Dropped Your Key Fob in Water? Do This Now
A soaked fob is often saveable, but only if you act in the first few minutes and resist the two things everybody instinctively does.
Fobs go in washing machines, sinks, the Waikato River and the sea at Raglan with surprising regularity. Whether yours survives depends almost entirely on what happens in the next few minutes.
Get the battery out immediately
Most damage is not caused by water itself but by current flowing through wet circuitry, and removing the battery stops that. If you can open the case without tools, do it now rather than when you get home.
This single step is the difference between most fobs surviving and most not. Everything below matters less than doing this quickly.
What not to do
Do not press the buttons to test it. Every press while the board is wet risks a short, and the urge to check whether it still works is what finishes off a good number of otherwise saveable fobs.
Do not apply heat either — a hairdryer, a heater or an oven warps the plastic and drives moisture further into the board.
Drying it properly
Open the case fully, separate the parts, and let it dry in moving air at room temperature for at least a day. A fan pointed at it is ideal. Silica gel packets help if you have them.
Rice is largely a myth and leaves dust in the case, which then sits against the contacts. Skip it.
Salt water is different and urgent
Salt keeps corroding long after the fob feels dry, so a fob that seems fine on the day can fail a fortnight later. Rinsing the board in fresh water sounds wrong but is better than leaving salt on it, and then drying it thoroughly.
This comes up regularly with keys that have been in the sea at Raglan — the wider version of that callout is in keys locked in the car at Raglan.
Afterwards
Fit a new car key battery — the original will be flat or corroded. If it works, watch it for a week for intermittent faults, because water damage often announces itself late.
If it does not, the board may still be cleanable, which is what key fob repair covers, and it is usually far cheaper than a replacement. Where the board is beyond saving, smart key replacement is the fallback. Send us the details and we will tell you which is likely.
Common questions
Does rice actually work?
Not really. It absorbs very little moisture and leaves starch and dust inside the case. Open the fob, remove the battery, and use moving air at room temperature instead.
How long should it dry for?
At least twenty four hours with the case open and the parts separated. Longer is better. Do not rush it with heat.
What if it went in the sea?
Rinse the board with fresh water to remove the salt, then dry it thoroughly. Salt continues corroding after the fob feels dry, so this one is genuinely time critical.
Can a water damaged fob be repaired?
Often, yes. Cleaning corrosion off the board and fitting a new case and battery brings many back. It is only beyond help when tracks on the board have corroded through.