You know your key-fob battery is running low when... Part 2

[jjeff]

2032 is 20mm in diameter and 3.2mm in thickness. 2025 is 20mm in diameter and 2.5mm in thickness.
So the difference is 0,7mm. Metric system is that easy

I agree it's just the catalog I looked in only listed in inches

[TimLee]

... but again I'm not sure I'd advertise it as a positive match

It depends on the battery tolerance.

A made in China Sunbeam brand 2032 from Dollar Tree did NOT work in my 2011 fob.

I'll try Advance Auto 2025 at two for $4.

My current one is Harbor Freight 2025.

They are cheap but don't last very long.

[fotajoye]

[quoteThu Dec 19, 2013 10:11 pm

CR2025 = Diameter: 20 mm. Thickness: 2.5 mm. Capacity: 160 mAh,
CR2032 = Diameter: 20 mm. Thickness: 3.2 mm. Capacity: 220 mAh

.7mm(a little less than 1/32 inch) difference in thickness and 60 more mAh, 38% more capacity to be correct. I'll take the chance!][/quote]

The above is from 3 years ago...Bought a card of 10 each CR2032 cells for $15 total three years ago; used one in my fob; here we are three years later and I just replace it again and I have 4 left; used the other five for other products and gave a few away. the CR2032 is a popular size that is used in remotes, backups in control devices, etc. A good quality cell has a self life of about 10 years and the CR2032 has worked fine and still is working fine in my FOB

[toowildtotame]

I bought a dozen Sony CR2032 for less than ten bucks about a year ago. My electronic scale uses them and the shelf life is good, so I figured I'd get a bunch. Just replaced both fobs, they work great.

[macnut]

As an update to this topic which got a little contentious early on in its life,

a 2032 battery fitted nicely in our 2012 fob and is working well.

As to earlier reports that a 2032 will not work in a 2011 fob - not sure why that would be. Doubtful that the fobs are any different.

I suppose manufacturing discrepancies of cheaper battery brands could be such that it may not be possible to snap the fob back together without losing the integrity of the -ve spring contact.

But more likely IMO is that assuming all purchased batteries in a pack are good enough to supply the required nominal 3V. A typical fresh 2032 will register 3.4V. It looks like anything below about 2.9V just won't work.
Whether it's old stock or a manufacturing defect I can certainly believe that a given 2032 might not work at all in a Leaf fob but appear to work ok in some other less sensitive 2032 application such as a light or even a timepiece.

If a 2011 Leaf owner has the ability to confirm a replacement battery has a healthy voltage reading and takes their time in carefully installing it I see no reason to discourage them from trying a 2032 instead of a 2025.

[Scaramanga]

...your car lets you know:

That's 2.5 years on this fob battery. I've switched to the second fob for a while and have put the replacement on my to-do list.

I like it, good info.

[fetv]

Why some CR2032 failed?
I went through the long thread, hope I did not miss anything, I also opened every layers of the fob and measured everything, and I have solved this mystery completely. Here is the summary:
1. China Sunbeam 2032 did not work. But no one in this thread said that if they actually measured it to confirm it is 3.2 mm. I suspect they are larger than 3.2mm It would be nice if someone in this thread measured the thickness.
2. Other non Sunbeam were fine.
3. No one reported any damage to the fob.
4. One side of the PCB is the negative battery contacts. I looked at the other side of the PCB.
4a. There are four small switches soldered on the PCB. Each switch protrudes 2.4mm above the PCB. You have to press hard to hear the clicks (which means the switches are turned on).
4b. Next to the PCB is the rubber padding with four holes (the hole is 1.4mm deep).
4c. The rubber padding is not uniform thickness, the thinnest is 0.8mm, the thicker base is 2.2mm, the thickest for the four holes is 3.1mm
4d. since the hole is 1.4mm deep and the the switch proturdes 2.4mm, the top of switch must already pressing into the rubber for 1mm already. However since the switch need to pressed pretty hard to turn it on, this 1mm is just build in the tolerante.
4e. The four switches are aligned to these four holes.
4f. Next to the rubber padding layer is the four buttons. The surface with the buttons is not flat, it is curved, meaning the center is higher than either sides. There are 5 spaces,
i. Nissan logo
ii. lock
iii. unlock
iv charge hold
v panic

5. The door unlock button is at the center. Since the center is higher (see 4f), there is more space in height. Thus if the space is really tight, then first will stop working must be the v. panic button. The next will stop working would be either the lock or charge_hold. The unlock will be the last. Some people in this thread reported with Sunbeam 2032 the unlock worked but the panic did not. I think I just found the reason why it failed.

6. Anyway, I don't think a thicker battery would damage the fob, but it could prevent the panic key from working. So my advice is, if you are able to close the halves, try to push the buttons, if you hear the clicks sound, it should work. If you hear clicks for unlock but don't hear the click sound for panic, then you can add some padding between the rubber and the plastic casing, it should prevent the switches too far into the rubber hole.

[thebears28]

JUst had the dash warning as well, opened up the FOB and pulled out a CR2032 Novacell complete with Japanese writing on it. Put in an Energizer 2032 and all works fine.

2013 X (JDM)