Every few years the battery gets low on the keyfob I use daily, so I simultaneously replace it's battery and the battery of the keyfob that never leaves my sock drawer. Here's the weird thing: The battery on the keyfob in the drawer is always stone dead by the time the keybob I use gets low. Why would that be? Any ideas, please?
Perhaps, but it's virtually brand new/never been used. Having just changed the battery last week, I just decided to switch them. Now the virtually new one is in my pocket, and the one with many years of service is with my socks. I'll check back with the results of this experiment; my guess is that switching them won't change anything, and the one in my pocket will still last longer somehow.
Haha your pocket or your body can charge battery. Kidding. If the problem still exists,take out the battery from the unuse fob. Like normal electronic appliance rule: Take out battery when not intend to use for more than one week.
i have found the opposite, when the one i use dies, the extra still works. perhaps patrick is right, or there is something in/near your sock drawer causing it to discharge?
Maybe something is wrong with the "brand new" one (perhaps a button switch is partially engaged somehow). If not...if whichever is in the sock drawer dies first, I like the suggestion to remove it's battery. Glad that I guess lithium batteries don't generate that encrustation regular batteries do in my old remotes.
Do you have a fluorescent light near the sock drawer, or some other source of radio frequency energy around? Perhaps the fob in the sock drawer is receiving RF noise and thinking that the Prius is trying to communicate, so the fob is transmitting its response which causes the fob battery to wear out.
(Fascinating; I didn't know communication between the fob and the Prius was two-way.) Six inches from the sock drawer is a 40" LCD HDTV. Two feet from the sock drawer is a large pair of stereo speakers (when I put them too close to a tube TV, their magnets distort the nearest areas of the picture). The car is far out of range of the sock drawer. Maybe I should scrap the "switch fobs" experiment and go with the "move unused fob" protocol!
Yes, I would suggest you find another place to store the unused fob which is less active with regards to electromagnetic radiation. The TV might be a good source of RF noise with its various power supplies. With Smart-equipped Prius, communication between the Prius and the fob is two-way. As you approach the car, the fob detects the signal emitted by the Prius and it generates a signal in response. The Prius Smart and immobilizer ECUs recognize the fob and allow the body ECU to unlock the door locks when you touch a front door handle, as well as allowing the car to power up when you press the POWER button.
I switched FOBs, and now I think Patrick may be correct! (Since the good FOB stayed good in the drawer, and the problematic FOB didn't work as long as a good one would on a new battery.) Not that any of the 3 buttons appear to be stuck down... (All 3 buttons seem to click/go down identically when depressed on both FOBs.) however... The lock button on the problematic FOB only lights the red LED every 2nd or 3rd press. All other buttons on both FOBs light the LED every time they're pressed. What's the best solution, repair/replace? It doesn't look easy to service so I may have too many thumbs for to try it myself. I figure my dealership (Berkeley, CA) will have sufficient experience with this.
If the fob is not working correctly, you would need to have it replaced. Is the problem fob bad enough that you would spend $200 or more to replace it, vs. replacing the fob battery at $3 per occurrence when it wears out?
Thanks you for the well-stated reality check. On my budget, I'll just replace the batteries, particularly since for now it's "just" the backup. I'll keep it empty in a drawer with a new battery (I just got 5 on Amazon for $2.95). Which mostly I expect to use when the good FOB or a motherboard needs one. Should the backup FOB need to be used, I found that a new battery is perfect for a while (I forget, maybe a few months), and works enough to use with the against-the-skull-trick for longer (I forget, maybe 6 months).
