Unusual problem with remote control of my Panasonic TV

k_man

According to Panasonic (coincidence that they also make batteries)
Storing in the fridge will make them last longer, but it won't really help in your case:

https://www.panasonic-batteries.com/en/news/how-store-batteries

Although a fridge is temperature wise a good place to store your batteries, the high humidity will seriously enlarge the risk of condensation. If you really want to store your batteries in your fridge, you should always keep them in a vapor-proof container and let them acclimatize at room temperature for at least 24 hours before use.

Molehusband

k_man said:

According to Panasonic (coincidence that they also make batteries)
Storing in the fridge will make them last longer, but it won't really help in your case:

https://www.panasonic-batteries.com/en/news/how-store-batteries

Although a fridge is temperature wise a good place to store your batteries, the high humidity will seriously enlarge the risk of condensation. If you really want to store your batteries in your fridge, you should always keep them in a vapor-proof container and let them acclimatize at room temperature for at least 24 hours before use.

Thanks for that. However I wasn't planning to use my fridge as general battery store. On the contrary when not in a device, my batteries are all stored in a draw at room temperature and they are typically best quality alkaline. My concern is the remote itself which I suspect has been failing due to extreme heat/humidity. My remote is now working 100% perfectly after heat/humidity has receded. I'm still hoping someone will answer my main question:
If my remote fails again, is it OK to cool it by placing it in the fridge? Since I would only expect it to be a short placement and unlikely to harm batteries, but happy to remover them if recommended.

Grumpy_chap

Molehusband said:

Sometimes I seem to be able to help fix the problem by spraying a little WD40 around it and leaving it for an hour or two. 

The obvious first thing is batteries, but you say you have checked them and they are good.

WD40 works by driving out any moisture.  I would not use WD40 for that, but put the remote in the airing cupboard for a while (overnight).  The exact opposite of your suggestion to put in the fridge.

Keithy13

A general "fix" for remotes not working:- Remove batteries press and hold EVERY button in turn for about 5 seconds. This discharges any electric loops on the remote. Then re-install the batteries. From experience this works more than 50% of the time (and it's free).

Molehusband

Grumpy_chap said:

Molehusband said:

Sometimes I seem to be able to help fix the problem by spraying a little WD40 around it and leaving it for an hour or two. 

The obvious first thing is batteries, but you say you have checked them and they are good.

WD40 works by driving out any moisture.  I would not use WD40 for that, but put the remote in the airing cupboard for a while (overnight).  The exact opposite of your suggestion to put in the fridge.

OK, I'm happy to avoid WD40 which I was using hoping it might help to clean/cool the remote. I've used it successfully in the past many times to clear problems with some devices. At first it WD40 seemed to work on the remote but then as the extreme heat rose, the remote failed. Now after the heatwave receded, the remote is working 100% perfectly. So I presume all it needed was cooling: How will an airing cupboard help to cool it?

k_man

Molehusband said:

k_man said:

According to Panasonic (coincidence that they also make batteries)
Storing in the fridge will make them last longer, but it won't really help in your case:

https://www.panasonic-batteries.com/en/news/how-store-batteries

Although a fridge is temperature wise a good place to store your batteries, the high humidity will seriously enlarge the risk of condensation. If you really want to store your batteries in your fridge, you should always keep them in a vapor-proof container and let them acclimatize at room temperature for at least 24 hours before use.

Thanks for that. However I wasn't planning to use my fridge as general battery store. When not in a device, they are all stored in a draw at room temperature. My concern is the remote itself which I suspect has been failing due to extreme heat/humidity. My remote is now working 100% perfectly after heat/humidity has receded. I'm still hoping someone will answer my main question:
If my remote fails again, is it OK to cool it by placing it in the fridge? Since I would only expect it to be a short placement and unlikely to harm batteries, but happy to remover them if recommended.

Okay to place in fridge (putting failed hard drives in fridge or freezer is a common short term fix) temperature wise (in transit or storage electronics often get down to single digits).

The risk is condensation, so needs to be in an air tight container, or bag, and should stay in that, until back up to room temperature.
Imagine the condensation that forms on a cold drink taken from the fridge, but instead forming on the components inside the remote!

Molehusband

Keithy13 said:

A general "fix" for remotes not working:- Remove batteries press and hold EVERY button in turn for about 5 seconds. This discharges any electric loops on the remote. Then re-install the batteries. From experience this works more than 50% of the time (and it's free).

Thanks, I was amazed that the fault caused about half the buttons to fail (always the same ones) while the remainder worked perfectly. A quick removal and replacement of the batteries made no difference.
The remote is working perfectly at present but I'll give your suggestion a try if I get another failure.

Grumpy_chap

Molehusband said:

 How will the airing cupboard help to cool it?

It won't.
It will drive out any moisture, the same as the WD40 does but in a more gentle way.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

here's an old google search, not specific to your question, but similar.

You can get a WD40 Contact Cleaner for electrical devises.

Molehusband

frugalmacdugal said:

Hi,

here's an old google search, not specific to your question, but similar.

You can get a WD40 Contact Cleaner for electrical devises.

Thanks, I've been using WD40 for many years to clean electrical devices. Initially it also appeared to work on my remote. However as temperatures soared during the heatwave the fault reappeared.

I was puzzled by the following earlier comment from Grumpy_chap

Grumpy_chap said:

WD40 works by driving out any moisture.  I would not use WD40 for that, but put the remote in the airing cupboard for a while (overnight).  The exact opposite of your suggestion to put in the fridge.

I'm confused as to why he suggested WD40 should not be used.

The good news is that, since the extreme heatwave ceased, my remote has now been working perfectly for the last few days. But will things get worse if the heatwave returns?