Nissan keyfob information

quartzz

WellKnownSid said:

quartzz said:

tbh I'm not aware of different types of CR2032 batteries, it isn't something I've researched before.

Like AA batteries all CR2032 batteries are the same standard size. Eg 20mm diameter 3.2mm thick.

There are plenty of other sizes available eg CR2016 CR2025 CR2030 etc being 1.6mm, 2.5mm. and 3.0mm thick.

sure. also like aa/aaa, I wouldn't be surprised if CR2032 came in "energiser/duracall/and so on" flavours - it's just not something I've researched before -- probably because torch aaa batteries need replacing every month, but computer BIOS and watch batteries last for 5 years, so you just buy a pack for £5 from a popular auction website

Barkin honestly I'm not sure. my father mentioned that standard batteries didn't work in his fob. although it's possible he might have just read the battery type imprint on the metal wrong

then again, Audi is a "high up" enough brand that they can probably afford to get specially manufactured batteries made for their own use, and if they can charge £50 for a replacement (which is sort of half the purpose of owning an Audi - to be able to boast that your car is more expensive to run) they probably would

400ixl

Barkin said:

quartzz said:

my fathers Audi TT doesn't take standard batteries

It may not use a CR2032, but it'll use a different type of "standard" battery.

CR1620 perhaps?

It would have to be an old Audi then as they stopped using the CR1620 some years ago when the swapped to smart keys. All Audi's for years now have used CR2032.

They have never used anything but standard off the shelf batteries.

Like AA's cheap batteries do not last very long. Cars, especially with keyless entry etc use more power than they did when they were only enabling a transponder years ago. A cheap battery in a fob will last 9-12 months in some modern cars, where as a quality battery will last 3 years. We are though talking about the difference between a £1 and a £5 battery, nothing like £50.

subjecttocontract

My Mercedes is 13 years old, had it from new, never replaced a key fob battery ever.....I assume it's done every year free of charge. There is nothing on the service invoice to indicate I've been charged.

quartzz

subjecttocontract - me derailing my own thread, but on your subject, I had an FM radio bought in the mid 80's which used 4x aa batteries - since then they have never needed replacing (well, they lasted at least until the mid 90's). I just bought a cheap DAB radio which uses 4x aaa batteries, it's already at 50% power from a weeks use.

tbh watch and BIOS batteries should last at least 5-10 years. the car is 18 reg and second hand when I got it 18 months ago, so it's "theoretically possible" the CR2032 could have been 5 years old. I have no idea, for some reason the keyfob battery history isn't in the service history

Nasqueron

quartzz said:

subjecttocontract - me derailing my own thread, but on your subject, I had an FM radio bought in the mid 80's which used 4x aa batteries - since then they have never needed replacing (well, they lasted at least until the mid 90's). I just bought a cheap DAB radio which uses 4x aaa batteries, it's already at 50% power from a weeks use.

tbh watch and BIOS batteries should last at least 5-10 years. the car is 18 reg and second hand when I got it 18 months ago, so it's "theoretically possible" the CR2032 could have been 5 years old. I have no idea, for some reason the keyfob battery history isn't in the service history

CR2032 is nominal 3v though as you'd imagine they don't start there because of natural drain meaning off the shelf they might be less. Most of the ones we have at work are 3.3v and usually when you get under 2.5v you start to see problems

sheslookinhot

quartzz said:

WellKnownSid said:

quartzz said:

tbh I'm not aware of different types of CR2032 batteries, it isn't something I've researched before.

Like AA batteries all CR2032 batteries are the same standard size. Eg 20mm diameter 3.2mm thick.

There are plenty of other sizes available eg CR2016 CR2025 CR2030 etc being 1.6mm, 2.5mm. and 3.0mm thick.

sure. also like aa/aaa, I wouldn't be surprised if CR2032 came in "energiser/duracall/and so on" flavours - it's just not something I've researched before -- probably because torch aaa batteries need replacing every month, but computer BIOS and watch batteries last for 5 years, so you just buy a pack for £5 from a popular auction website

Barkin honestly I'm not sure. my father mentioned that standard batteries didn't work in his fob. although it's possible he might have just read the battery type imprint on the metal wrong

then again, Audi is a "high up" enough brand that they can probably afford to get specially manufactured batteries made for their own use, and if they can charge £50 for a replacement (which is sort of half the purpose of owning an Audi - to be able to boast that your car is more expensive to run) they probably would

Don’t kid yourself, Audi is certainly not “high up”. There is also no chance they get “specially manufactured batteries”

quartzz

Depends on your scale......to a Fiat they are gods, to a Lambo they may be kids toys. It may be possible that the CR1620 battery is not as widely known as a CR2032, and it's not unheard of for performance cars to use proprietary components. but.....life is crazy sometimes

Goudy

Modern key fobs work slightly differently than in some older or lesser spec'd cars, so the batteries don't tend to last as long in modern style key fobs.

