Washed my key fob!
12-24-2021, 02:19 PM
#21
Team Owner
Member Since: May 2000
Location: Plantation Florida USAF(Retired) 1966-1990
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U.S. Air Force
St. Jude Donor '05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17-'18-'19-'20-'21-'22-'23-'24
NCM Sinkhole Donor
My Fob gets washed at least twice year, has effect with my C6.
12-24-2021, 07:06 PM
#23
Melting Slicks
Both my cars have fobs (2016 C7 and 2021 Camry) and when i come into my house i hang my fobs and keys up. So #1 I can find them (never know when you can have an emergency call) and #2 they do not go in the washer !! I was a Tow Truck driver for over 20 years and did not want to be looking for keys in the middle of the night !!
12-24-2021, 09:15 PM
#25
Instructor
Thread Starter
12-24-2021, 09:31 PM
#26
I've pulled many bonehead moves in my lifetime, so this doesn't really rank vey high, but its aggravating nonetheless.
I put some clothes in the washer trying to do a good deed to make the wife happy. Little while later I decided to run out to the car for a moment and I couldn't find my keys. Guess where I found 'em?
Fob doesn't do anything now, I disassembled it let it al dry out and put in a new battery. Still nothing.
I have the other fob, so its not the end of the world, but would like to replace the fob. I've programmed the fob on my old C6 (both long form and short), and the manual shows the same basic process for the C7. However, every fob I've seen to purchase carries a notice that it must be programmed by a dealer.
Is there something the dealer must do before I can program it, or is a new fob programmable in the car without any dealer intervention?
Greatly appreciate any info!
I put some clothes in the washer trying to do a good deed to make the wife happy. Little while later I decided to run out to the car for a moment and I couldn't find my keys. Guess where I found 'em?
Fob doesn't do anything now, I disassembled it let it al dry out and put in a new battery. Still nothing.
I have the other fob, so its not the end of the world, but would like to replace the fob. I've programmed the fob on my old C6 (both long form and short), and the manual shows the same basic process for the C7. However, every fob I've seen to purchase carries a notice that it must be programmed by a dealer.
Is there something the dealer must do before I can program it, or is a new fob programmable in the car without any dealer intervention?
Greatly appreciate any info!
Chevrolet dealers sell em for $325.00, but that was 4-years ago pricing.
12-25-2021, 11:05 AM
#27
Instructor
Thread Starter
Thanks for all the help! The 99% IPA and rice did the trick! Everything works great now. I never would have thought of the alcohol if it hadn't been for you guys!
Thanks again,
Stan
Thanks again,
Stan
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12-25-2021, 11:31 AM
#28
Excellent news!
12-25-2021, 11:46 AM
#29
Drifting
I washed and dried my FOB TWICE!!!! Both times, I put it over the heating vent and let it dry for 24 hrs. Worked perfectly after.
12-25-2021, 04:03 PM
#30
12-25-2021, 05:21 PM
#32
Instructor
Thread Starter
12-25-2021, 06:08 PM
#33
Le Mans Master
A reasonable thing to have pop into your mind, but electric parts cleaner would not help a water problem. It is usually tetrachloroethylene or some similar hydrocarbon based solvent, with main use being to degrease and clean electrical components before soldering. Water will not dissolve in it. For the wet fob problem you need 99% IPA as noted in post #9.
12-25-2021, 09:14 PM
#35
Dry it out in a bowl of rice. Happened to me..
Except I am convinced that washing it shorted something out, and unfortunately I didnt figure this out until like two days after it happened. My washer and dryer are in the hallway to my garage, and i am convinved, that since the key was shorted- or something..The key was "constantly pinging" to my car.
Came out to a completely random dead battery the one morning. Thats the only thing I could think of.
Except I am convinced that washing it shorted something out, and unfortunately I didnt figure this out until like two days after it happened. My washer and dryer are in the hallway to my garage, and i am convinved, that since the key was shorted- or something..The key was "constantly pinging" to my car.
Came out to a completely random dead battery the one morning. Thats the only thing I could think of.
12-25-2021, 09:15 PM
#36
12-25-2021, 09:27 PM
#37
Drifting
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12-25-2021, 11:12 PM
#38
Racer
I have had several portable electronics get wet thanks to the Army always used IPA and rice saved several fobs and phones over the years.
12-26-2021, 05:37 PM
#39
Team Owner
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St. Jude Donor '13
12-26-2021, 07:38 PM
#40
Drifting
It might work, but the problem is that the the more water there is in the mixture, the slower it evaporates, so you lose part of the advantage of the IPA, namely, its faster evaporation. I don’t have access to a full set of the relevant equilibrium data since I retired, and I couldn’t find it on the internet in a 10 minute search. My guesstimate would be that if you did 5 or 6 repetitions with 91%, you’d probably get a similar effect as 3 repetitions with 99%. There are a ton of unknowns beyond just the evaporation rate too. Is your problem just one offending droplet of water in the wrong place or do you have a bunch of water there? If it's just a drop in the wrong place, a single rinse with any strength may do the job. If it's quite a bit of water, the strength gets more important to dilute and carry away the water. So I guess I'd say try to find 99%, but if the strongest you can find is 91%, give it a try.