R50/53 I fixed my broken remote key fob!
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1st Gear
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 46
Likes: 1
I fixed my broken remote key fob!
My 2002 MCS (I am original owner) has been a pleasure. Pretty much the best car I ever owned: fun to drive, economical, comfortable, and reliable! Except for the remote control key fob. The "open" button started getting squishy about a year ago and had been not working periodically until it completely stopped working.
I called my favorite MINI Service Department and they said it would cost about $200 to replace plus a $50 reprogramming fee! Whoa! Too much! Before I gave in to pay that amount I figured I would take the thing apart to see if there was anything I could fix myself. Sure enough, under the battery compartment was an integrated circuit. I popped it out of the holder and saw a couple of tiny pieces of black plastic floating around. After a bit of poking I noticed that the "close" button hit a "microswitch" that was still attached to the integrated circuit. It was easy to deduce that the "microswitch" for the "open" button had disintegrated and needed to be replaced.
After a lot of poking on the Internet I stumbled onto a site in England that sold replacement MINI microswitches for exactly the purpose of repairing MINI remote key fobs.
The right way to fix it was with a soldering iron, but I used a small dab of dried contact cement to hold it in place. It is still working fine!
For more info, give a me a shout and I will be happy to walk you through the repair procedure.
I called my favorite MINI Service Department and they said it would cost about $200 to replace plus a $50 reprogramming fee! Whoa! Too much! Before I gave in to pay that amount I figured I would take the thing apart to see if there was anything I could fix myself. Sure enough, under the battery compartment was an integrated circuit. I popped it out of the holder and saw a couple of tiny pieces of black plastic floating around. After a bit of poking I noticed that the "close" button hit a "microswitch" that was still attached to the integrated circuit. It was easy to deduce that the "microswitch" for the "open" button had disintegrated and needed to be replaced.
After a lot of poking on the Internet I stumbled onto a site in England that sold replacement MINI microswitches for exactly the purpose of repairing MINI remote key fobs.
The right way to fix it was with a soldering iron, but I used a small dab of dried contact cement to hold it in place. It is still working fine!
For more info, give a me a shout and I will be happy to walk you through the repair procedure.
5th Gear
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 673
Likes: 36
From: West Seattle
Good job with the DIY fix instead of giving in to buying a new key. At the risk of blowing my own horn, I offer a semi-professional (OK, I've done two of them) repair service for these keys:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...rbishment.html
I'm surprised that your contact cement fix worked. Those are awfully small solder pads in there without much contact area. If the electrical connection stops working or if the switch falls off of the board of if you need it all in a new case let me give you an estimate (I'm way cheaper than the dealer. I have everything in stock and can offer quick turnaround.
Val
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...rbishment.html
I'm surprised that your contact cement fix worked. Those are awfully small solder pads in there without much contact area. If the electrical connection stops working or if the switch falls off of the board of if you need it all in a new case let me give you an estimate (I'm way cheaper than the dealer. I have everything in stock and can offer quick turnaround.
Val
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