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

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benjmsher said:
The key fob is difficult to open and using a small screwdriver mars the plastic.
I tried to take mine apart just out of curiosity and had the same experience. I got nowhere using screwdrivers or fingernails. I was able to open it with a knife blade. I was a bit surprised to see that the battery is installed "upside down", i.e. with the + and battery type information not visible. I would think some people might be tripped up by that, but since you were able to use the fob afterward to open the doors you obviously didn't fall into that trap.

benjmsher said:
So I tried replacing the spare fob battery first. I did get it to unlock the doors but nothing else. So a few days later I tried my luck with my primary fob and replaced the battery. (And I tested the new battery with my voltmeter and got 3.2 volts vs 2.9 in the weak battery). Car would not turn on. Door unlock would function.
So you have two fobs that work to open the doors, but not to power up the car (except by touching the power button). I don't think this has anything to do with replacing the batteries. It sounds like something wrong with the radio transceiver used inside the car (which is separate from the ones used to communicate with the fobs outside the car). By the way, 2.9v doesn't strike me as terribly weak. Mine is at 3.03v after only five months of use.

benjmsher said:
But I'm perplexed and annoyed why doing a simple battery replacement in the key fob should result in needing to schedule a service call at the Nissan dealership.
As well you should be if that were true. But it isn't, as many others can attest. Needing a service call for a failing transceiver, though, would be expected. Please tell us what the final resolution of this is.
 
Will the LEAF start if the Key Fob Battery is DEAD?

My friend has a Honda and he told me that if the battery is dead in the key fob that he can start the car by pressing the start button with the key fob. That the direct contact of the fob to the start button makes the connection! Pretty crazy!



mwalsh said:
...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.
 
Lasareath said:
Will the LEAF start if the Key Fob Battery is DEAD?

My friend has a Honda and he told me that if the battery is dead in the key fob that he can start the car by pressing the start button with the key fob. That the direct contact of the fob to the start button makes the connection! Pretty crazy!
Yes, the LEAF works the same way. I understand it is a very short range RFID chip which allows that, so in theory you wouldn't even have to press or touch the button with the fob, but just have it very close. Clearly, though, pushing the button with the fob is the most reliable way to accomplish that.

Ray
 
Cool!, I'll have to try that out.


planet4ever said:
Lasareath said:
Will the LEAF start if the Key Fob Battery is DEAD?

My friend has a Honda and he told me that if the battery is dead in the key fob that he can start the car by pressing the start button with the key fob. That the direct contact of the fob to the start button makes the connection! Pretty crazy!
Yes, the LEAF works the same way. I understand it is a very short range RFID chip which allows that, so in theory you wouldn't even have to press or touch the button with the fob, but just have it very close. Clearly, though, pushing the button with the fob is the most reliable way to accomplish that.

Ray
 
I believe "2025" and "2032" are supposed to be indicating the battery's dimensions, i.e. "20" --> 20 mm in diameter whereas "25" and "32" --> a thickness of 2.5 mm and 3.2 mm respectively.
 
MikeD said:
I believe "2025" and "2032" are supposed to be indicating the battery's dimensions, i.e. "20" --> 20 mm in diameter whereas "25" and "32" --> a thickness of 2.5 mm and 3.2 mm respectively.

Cool, I never knew what the numbers meant.




TomT said:
And by then it will have just enough battery capacity to unlock the doors before it goes dead! :lol:

ILETRIC said:
That means you're keeping your Leaf for...100 years?? :eek:


Nice One!! LOL :lol:
 
Lasareath said:
Will the LEAF start if the Key Fob Battery is DEAD?
Yes, I confirmed that it works when I tried using a 2032 battery and although it would open the door, nothing else would work.
The LEAF can read the RFID built into the fob when it is in extremely close proximity to the start button even if the fob battery is missing.
And you can always get into to LEAF using the manual key built into the fob (unless the manual key opening or its mechanism is frozen up in icing conditions).
 
camasleaf said:
2 years and 3 months. My wife saw the warning on the dashboard when started the car. The second fob, does not give a warning. New batteries ordered from amazon.

