Why your key fob doesn’t work after replacing the battery

How To Reset Key Fob Won’t Work After Replacing The Battery

One of your primary responsibilities is to keep your vehicle running at its optimum capability as a car owner. Your vehicle will not run if there are issues with electronic parts, as most modern cars use many electronic control units. Electronic car keys are also referred to as key fobs, which are essential in controlling the activities your vehicle is to perform. You can manage your vehicle’s door lock, the trunk, the alarm system, power windows, and of course, ignite your vehicle engine from a distance. All the features mentioned above that your vehicle key fob can perform are achievable based on the level of programming your key fob holds. It’s frustrating when your key fob doesn’t work after replacing the battery

The Role Of Battery In Key Fob

All electronic devices are powered by either a battery (rechargeable/non-rechargeable) or an electric current. However, the electronics powered by batteries are subject to a dead battery after a long usage time. The same applies to a vehicle key fob, which is powered by a small lithium battery. The battery holds the key for communicating with the relay modules installed in your vehicle. You might at some point notice that the key fob is acting up, like finding it difficult to lock or unlock your vehicle doors. This can be caused by the weak battery in the key fob. You can also experience a signal loss from the key fob, which would make it extremely difficult for you to have access to your vehicle. 

How Easy It Is To Reset Your Key Fob

The key fob is designed to ensure that the most less technical individual can perform some reset on it. Besides, it is believed that you might not be around locations where a certified car mechanic or automobile engineer is located whenever you experience these problems. As it stands, resetting your car key fob is relatively more straightforward than you might have thought it would be. In this piece, you would understand how you can easily reset your car key fob step by step without considering going to an auto dealer for help, thereby spending your precious money on a less tasking activity. 

How Can I Reset My Key Fob After Replacing The Battery

After you have realized your key fob’s malfunctioning results from the dead/weak battery, you would need to buy a new replacement battery. The following steps would guide you on how you can easily reset your key fob, as the majority of the key fob does not function properly again when the battery has been replaced. Note different vehicle brands have different ways of how you can easily reset their key fob. However, the process you will be reading here is considered the general and most straightforward method which works for most vehicle brands. If the method does not work for your vehicle, you must seek exact details on resetting your vehicle brand’s key fob. More so, you can find more detailed information in your car remote owner’s manual.

  1. Replace The Dead Battery: after you have realized that the key fob is malfunctioning due to the weak or dead battery, you should ensure you replace the battery as quickly as possible. Indeed, a bad key fob battery can cause you severe headaches and confusion whenever you try rebooting it. Most often, the batteries are cheap, easy to replace, and easy to come by. More so, you can easily lift the plastic cover at the back of the key fob to replace the battery. Note that you should avoid touching the key fob circuit and mind the battery’s positive and negative orientation while replacing it.
  2. Get Inside Your Car: After you have replaced the battery, get inside your vehicle, and close all doors. This is because if your doors are left open, it could disrupt the key fob’s reset process. 
  3. Turn On Your Vehicle Ignition System: Once you are comfortably seated in the vehicle and closed all doors, turn on your car’s electrical (ignition) system without starting the vehicle’s engine. Note: Ensure that the ignition isn’t on the radio mode while your engine isn’t running either. 
  4. The Lock Button: After following the third step, with your vehicle key in position and the engine on the ignition mode, press and hold the lock button on the key fob, and then turn the vehicle key back off. Repeat this mentioned process three to four times while you end the process with the key in the ignition on position. This process informs your vehicle’s electrical control unit that it is the vehicle’s key in the ignition point, while the signal sent out will be saved to the ECU of your car. 
  5. Listen For The Vehicle’s Lock Sound: As soon as you have carried out the process mentioned above, you should listen for a lock sound. When you hear the lock sound, this is an indication that you have entered the programming mode for the vehicle’s key fob. Once you have listened to this sound and are sure the key is in the programming mode, press the fob’s lock button again with the next five seconds. This will save all the necessary data, and the programming will become successful. 
  6. Programming Additional Remotes: at this point, if there is a need to program additional remotes, you would need to press the lock button on the fob within the next 10 seconds after observing that you have entered the programming mode(after listening to the sound) for the key fob. 
  7. Turn Off The Vehicle’s Ignition System: After you are done observing all the necessary steps to reset your key fob, turn off the ignition system to end the programming process.
  8. It Is Time To Test Run The Reset Key Fob: At this point, you should be outside the vehicle with all the doors closed. Test all the unlock and lock buttons on the key fobs you just reprogrammed to ascertain their functionality. Ensure all the necessary controls are functioning correctly without lagging or any issues. 

Special Key Fob Reprogramming

For some vehicles, the above steps might not work for their key fob; in such case, you should consult with a specialist hardware programmer for your car. Indeed, you should reach out to authorized car dealers who are experts in such vehicle brands to take care of the situation for you. Although this could be expensive, it is relatively more effective and safer than damaging your vehicle ECU. More so, you can consult with auto locksmith companies or experience mechanic workshop personnel who are experts in such fields. Most often, they charge lower than the regular auto dealers. 

Why your key fob doesn’t work after replacing the battery

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