Car Remotes

[Flash]

What are the risks involved when repairing car remotes? i.e. soldering micro switches e.t.c

[simon1]

There is nothing to be afraid of
Easy work
A small investment, and a good profit
This type of repair builds up a good reputation
But you always have to think twice before you do something

[Flash]

Thanks for that, I have heard there is a risk of damaging the PCB components by using the wrong equipment.

[simon1]

You have to use the right tools for each job
Thinking is the key
If you will not be sure how to do it, ask in this forum
Someone will always help and push you in the right direction

[GLENGRAVING]

I soldered on a remote button once 
it was smallest thing I'd soldered, only half knew what I was doing, turned out fine

if I could build confidence it would seem like a good service to offer 

[simon1]

You build up  self-confidence
If you do something every day
for training, you can train on old TV sets
Desolder, solder again
And if you are ready manually, start with the simplest jobs for customers

[grahamparker]

Not sure old (tube/CRT) tv sets are the best starting point for training (toxic and dangerous if your not careful), best way is to go to a crap merchant and buy up all old unused keys and practice on them.

[Count Muppet]

Get yourself a bunch of used keys off eBay. Best off trying on the real thing.

 

[simon1]

I started learning 35 years ago by repairing
guitar cables for friends from my rock band
Later I took on minor repairs of amplifiers and guitar electronics
And that's how I accidentally learned this job

[hakeemz]

27 minutes ago, grahamparker said:

Not sure old (tube/CRT) tv sets are the best starting point for training (toxic and dangerous if your not careful), best way is to go to a crap merchant and buy up all old unused keys and practice on them.

old tv sets have massive capacitors that can hold charge for long time, in the wrong hands this could be dangerous..i do basic soldering but do not go near tvs and monitors..

any way practicing on non working items will get you limited experience of soldering , as obviously once you have soldered something you want to be able to test it, if the thing was broken in first place then you cant do that (unless you have a fine tip multi meter and know how to use it to test continuity )

[keySolutions]

When i was first introduced to EEPROM, i wanted to practice desoldering and soldering chips. I went to the thrift store and got an old DVD player. Nobody wants these anymore these days and they go really cheap (<10€). Took off all the 8 pin chips and practiced reading out every EEPROM chip it had. 
Put everything back together and it all still worked. 
It had a bunch of small buttons on the front panel, but i didn't bother with those.
All in all, it was a great confidence building exercise.

[simon1]

3 minutes ago, keySolutions said:

When i was first introduced to EEPROM, i wanted to practice desoldering and soldering chips. I went to the thrift store and got an old DVD player. Nobody wants these anymore these days and they go really cheap (<10€). Took off all the 8 pin chips and practiced reading out every EEPROM chip it had. 
Put everything back together and it all still worked. 
It had a bunch of small buttons on the front panel, but i didn't bother with those.
All in all, it was a great confidence building exercise.

And that's what I had in mind
There is no better way

[kirkybob]

3 hours ago, grahamparker said:

Not sure old (tube/CRT) tv sets are the best starting point for training (toxic and dangerous if your not careful), best way is to go to a crap merchant and buy up all old unused keys and practice on them.

I agree with Graham, crt tv or monitor can hold in the region of 36,000 volts for some time. also stay well clear of microwaves. I woud practice on old remotes as these are what you will be working on. Older electronic equipmen also is not generally SMT (surface mount technology). you will need a very fine soldering iron and good eyes to work on SMT. which is why I dont do them ( old age and old eyes )

[completelocks]

I do these. Most of the buttons are really easy with a good soldering iron. 

I always tell the customer the price of a replacement remote first, as that's what a lot of them want, and think is the only option. I tell them there is a 90% chance I can repair it, but the cost is the same whether it works or not, and they understand that if it doesn't then replacement is the only option. So, they are fully aware of everything.

Repairing for a fraction of the cost of a new one, does create a good reputation as someone above said.

[simon1]

I often replace the new shell with repair
And there is good money
Often, customers do not have a spare key and it's another income
I always explain to them that this type of repair is not possible while you wait
Most customers want to make a spare key
It is less risky if I know that the customer  has a second key in case something goes wrong

[Flash]

5 hours ago, simon1 said:

I often replace the new shell with repair
And there is good money
Often, customers do not have a spare key and it's another income
I always explain to them that this type of repair is not possible while you wait
Most customers want to make a spare key
It is less risky if I know that the customer  has a second key in case something goes wrong

Thanks for all the info, I have successfully solded a few buttons back onto the P.C.B. but have been told it is a very risky procedure.

If customer has a spare it's not so bad, but to cock up the only working key is not a good idea.

[Count Muppet]

They’re not bringing it for repair if it’s working though?

[completelocks]

1 hour ago, Count Muppet said:

They’re not bringing it for repair if it’s working though?

Yeah all the time.. "excuse me, can you repair my fully functional remote please"

[Flash]

22 hours ago, Count Muppet said:

They’re not bringing it for repair if it’s working though?

What I hear is it used to start the car, now it doesn't, it.s your fault.......

[Count Muppet]

I see your point

i do encourage them to buy a spare first in case there is any problems, but I mainly do that to get extra money in the till. Once I put the element of risk in their heads, it’s usually an easy sale for a spare non remote key.

[simon1]

5 hours ago, Flash said:

What I hear is it used to start the car, now it doesn't, it.s your fault.......

Before you take the key for repair, check it
Transponder does it work?
Does the remot send a signal or not?
I try to minimize the risk
Of course, after the repair I check again if everything works.
And I check again in the presence of the customer
I've never had any problems

[keySolutions]

Simon, what do you charge for recplacing a button ? And how much for a shell ?

[Simes]

The first and in my opinion the most important piece of advice is not to use a soldering iron!  Repairing remote's is a large part of our business and we only use soldering irons when it is necessary to put new solder on a board, when changing a rechargeable battery for example.

Other than that I never use a soldering iron or solder.  There is already solder on the board and a soldering iron can easily damage the board or nearby components.  I use a Hot Air Re-working tool.  This too must be used with great caution for fear of blowing micro components off the board.

I personally, would only repair keys if I also had the ability to replace and diagnostically program new ones..just in case!

Another tip is to be absolutely sure that the replacement case you have is the right one.  Don't get caught out with cases that don't fit or have a different fit inside although they look the same on the outside.  Not ideal if you have destroyed the customers key, then found out you don't have the correct case.  Most are no brainers but you can still be caught out.

Final tip!  Don't be too cheap.  Personally, I don't think most customers will mind paying up to a third of the price of a replacement for a key that is returned to them looking and working like new.  You just saved them a fortune!  One price for new case, blade and battery.  A higher price if replacing components like switches on the board.

[Dave the locksmith]

I use the older version of this https://www.pdr-rework.com/c3-chipmate no air to blow parts around and no soldering irons to burn things.

Did cost s*&t loads though.

[Simes]

2 minutes ago, Dave the locksmith said:

I use the older version of this https://www.pdr-rework.com/c3-chipmate no air to blow parts around and no soldering irons to burn things.

Did cost s*&t loads though.

Looks smart.  How much would one of those set you back?