There's a guy advertising on Ebay who sells refurbished remotes to people with the dreaded "PCB parting from battery holder" malady. He also repairs and will take repairable remotes in part exchange. He repairs the remotes in a way that tries to avoid the PCB solder from failing again after a couple of years of normal use.

I emailed his about repairing the five (yes FIVE!) remotes I have collected over the years and he replied quickly and was very friendly. I've now posted the five remotes to him to assess and I'll let you guys know the outcome.

This is his Ebay store:http://www.ebay.com.au/usr/remote_repairs?_trksid=p2047675.l2559

I'm a big fan of repairing and recycling, but ~$55 on a used/refurbed remote + $6.95 postage (see detail in his ad) seems a little steep when you could simply just... buy a new one (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/MAGNA-REMOTE-TH-TJ-TL-TW-MITSUBISHI-KEYLESS-ENTRY-GENUINE-NEW-1998-2005-VERADA-/251530831956?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3a9067e854) for a little over $70?

I assume he has followed the repair process as described here. (http://martybugs.net/magna/remote.cgi) So when he says he has "strengthened the battery holder connections to the PCB" he really means that he glued it to the PCB after soldering.

To me, these sorts of remote repairs are really only viable if you do it yourself; it's not like these remotes are as expensive as the $280 ETACS KE/F Xi remotes (although you've probably spent more than that replacing your remotes 5 times :eek2:)

Don't know if they are compatible (MAL>>>HELP !) but why not source a Diamente remote from USA???...

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/3OEM-MITSUBISHI-DIAMANTE-KEYLESS-REMOTE-ENTRY-FOB-CLICKER-FCC-ID-E4EG8D-522M-A-/351039936554?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item51bb9c582a

$41 plus postage...

+1 to DIY repair - takes very little time, effort or money.

Don't know if they are compatible (MAL>>>HELP !) but why not source a Diamente remote from USA???...

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/3OEM-MITSUBISHI-DIAMANTE-KEYLESS-REMOTE-ENTRY-FOB-CLICKER-FCC-ID-E4EG8D-522M-A-/351039936554?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item51bb9c582a

$41 plus postage...

They are not compatible.

Also the repair job would only be worthwhile for a KE-F XI Etacs remote. Otherwise, buy a new one and put a bit of electrical tape on the battery to fortify it in case the remote is dropped.

I bought 2 brand new remotes for $62 each including postage yesterday from a Mitsubishi dealer on ebay. I have repaired 2 before but since the area to solder is tiny, the repair only really lasts until it sustains impact damage again.

Mike

Not compatible, best bet is to get a new remote, a hot glue gun and fill the area up to hold the battery from vibrating

I use foam double sided tape to hold the battery in place between the battery and the black casing.

There are plenty of these cars in the wreckers, why not get a 2nd hand remote. I got one a few years ago for $20 (TJ II) and it is still working well.

Well...I posted the remotes off to this gentleman yesterday afternoon. the good part of his service is that he can replace individual microswitches that have locked tight due to wear of the internal spring. Anyway...let's see what happens. From his emails he seems a decent chap. The problem with buying new remotes is that the bastards fail within a year or so. I've not seen the hot glue trick and I wish I'd known about it a few years ago to save me eating through so many remotes! If I buy a new one I'll be making darn sure I hot glue the thing immediately!

On my new remote I mixed up a bit of Araldite and ran a bead around the battery holder, so it's glued to the PCB rather than relying on the soldering (didn't consider hot-melt, woulda been even simpler!). The fobs can still fail when the micro-switches jam up, my old one seemed to be gummed up rather than busted springs. Too bloody fiddly for me to try soldering in new switches, if your ebay bloke can do this then he's definitely worthwhile.

Just a bit of stuff from me about the fob.
I seem to have an ongoing problem with moisture/condensation accumulating on the pcb surface and the microswitches. The effect seems to be that the buttons have to be pressed quite hard. The way the thing is designed, the battery seems to take the force of the button pushing. So I am not surprised that the battery lugs break away from the pcb.
When my remote plays up, I take out the pcb and wash it in metho. let it dry thoroughly and refit the battery. Only yesterday I washed the pcb but did not remove the battery. The unit would not operate the locks afetr reassembly, but it turned out that the thing needed to be reprogrammed to the car. It seems to be OK now.
Can I suggest that if the buttons seem to have to be pushed hard to get the thing to work, then check that the pcb is not affected by moisture/condensation.
The pcb itself is another example of modern manufacturing. Very complex assembly to make it cheap, which then means the thing cannot be repaired easily. I tried to get a datasheet for the code generator but I failed completely. Fault finding on the thing is almost impossible unless a lot of time is spent to set up a proper test jig.
Hope this helps.