I replaced the battery today. It took a few minutes, I started directly with a knife. The old one measured 2.87V. No issues communicating with the car after replacement.
 
TimLee said:
And you can always get into to LEAF using the manual key built into the fob.
FYI - if you try that with Chevy Spark the alarm goes off. I asked the dealer about it, thinking something was wrong. I was told that this is why Chevies don't get stolen as much as the other brands and using the key (with rfid imbedded) is supposed to triger alarm. Makes a whole lot of Chevy-sense, does it not?

It's actually pretty imbecile on top of being counter-intuitive. I don't even know why my Spark fob has a key attached. I cannot really use it unless I want to wake up the whole neighborhood.

On the other hand, Spark has the best GOM. Leaf does not come even close. It's very precise, down to 2 miles at ANY time.
 
ILETRIC said:
TimLee said:
And you can always get into to LEAF using the manual key built into the fob.
FYI - if you try that with Chevy Spark the alarm goes off. I asked the dealer about it, thinking something was wrong. I was told that this is why Chevies don't get stolen as much as the other brands and using the key (with rfid imbedded) is supposed to triger alarm. Makes a whole lot of Chevy-sense, does it not?

It's actually pretty imbecile on top of being counter-intuitive. I don't even know why my Spark fob has a key attached. I cannot really use it unless I want to wake up the whole neighborhood.
Interesting info.
Seems truly bizarre. :? :eek: :shock:
 
Instructions for opening the fob are worthless. After reading this thread, I found the easiest way to open the fob was:

1) Take a small pocket knife blade and put it at one of the corners (after removing the key of course) and pry open enough to fit a regular screw driver blade
2) Insert screw driver blade and turn handle so it opens up a section
3) Work your way around opening a section at a time until the whole back comes off

With this method I was able to open the second fob in about a minute.
 
csriram45 said:
and how about these? online shipped free... save some gas or kwH in this case :-D

http://www.amazon.com/Energizer-2025BP-2-Lithium-Button-Battery/dp/B0002DSVRO" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks for the link!! Got these and replaced the battery in my fob no problem. Just had to use a tiny screwdriver and worked my way around the fob until the back popped off (more-or-less).
 
Another possibility for replacement CR2025 is Daiso, if you have one near you. They're a Japanese dollar store...err... $1.50 store, where almost everything is $1.50.

I recall (at a Nor Cal Daiso) seeing CR2032 and CR2025 for $1.50 for a pack of 2. IIRC, they were made in Japan Mitsubishi cells.

It'd be nice if someone happens to be at a Daiso and can confirm what I saw.
 
Just replaced my FOB battery, found the second FOB battery was also bad and I noted there was a dab of liquid under both batteries which indicates electrolyte leakage.

Cleaned out the liquid in both FOBs in case it could cause corrosion. Bought two batteries, CR2032, replaced the battery in one FOB and tape the second battery to the outside of the spare FOB, I'm going to assume the FOBs are always on and I will replace the battery when I need to use the spare. My FOB works fine on the CR2032 Lithium battery and BTW the shelf life of a lithium battery is said to be about 10 years.
 
fotajoye said:
.. My FOB works fine on the CR2032 Lithium battery ...
You got lucky. :D :shock:
Depending on the battery thickness manufacturing tolerance, and the fob manufacturing tolerance, not all CR2032s will work. Safer to go with the correct CR2025.
 
You got lucky. Depending on the battery thickness manufacturing tolerance, and the fob manufacturing tolerance, not all CR2032s will work. Safer to go with the correct CR2025.

From The Leaf's Owners Manual section 8-18: "Recommended battery: CR2025 or equivalent"

All I can tell you is the CR2032 worked fine and seems to be an equivalent battery.
 
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