Vauxhall Astra G Petrol (1998 - 2004) - Remote,preventing premature battery faliure

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
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Tue 11 Sep 2007 10:45
Remote,preventing premature battery faliure - wbd
Information

The Astra key fob design has a built-in failing that can cause premature and unnecessary battery replacement .
After opening the key fob.
The battery module is located on the pcb by spigots into holes alongside which are the contacts, solder pads on the pcb and curled metal contacts on the battery module. The two items, viz., battery module and pcb are pressed together by sponge behind the battery module.
Over time the curled metal contacts lose their springiness, the solder pads become compressed and the contact becomes intermittent and then fails, mimicing battery failure.

Two ways to overcome this are;
1. Build up the solder pads on the pcb by carefully adding more solder
2. Carefully straighten the curl in the metal contact, to restore its length.

Hope this helps
Brian
subject line tweaked to reflect issue - PU

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