for those who are interested, and to re-ignite the debate on if these damn things recharge themselves, I invite you to look at the Guts of an 06 MCS.

i sacrificed my key one day in an attempt to avoid the $150+ fee of a new set of keys from mini. needless to say, its a one way street once the key is opened, as it is sonic welded together (makes me believe they are water proof, if not very very water resistant).

i personally fail to see the charging coil in this thing, even though there is a coil, i believe its the antenna. feel free to prove me wrong however! but my key just keeps getting worse and worse.

the annoying part of it all (aside from the new key price, and my continually worsening key range) is that this battery IS a rechargeable battery! i have found schematics for a charger on the manufacturers website. even after you kill your key fob by opening it, you still have to de-solder the old battery, and re-solder a new one in.

i have not looked up the part numbers for these ICs yet, but will prolly get to it in spare time soon, to either prove or disprove the recharge-ability of these silly things.

*(pics were taken with a microscope and dig camera at my work, hence the extreme detail!)*

 

I defer to Valvashon on these questions.

 

I wonder if you can give it shock therapy like people do with Ni-Cad batteries for power tools.

Search YouTube (Revive Dead NiCad) and you'll see what I mean.

Here's an example of what I mean...

 

not needed. its RECHARGEABLE! annoying really.

see spec sheet

http://industrial.panasonic.com/www-...AA4000PE16.pdf

and manufacturer site

http://industrial.panasonic.com/www-...08+VL2020+7+WW


oh, and i cruised through Valvashon's post, and MY key DOES have the "mysterious bar code sticker". just thought id throw that in, (i took the sticker off for the pics)

 

1,000 Charging cycles? Realistically, half that.

That's only 4-5 years if someone used it 5 days a week twice a day.

 

IF its getting charged. look at the specs, it has to have a very specific voltage, or charging either wont work, or will damage the battery.

i fail to believe there is a 3.4v or even 5v wireless charge field around the key lock in the steering column. the transfer of power gets less the farther away you are from a charging coil... so if the key is 2? inches away from the charge coil, then that original coil has to be putting out at least 10v? to get 5v to the key. and i dont remember seeing such a sending coil in the steering column when i ripped it apart to install gauges....

 

Here's the breakout of what is on this board- this is from a BMW forum but the circuit board is identical- for the MINI they just put it in a different case:

 

 

So....speaking of keys. What are my options for getting a new key made for my 03' R53? Am I forced to go to a MINI dealer (about 3 hrs away from me), or are there other options for getting a new key made? My key is still working fine, but the buttons are worn out...and have to be pushed really hard in order to get them to lock/unlock.

 

I have heard ppl succesfully charging these keys with an electric toothbrush charger...

 

I bought a Mini with just one key and wanted another so I ordered a remote key from Seattle Mini thru their website, sent them a copy of my registration and 5 days later had a key. Cost $159. I have seen that you can swap blades, but Valvashon will be more in the know. I will defer to him.

 

Also incredibly interested in a reasonable answer to this question (meaning one that doesn't involve hundreds of dollars and a dealer trip).

 

I pulled my key apart trying to see if I can swap the blade into the new key....but as far as I can tell, it's molded right into the plastic housing. If I could just order a key online for $159 for my car and have it show up, that would be great......just need to figure out how to have it cut, or have the blade swapped into the new key.

Anyone have more info on this?

 

My key is 16 years old....never had to recharge the security chip in it.

 

That price is for a cut key (you need to give them your vin number) only thing to do is program the remote to your car, which you can do in 5 minutes.

 

It's not the security chip that needs recharging, it's the battery for the remote locking. And it charges every time your car is running... the electric toothbrush charger trick was for ppl who rarely drive their cars, or store them for long periods of time.

 

When my key stopped working....I just put a new battery in it....I didn't know it was rechargable!

 

Only the newer ('05+) 3 button keys have a rechargeable battery. Your '03 uses a replaceable, non-rechargeable battery. The downside of the rechargeable battery is that it degrades over time and eventually loses ability to hold a charge. It is soldered on and wasn't designed to be replaceable, and the fob case must be sliced open to replace it.

 

 

BMW in a nutshell really. Latest and greatest tech possible, which is great, until it goes wrong.

 

Exactly !
My 2006 R53 remote key fob buttons don't work - dead battery probably - I have ordered a new shell for the key fob on the understanding that the old one will be wrecked after you've split it open.
I am thinking of just replacing the rechargeable battery with a normal one - will this work ?

 

Any more info on how I can program the key myself? I called the closest mini dealer (3hrs away), and they told me that a key would be $175, and to program it would be $80......oh, and don't forget about the 6hr round trip. Unfortunately, if that's what it takes.....I'm just going to keep using my old busted key.

If I could program it myself...that would save me $80 and 6 hrs of driving.

 

It probably won't work for very long, as the normal battery won't like the recharging that will still happen. Just replace the rechargeable battery with a rechargeable battery.

After you split the key (carefully with a stanley/hobby knife so you won't damage the internals) you need to glue it back together. I used superglue on mine. Works great. I also painted my key while it was apart to match the colors of my car. That did not work so great.

 

There is a sequence listed somewhere here on NAM........

Here it is. I just did it. had some trouble to get it done as I have 2 keys. In the end I did it exactly like the procedure but cycled both keys in the ignition. They still work today and I did this about two months ago.
PROCEDURE
Initialize remote key as follows:

1.) Close all doors

2.) Switch the ignition switch to KL-R (first turn), switch back off within 5 seconds and remove the key

3.) Within 30 seconds, press and hold the unlock button and at the same time, press and release the lock button (3) times. (Must be completed within 10 seconds)

4.) Release both buttons. The doors will lock/unlock to signal a successful initialization.

5.) If additional keys need to be initialized, repeat steps 3-4 within 30 seconds

6.) Switching the ignition to KL-R completes the initialization

 

Thanks for the info! Will this work on an 03'? The guy at the dealership told me that if I have one of the 05+ mini's with the 3 button keys...I could program the key in the car, but for the older 2 button keys with the MINI wing shaped button, I had to take it in for programming.

Do you have the 3 button or 2 button key?