-soldering-station and bought a finer tip - next 2 repairs were easier and neater with the smaller tip. Knowing the iron is at temp is an advantage too.

So a cheap standard iron will work, but if you think you might be doing more electronics work in the future, grab a better iron when they are on special - I paid < $50 for mine and I've since repaired a dead LCD monitor (blown mosfets in power supply) and remotes etc.

If you have NFI about soldering, ask another member to help - some of the S.A. crew should have skills. :)

It's not that hard - if you have a steady hand and can control the tip to only melt the solder you want, and not other components around it, you should be right.

So a cheap standard iron will work, but if you think you might be doing more electronics work in the future, grab a better iron when they are on special - I paid < $50 for mine and I've since repaired a dead LCD monitor (blown mosfets in power supply) and remotes etc.


Pretty steady, willing to give it a shot. Jarcar have these two solder starter kits from $25 to $35

http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=TS1652

http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=TS1651

Would either of these be good enough to do the job? If I can fix my two remotes for $25-$35 would be happy - doubt I would ever see myself doing a lot of soldering in the future so not keen on spending $100+ on something like the one you linked to, plus for that price could always buy a second hand remote for less than that.

Cheers

Both kits a bit overkill unless you're planning on more electronics work in the future, but either would do the job. Multimeter is always a bloody handy thing to have around if you don't already have one, even a cheap one can show continuity or the presence of voltage, and a solder-sucker is handy if you need to replace any soldered components (sucks molten solder off the joints). Considering what you get I'd say both kits are good value. My TJ key tag has been dodgy for as long as I've had the car (few years) and I have all this equipment but have never got around to fixing it properly! I just folded up a wad of paper and sat it on top of the button battery, so it pushes the holder into the circuit board tightly when the tag case is closed. Crappy roadside fix, but effective!

Re soldering iron use, there are a couple of important points to remember. Molten solder only sticks properly to hot metal, so it's important to heat the tag of the battery holder and the circuit board with the tip of the iron, but not too much or you could damage something. Trick is to heat the iron until solder melts on it easily, make sure the battery holder is fully in place, then hold the tip of the iron firmly against the joint to be soldered, and touch the solder into the joint between the battery holder tag and the circuit board rather than to the iron itself. The idea is that the solder is touching the joint, the iron is touching the joint, but the solder is not touching the iron, so only when the joint is hot enough is the solder melted onto it. Pull the solder and the iron away immediately the solder melts and you should have a nice, clean joint. You'll need both hands for holding the iron and the solder so make sure the key tag won't move when you push the iron and solder into the joint. A courageous assistant who trusts you not to burn them could be a handy thing to have available to hold the key tag still.

its fairly easy to solder that kind of job.
with the broken battery holder, you can even solder the leads directly on the battery.
just make sure you do this quickly, as holding too long will leak the battery.

use a bit of sand paper or anything similar to agitate the metal surface on battery, or any other metal part you are going to solder that already hasnt cold solder on it.
any metal part adjacent to plastics should also be done quickly, as heat transfers thru and melts the joining plastic
one way of doing fast soldering is, apply a tiny drop on solder on one part, and also the other part individually..
then bring these together and a tiny touch of iron does the job.
the solder will tend to stick on a particular part of the iron, use that part to work around. dont twist around the clean metal sides
you can mock around and try on other bits and pieces of metal and cables to get a bit of experience.
youtube should be full of useful tutorials..

having a solder at home is a handy thing.. so your investment wouldnt be in vain.
you would be surprised how much use you can make of it..
i often use soldering iron to fix broken plastic parts.. using it like a welder to melt and join plastics.. stinks a bit but handy.
just be careful.. a split second bzzzt touch on skin usually leaves a permanent faint scar.. no matter how small it is

I just folded up a wad of paper and sat it on top of the button battery, so it pushes the holder into the circuit board tightly when the tag case is closed. Crappy roadside fix, but effective!

Thats what I had been doing for a while, but the effectiveness of this fix has reduced, thats why I started looking into a more permanent fix

youtube should be full of useful tutorials..


yeah, ive found heaps from begginers to advanced - seeing these and understanding soldering makes me more confident I can do this :cool:

I would avoid the 20/130W Soldering Iron Starter Kit (TS1651).

I've had 2 of them and both completely failed within an hour or less of using them.

Fixed mine by soldering the battery holder back onto the circuit board. Worked a treat, then dropped my keys and broke it again. lol Next fix will include a blob of silastic to secure it in place. lol

I would avoid the 20/130W Soldering Iron Starter Kit (TS1651).

I've had 2 of them and both completely failed within an hour or less of using them.

Noted, thanks for the heads up