What are the chances?

There is a chance, although there is also a good chance that something shorted out. Let it dry out completely and see if it still works after a few days.

I accidentally wash my USB memory flash drives all the time. So long as I don't plug them in wet, they continue to work. But the flash drives don't have an active power source (like a battery) attached to them at all times.

 

The battery is fairly common (ie you don't have to go to your dealer to get a new one). The manual should be able to tell you how to change the battery.

 

i've seen a couple of posts where someone has run a fob through the wash and it still works. probably not recommended with your weekly laundry

yeah, just remove the battery and let it air dry for a while.

yep, here we go: http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=21168

 

<_< My '04 Owner's Manual does indeed have detail of the fob - pages 36 and 37. Pays to read the Manual. Probably about the same pages in the '05 and '06 Manuals. Instructions are provided on battery removal and replacement. You can find a replacement battery at Radio Shack or large drugstores.

 

Heck, I washed a couple of my pagers back when I had an electronic leash. Even dropped one in the toilet. I just took the battery(ies) out and put them in the sun to dry out - nary a problem (unfortunately (hmmm - I wonder if these "accidents" were so accidental after all...)) Sticky fluids (Cokes and the like) are pretty noxious, but water is usually OK. You may not have to replace the battery, either - let it dry for a day or two and give it a shot. If it doesn't work, a battery may bring it back to life. Good luck!

 

I accidentally dropped a wireless phone in the toilet (clean, unused toilet). Fished it out and let it air dry for days. Charged it and it worked fine.

Make sure it's real dry before you try it out.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Aug 30 2006, 05:18 PM) [snapback]311865[/snapback]</div>

That is an odd place to be having a conversation...

 

I swam in the lake for an hour before I realized I had my SKS in my pocket - let it dry out and it was fine!

 

I've washed mine twice and didn't do anything special to dry it out and it works fine. It's pretty well sealed with rubber gaskets.

 

Sounds like it should be ok, but let us know the outcome. My fob is hopelessly lost somewhere in the bottom of the black hole that is my purse, but I will definitely check dh's pockets from now on for the other fob before doing the laundry.

 

With any electronics, the standard procedure is to turn it over to drain and let it dry out before trying to use it. Much like what you need to do when you spill something on a laptop. Turn it over, dry it out.

 

There is nothing inherently damaging to electronics about water. The worst that would happen is that the water could cause a short-circuit.

However, water is really not that great of a conductor. It does have a resistance significantly greater than zero, and since the voltage from the battery is low (1.5 volts or so), it can't conduct enough current to damage anything. Being submersed in water may prevent it from working right, but it shouldn't damage it.

 

i can say that my fob definately went through one wash (and dryer!) cycle, and came out smelling like a spring day after a fresh rain... or something like that. anyways, it still works just fine, months later, without having to replace the battery or anything.

I believe someone at one point took their fob apart (after soaking it accidentally) and said there were several rubber O-rings that kept it nice and dry on the inside.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Marlin @ Sep 1 2006, 10:19 AM) [snapback]312747[/snapback]</div>

The water itself is not a conductor. The mineral impurities in the water are a conductor, so that's really what we're concerned about here.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(brandon @ Sep 1 2006, 11:42 AM) [snapback]312758[/snapback]</div>

I think you missed the point. Water, regardless as to the chemical source of it's conductivity, is not really a good conductor. Tap water is 1000 to 5000 ohms/cm. Ocean water, which is very salty, is 30 ohms per cm. Soapy water is going to be somewhere inbetween. With low voltages, these are very significant resistances. Even at 30 ohms, with the 1.5 volts within the fob, you are only going to get 50 milliamps or so of current, which is probably not going to fry anything, especially since the current would be primarily flowing from one side of the battery to the other. For soapy water, it would probably be more like 5 milliamps or less conducted through the water.

So unless you are concerned about a significant buildup of residue on the circuits, the fact that it's the minerals in the water that conduct the electicity is irrelevant to the point that the voltages in the fob aren't great enough, and the resistance of water is not small enough, for the water to have a damaging effect on the fob.

 

No, not irrelevant, but mitigated. Voltage is voltage, and if the circuit wasn't designed to handle it in the manner in which it was applied, the potential (pardon the pun) exists to produce an effect, whether it shorts it out, shortens the lifespan of the unit, etc. I agree that the chances of frying something using 1.5 volts in tap water is unlikely, but that doesn't make it irrelevant. We simply don't know how many ions exist in the H2O in question, but you're right, probably not enough to do any significant damage, electrically speaking.

And my point (in case you missed it ) was to simply indicate that while we are talking about the potential for water to damage electronics, we are really talking about the potential for the stuff in the water to damage the electronics.

Now, folks, don't go and leave your fob in the wash on a regular basis (in fact, try not to do it at all!). In addition to electrical energy, the fob will also encounter heat energy from the hot water and kinetic energy when it slams up against the side of the bin or the agitator. You certainly don't want to put it in the dryer, either... the tumbler, the heat, the static electricity in the clothes, and the fact that, like your missing sock, you'll never see it again!