OEM Remote working randomly - Help?

[mega4ce]

My OEM remote will work only randomly. It will work from a good distance, but you can never tell when it will work. Sometime first try and multiple times and at others after many tries and sometimes not at all. Any ideas? I replaced the battery and it hasnt helped. Would reprogramming it to my pathy help? or is it just shot?

[Chuck Tribolet]

It's probably dying. I've had at least three failures in 222,000 miles.

[mega4ce]

That's what I was thinking. I wasnt sure if maybe it was the receiver on the vehicle.

[Towncivilian]

Odd that you guys have remote failures, both my original OEM ones are functioning well enough. A little slow at times or require multiple clicks, but that may be due to a weak battery or simply the nature of the system.

[mega4ce]

That's why I was thinking maybe it is part of the receiver and not the transmitter. I am using my secondary transmitter and it is in pristine condition.

[mega4ce]

So I was able to fix the problem without spending a dollar. I pulled apart my remote and realized that there was a layer of fine dust that had made its way to the circuit board. I figured that this could be disrupting the signals. The following is a step by step process I used to clean the board with:

1
Disassemble remote and separate all components. Clean each piece individual of debris. Remove any dust and dirt from the board by spraying the board all over with a can of compressed air or a bulb blower. Hold the board by the edges when spraying, so you don't touch any components which may be sensitive to static electricity.

2
Brush off the contacts with a clean paintbrush to remove any dirt or debris remaining. Brush towards the edges of the board to completely remove the debris.

3
Remove grease or liquid residue by wiping with isopropyl alcohol or gently scrubbing with a paintbrush and alcohol.

4
Allow to dry before reassembling. Test all buttons and repeat if necessary.

I had to do it twice in order for my Lock button to work. Now all buttons are working flawlessly from a good distance from the vehicle.

[bryanmenard]

I'm glad you pointed this out. I discovered a long time ago the older (1996-2001) round remotes get dirty inside much easier than the newer square ones. A lot of folks swear they break, but every time mine gets dodgy, I just open it up, spray it down and it fixes it. I have to do it about once a year.

I would recommend cleaning the board another way, however. You should use a good electrical contact cleaner to do the same thing and you don't have to make physical contact with a paintbrush. Any sort of physical contact with a circuit board is a huge no-no unless absolutely necessary, which it rarely is.

I used Techspray Blue Shower G3. It's expensive, but very good. You can spray it on powered up electronics, no problem. I use that product daily in safety-sensitive settings on electronics in a chemical plant setting and it will do everything in one step, remove cobwebs, dirt, grit, sand, and leave the board shiny and flawless, like brand new.

[mega4ce]

Good points. Probably better to have as little contact with the board as possible. Thanks for the suggestions.