Just a bit of stuff from me about the fob.
I seem to have an ongoing problem with moisture/condensation accumulating on the pcb surface and the microswitches. The effect seems to be that the buttons have to be pressed quite hard. The way the thing is designed, the battery seems to take the force of the button pushing. So I am not surprised that the battery lugs break away from the pcb.
When my remote plays up, I take out the pcb and wash it in metho. let it dry thoroughly and refit the battery. Only yesterday I washed the pcb but did not remove the battery. The unit would not operate the locks afetr reassembly, but it turned out that the thing needed to be reprogrammed to the car. It seems to be OK now.
Can I suggest that if the buttons seem to have to be pushed hard to get the thing to work, then check that the pcb is not affected by moisture/condensation.
The pcb itself is another example of modern manufacturing. Very complex assembly to make it cheap, which then means the thing cannot be repaired easily. I tried to get a datasheet for the code generator but I failed completely. Fault finding on the thing is almost impossible unless a lot of time is spent to set up a proper test jig.
Hope this helps.

Mate...I'd steer clear of using Metho as it can be corrosive to some plastics. Buy yourself an aerosol can of electrical contact cleaner. The stuff is great! It will clean out the microswitches using the chemical in it and the pressure of the aerosol. And you can be sure that the chemical will not damage your PCB.

Further to my contacting the Ebay repairer, he has now emailed me back to tell me he has received the remotes I sent him and he is going to check out their repairability in the next day or so. He has been excellent to deal with thus far.

Mate...I'd steer clear of using Metho as it can be corrosive to some plastics. Buy yourself an aerosol can of electrical contact cleaner. The stuff is great! .

I use ULS Ultrasolve. Far superior to any of the generic solvents such as the Jaycar variety and typically if your mircoswitches are totally gummed up, the Jaycar solvent wont touch it.

*PLEASE* DO NOT cut your battery holder as suggested in the Marty Blogs post.
If you are not confident with a soldering iron, don't attempt this! There is a resistor near the +ve terminal and a capacitor near the -ve one, which most people either displace, move or totally destroy with excess solder. They are a PITA to replace assuming they can be found in the excess solder.

Yes, @karj you interpreted correctly. It's a more reliable solution than double sided tape, but that's still a good stop gap, especially for brand new remotes. Only stick it to the inside of the case, not the battery as well! Typically you need two layers. I've use only the 3M Foam Mounting take as it seems to last longest without the foam compressing. If you're going to glue, make sure you use a glue that wont damage the lacquer on the PCB.

I appreciate @stroppy dropping my details in this thread. I've been an AMC member for some time and have activley chosen to NOT "advertise" here since that's not in the spirit of the forum. I have instead offered advice (like above) as anyone doing their own research on repairs will eventually find me! Breaking my own rule

Okay...fobs now returned. All clean, all working. I am very pleased with the result and highly recommend this dealer.

how much does he charge per fob?

how much does he charge per fob?

$143.00 for five fobs (Yes...Over the years I've bought five of the bastards!)...roughly $28.50 per fob. That entailed a brand new battery, resoldering and creating the new anchor for the battery holders so they don't break off again. Also all PCBs were cleaned and all switches were cleaned and unstuck where necessary.

how much does he charge per fob?
POA! ;-)

I have a "standard" base which includes the battery holder and general clean. Price may vary depending on condition of buttons.
Of course, if you are sending more than one at a time I can look into options.
Also happy to buy broken ones off members if they've already purchased replacements.
To date, I haven't had repeat customers as I've not had a remote come back yet!

My Fob stopped working last sunday - opened it - battery voltage Ok, used contact cleaner on the switches - reassembled - working for the last week - total cost - well if you had to buy the cleaner which I had anyway - maybe $12 or $13?

My Fob stopped working last sunday - opened it - battery voltage Ok, used contact cleaner on the switches - reassembled - working for the last week - total cost - well if you had to buy the cleaner which I had anyway - maybe $12 or $13?

But remember that this gentleman also reinforces the solder, cleans the switches, creates a more solid battery holder...etc... I don't have shares in his company or anything like that BUT he was honest, amicable to converse with via email...very helpful with some other advice and quick. He could have fleeced me via the BSB transfer if he were a fly-by-nighter...but he isn't. Far from it. He sent me a parcel tracking number, the works. I can but only recommend him.

I have two old fobs, wont hurt to try and save them :)