pureboiracer 0 Report post Posted May 5, 2008 hey guys. when i got my e46 i had 2 remote keys with it. the remote suddenly stopped working oneday about 3 weeks after i got it. so i used the other key. now that has done exactly the same thing and i have been using it for about 3 weeks. does anyone know what this could be? i have a feeling that its not the battery as it didnt show any trouble before. it just suddenly stopped all together. any ideas? cheers oli Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*Glenn* 854 Report post Posted May 5, 2008 hey guys. when i got my e46 i had 2 remote keys with it. the remote suddenly stopped working oneday about 3 weeks after i got it. so i used the other key. now that has done exactly the same thing and i have been using it for about 3 weeks. does anyone know what this could be? i have a feeling that its not the battery as it didnt show any trouble before. it just suddenly stopped all together. any ideas? cheers oli What shape keys do you have ?? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wild_weston 0 Report post Posted May 5, 2008 Not sure why they would both stop working like that. I was told that they re-charge while plugged into the ignition. The battery should be a "whole of life" rechargable type. Only thing I would guess at is that your keys are not being re-charged while in the ignition (don't know what causes this). I did read in the owners manual that occasionally you should use a key on a long drive to ensure that the battery doesn't drain down. If you are doing multiple short trips this may cause the battery to drain. Hope this helps. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*Glenn* 854 Report post Posted May 5, 2008 Not sure why they would both stop working like that. I was told that they re-charge while plugged into the ignition. The battery should be a "whole of life" rechargable type. Only thing I would guess at is that your keys are not being re-charged while in the ignition (don't know what causes this). I did read in the owners manual that occasionally you should use a key on a long drive to ensure that the battery doesn't drain down. If you are doing multiple short trips this may cause the battery to drain. Hope this helps. Thats true for triangular keys with BME logo in the centre. However the batteries do sometimes fail and cant be replaced. Lets hope hes got the old style keys- fit new batteries & reinitialise Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pureboiracer 0 Report post Posted May 5, 2008 Thats true for triangular keys with BME logo in the centre. However the batteries do sometimes fail and cant be replaced. Lets hope hes got the old style keys- fit new batteries & reinitialise my key is a diamond kind of shape with a bmw logo in the middle as the lock button. are they prone to being fragile atall? i dont think its a flat battery issue if it charges in the ignition because normaly it would play up abit before hand i would have thought. and not just suddenly stop working is there any way it may have unprogrammed itself? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3_Power 636 Report post Posted May 5, 2008 Thats true for triangular keys with BME logo in the centre. However the batteries do sometimes fail and cant be replaced. Lets hope hes got the old style keys- fit new batteries & reinitialise Actually you can replace the battery in the new triangular keys ... they are just a bitch to open up and chances are you'd damage the plastic shell when opening them up. They aren't designed to be replaced and the shells are glued in place, but a battery is a battery and they can be replaced if you are desperate enough and can live with a slightly broken shell of a key. Chances are it's a reinitialisation issue. I've got the procedure to do this, if you want I'll post it up, but I don't recommend it as you can do more harm than good if you don't know what you are doing. (I recall doing this myself once and I ended up writing out the original key and stuffing up the new key and ended up having no keys that worked .. LOL). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3_Power 636 Report post Posted May 5, 2008 my key is a diamond kind of shape with a bmw logo in the middle as the lock button. are they prone to being fragile atall? i dont think its a flat battery issue if it charges in the ignition because normaly it would play up abit before hand i would have thought. and not just suddenly stop working is there any way it may have unprogrammed itself? You have the new shape key (supposedly non replaceable battery). They do actually just fail without warning, quite normal if the key have been mishandled in the past. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3_Power 636 Report post Posted May 5, 2008 (edited) oh heck ... if you feel brave enough hehe .. here's a post up on how to reinitialise the key: Good luck: If it just went dead when it wasn't used it needs to be reset. Drive around with it for a couple hours to charge up the key then do the following: 1. Have both Master Keys available 2. Enter the vehicle and close the doors 3. Briefly (max 5 seconds) turn the ignition on and off again 4. Remove key; press and hold "unlock" button. While holding "unlock" button, rapidly press "lock" button 3 times within a period of 10 seconds. 5. Release "unlock" button. The LED flashes slowly for a maximum of 10 seconds. 6. The central locking system activates and releases all locks in rapid succession to indicate that the initialization procedure has been successful. If LED continues to flash or if the locking system fails to respond, the initialization procedure will have to be repeated. 7. To initialize additional remote control keys (make sure that no more than 30 seconds elapse between each initialization procedure) repeat steps 3 and 4. NOTE: The ignition does not have to be cycled on/off for additional key initialization. oh and if it's a dead battery and you REALLY want to open up your key to replace it, the battery part number is as follows: Panasonic VL2020 original post of a guy that opened one up (pictures are gone, but it can be done if you don't mind a slightly ugly looking key afterwards:) http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=427754 Edited May 5, 2008 by M3_Power Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*Glenn* 854 Report post Posted May 5, 2008 I would suggest taking the 2 keys and car to Page European Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*Glenn* 854 Report post Posted May 5, 2008 Or give the re-initialisation a go... be friggen carefull though Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3_Power 636 Report post Posted May 5, 2008 Or give the re-initialisation a go... be friggen carefull though Yep ... very easy to f**k up ... Point the keys towards the rear view mirror for better reception. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pureboiracer 0 Report post Posted May 5, 2008 well seeing that i have no working remotes i may aswell give it ago. cheers for all the info guys Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
martyyn 2 Report post Posted May 5, 2008 Give it a go mate, its not that hard you just have to make sure you follow the instructions. Ive done it plenty of times with e32's. Once youve done it you'll wonder what all the fuss is about. 10 seconds is actually a long time to press a button three times ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
