One of our two keys for our 2002 e320 wagon (I think these are called "smart keys"?) went for a little dip in the laundry a couple days ago... a full cycle in the pocket of a pair of pants.

It seems pretty dead, according to my wife. Won't open doors, won't start the car. I haven't been home yet to check it out.

Any ideas before I pony up to buy a new one from a dealer or indy?

Thanks...

 

the worst thing that happens is that folks attempt to power it up to see if
the key is working. when that happens you energize the circuits...which
includes water...which is a conductor....and which you now get the idea
this is not good, right?

first thing I recommend is to NOT power it up. disassemble as much as you
can. induce lots of moving air/ventilation. hair dryer on low heat is good
but keep it a foot or so away. let this run for hours.

you can also try the old ghetto trick: wrap in kleenix and place in container
with uncooked rice. cover container. rice will act as dessicant. you can
also use moisture absorbing crystals if you have.

let this sit for days.

the goal is to remove as much moisture as you possibly can....BEFORE you
power on the circuit. fresh batteries, then power up.

-----

once you have batteries in the smartkey, and one you energize, you potentially
short circuit and that could be the death knell for that little bugger.

 

been best if she had not used it.
Best bet now remove battery,spray the heck out of every opening with crc mass air spray,let it sit in a bowl of dry rice to dry for a day,then give it a try.

btw dealer only,indie can't get you keys.............

 

it should dry out. Take the battery out and let it sit in the sun for a day or two. Or you can put it in a warm oven set at 100 degrees for about 5-6 hrs. I've dried out cell phones that way and they often were fine afterwards

 

a...uh....friend of mine had to dry out a laptop, twice. seems...uh...he fell
asleep in the hot tub and partially submerged it. luckily, he was able to
recover this both times. ;-)

 

Rice will naturally absorb any moisture around it.

Heating the key up will turn part of any moisture in the key into vapor... only to condense again when cooled down.

Give the rice suggestion a try. If the electronics in the key are still good, it will work.

 

Yeah, turn it to vapor and dry it out. If the water found it's way in, the vapor will find it's way out

 

Really? Several other threads that came up in my search indicated that indies could order them from the manufacturer & save you 20~30%. I think you were one of the people who said this in another thread (might have been at benzworld).

Has this changed recently?

 

So I took the battery cartridge out. Red rust all around batteries and inside the key body.

I can't seem to get the circuit board out. Is there a trick to get it out? I tried prying a bit with a mini screwdriver, but no luck & I don't want to force it.
EDIT: I found this post but don't have a dental pick. Will keep trying...

It seems pretty dry already. The rust was totally dry. I think this happened a while ago and she only recently told me about it.

I'm thinking clean it as best I can with 90% IPA and a cotton swab, then let it dry again, then try it. Any other suggestions?

She's out picking up new batteries right now.

 

IPA is 10% water not such a good choice. 90% IPA is great for cleaning iron oxide off of heads on a tape recorder but that's not what you have.

Key halves are probably joined with heat set adhesive. If so, heating with a hair dryer will separate them but I wouldn't bother. BTW, you need to reheat them before rejoining them. And if you don't know what your doing you may damage the circuit board. Just spray some electronic contact cleaner (as suggested) into the key and blow it dry with a hair drier or heat gun on low. Clean the battery holder the same way. Put in a couple of new batteries and get back to work.

 

How many times have I posted this?

It changed years ago. No dealer = no new keys.

 

Sorry Brenton, that did not show up in any of my searches.

Anyway, I got the key to work, sort of. Good enough anyway. The buttons don't work, but the key will start the car, so it'll do for a backup/spare for now. Definitely not worth the $300 or so the dealer quoted to my wife for a new key.

Thanks for all the tips and help, everyone.

 

If you let it dry out more thouroughly and replace the battery, good chance the remote part will start to work as well