Your lesser spec'd/older car just uses the battery to power the signal to lock/unlock doors when the button is pressed.
You then stick the key in the ignition, turn it and start the engine.
The key may have a transponder chip in it to transmit a key code to the cars ECU to activate the starter.
These transponders don't need to be powered by the key, the ignition barrel effectively reads the code from the key.

In older, lesser spec'd cars you might just have a transponder key and no remote operation, you had to unlock and start the car with key, so no battery at all.

Before that, it was just a key without transponder, no code, no battery, nothing.

A lot of modern cars fobs will transmit a signal all the time and then when you and the key are in range of the car, the car picks this up.
All you do is walk towards the car and it unlocks (or you just touch the door handle), get in and press the start button and it starts with the key in your pocket.
The fob is in effect, working all the time no matter where it is, so the batteries sometimes don't last that long.
When they start to go flat the car will usually warn you as it starts detecting a weak signal from the fob and there's often a spot on the car where if you hold the fob close (like directly over the start button), it'll pick up the transponder code to start the engine.

Obviously car thieves have caught on to this and can read the signals transmitted by these keys.
It's why it's recommended to keep them in special pouch (a small faraday cage) that blocks the signal.

Also worth mentioning is your spare key/fob.
Chances are your modern spare fob's battery will last just as long as the key/fob you use all the time, so it's worth keeping a spare battery with your spare fob/key in case.

Nasqueron

Goudy said:

Modern key fobs work slightly differently than in some older or lesser spec'd cars, so the batteries don't tend to last as long in modern style key fobs.

Your lesser spec'd/older car just uses the battery to power the signal to lock/unlock doors when the button is pressed.
You then stick the key in the ignition, turn it and start the engine.
The key may have a transponder chip in it to transmit a key code to the cars ECU to activate the starter.
These transponders don't need to be powered by the key, the ignition barrel effectively reads the code from the key.

In older, lesser spec'd cars you might just have a transponder key and no remote operation, you had to unlock and start the car with key, so no battery at all.

Before that, it was just a key without transponder, no code, no battery, nothing.

A lot of modern cars fobs will transmit a signal all the time and then when you and the key are in range of the car, the car picks this up.
All you do is walk towards the car and it unlocks (or you just touch the door handle), get in and press the start button and it starts with the key in your pocket.
The fob is in effect, working all the time no matter where it is, so the batteries sometimes don't last that long.
When they start to go flat the car will usually warn you as it starts detecting a weak signal from the fob and there's often a spot on the car where if you hold the fob close (like directly over the start button), it'll pick up the transponder code to start the engine.

Obviously car thieves have caught on to this and can read the signals transmitted by these keys.
It's why it's recommended to keep them in special pouch (a small faraday cage) that blocks the signal.

Also worth mentioning is your spare key/fob.
Chances are your modern spare fob's battery will last just as long as the key/fob you use all the time, so it's worth keeping a spare battery with your spare fob/key in case.

FWIW the keyless systems are being changed to automatically turn off after say 30s of inactivity or similar techniques to stop the relay theft

Nasqueron

quartzz said:

WellKnownSid said:

quartzz said:

tbh I'm not aware of different types of CR2032 batteries, it isn't something I've researched before.

Like AA batteries all CR2032 batteries are the same standard size. Eg 20mm diameter 3.2mm thick.

There are plenty of other sizes available eg CR2016 CR2025 CR2030 etc being 1.6mm, 2.5mm. and 3.0mm thick.

sure. also like aa/aaa, I wouldn't be surprised if CR2032 came in "energiser/duracall/and so on" flavours - it's just not something I've researched before -- probably because torch aaa batteries need replacing every month, but computer BIOS and watch batteries last for 5 years, so you just buy a pack for £5 from a popular auction website

Barkin honestly I'm not sure. my father mentioned that standard batteries didn't work in his fob. although it's possible he might have just read the battery type imprint on the metal wrong

then again, Audi is a "high up" enough brand that they can probably afford to get specially manufactured batteries made for their own use, and if they can charge £50 for a replacement (which is sort of half the purpose of owning an Audi - to be able to boast that your car is more expensive to run) they probably would

I work for a manufacturer of expensive equipment (more than high spec SUVs) and we use off the shelf CR2032 batteries from firms like Maxell, nobody would waste money paying for a specialist battery to be designed - not least because of how batteries work, you can only store so much power in them. Nobody will have a special battery for a key fob, just the standard ones - hence why it's such a rip-off to charge to swap them except in cases where the key has to be reprogrammed