Hiya Guys

Sorry i have been away a while

I have just been helping a Guy on the D3 forums who seems to have had his key fobs go duff, one some time ago and forgotten, until the other left him in the lurch and calling for help.

Anyway as you will probably know on these cars, the D3 having the same key fobs as the later FFRR, the keys are re chargable and are supposed to last an estimated 10 years, but as ever the difference between estimate and reality is often far different.

New a key is near 100 GBP hit and so having one spare from a scrappers i decided to take it apart today and see if there was any chance that the battery itself might be a replaceable item.

Sure enough its a fairly standard off the shelf PCB mount Panasonic 3Volt lithium rechargable cell, part number VL2330

I posted up some pics on the thread
http://www.disco3.co.uk/forum/post522919.html#522919

taking it apart requires some prising, levering and swearing, But its not impossible to make a half decent job as my picture shows. 2003 4.4 HSE

Certainly a great fix for what would otherwise be an expensive replacement.

Armed with the knowledge now that the key fobs are not actually dead and useless but just require a battery replacing, (and that the Dealers all know this) I wonder what the dealer's reaction would be if approached in the right manner? i.e

"I know full well the battery can be replaced so how much to do that rather than a new key for £100 please mr Parts Man?"

I guess the average DIYer has nothing to lose from taking the old key apart and trying to replace the battery for £6 rather than shell out £100. Discovery 4 HSE
1998 110 TUM HS FFR Hard Top XD WOLF
1982 Series 3 Hard Top

*Gone:L462 D5 HSE LUX, L663 Defender 110 HSE, Discovery 3 HSE, 2014MY Range Rover Sport 5.0 Supercharged AB Dynamic; L405 Exec Vogue SE 4.4, 5.0 Supercharged Autobiography, Defender TDCi XS CSW, Defender TD5 HT, Vogue SE TDV8, Vogue TD6, RRSport SC 4.2V8, Classic 3.9 Vogue Auto, Land Rover Series 3 SWB