Hi, I'm hoping someone may be able to provide some help. I appreciate it's difficult to diagnose a fault on a forum but being pointed in the right direction would be good. 

 

About 4 months ago my keyfob battery needed replacing. Everything was fine but then in past month my 2015 focus Titanium has had issues starting.

The electrics in car all work, and the central locking is fine but occasionally the car won't turn over. Usually after a few attempts it would start, but this morning was trying for around 5 minutes and nothing. Replaced the battery in keyfob again, but it's still saying the keyfob battery needs replacing. 

Could the keyfob need repairing with the car after the battery was replaced or is it likely to be something else? Hopefully something cheap. 🤞

Any advice would be appreciated. 

I've said this before, but probably worth repeating. 1st port of call is to actually measure the voltage of the fob battery - it should be pushing out 3.2v, no amount of guessing, or replacing with 'new' will override this simple test. Once you are sure it has enough juice to operate, other avenues of diagnosis can follow...

Thanks for the info. I'd have thought if it was the correct size it would be the correct voltage 🤔 

Is there an easy way to check or would it need a special tool?

I'll order some new ones just in case. 

 

9 minutes ago, hungledink said:

Thanks for the info. I'd have thought if it was the correct size it would be the correct voltage 🤔 

Is there an easy way to check or would it need a special tool?

I'll order some new ones just in case. 

 

Every 'man drawer' should have a multi meter in it LOL If you don't own such a device, treat yourself to one off Ebay, for £6 to £7... If all you ever use it for is to check battery voltage, it's still worth it! (Just think of that drawer full of 'old' batteries that may, or may not be good 😅)

Very easy to check the voltage if you have a multimeter (you can buy a basic one for about £15).

If you are going to buy a new battery please use Duracell or Panasonic, not the cheapest you can find on eBay from China. Not all batteries are created equal, and they don't all behave the same.

Just checked and the size I put in this morning were c2032 and were Duracell, bought of Amazon. Guessing they may have been fake ones then. 

I've ordered a multi meter, and I'll try some fresh batteries when I find some online, guessing you get what you pay for with batteries, so I'll order some more expensive ones 😁

45 minutes ago, hungledink said:

I've ordered a multi meter, and I'll try some fresh batteries when I find some online, guessing you get what you pay for with batteries, so I'll order some more expensive ones 😁

At the risk of offending you (!), if this is your 1st ever multimeter, this is how to set it up to measure simple battery voltage. For most 1.5v batteries, set scale to 2, for a 3.2v battery (or indeed your car battery of 12v!), set scale to 20. The multimeter operates using a standard 9v battery which will be supplied with it, you may have to insert it into the device if not already in situ...

No offence taken, thanks for the info. Never had one so I've no idea how they work. 

Does red go to positive or negative on the battery, or does it not matter?

8 hours ago, hungledink said:

No offence taken, thanks for the info. Never had one so I've no idea how they work. 

Does red go to positive or negative on the battery, or does it not matter?

Yep, red to red, black to black. TBH, the only thing that will happen if you get it wrong is the meter will read -1.5v, instead of +1.5v!

only buy genuine 2032s preferably panasonic or energiser with the longest best before date possible.

Don't touch the battery with your fingers

57 minutes ago, DaveT70 said:

Don't touch the battery with your fingers

Yes, toes are best LOL 🤣

What Dave is saying is avoid getting oil from your skin onto the contact areas of the battery. In my experience if your hands are clean and dry there shouldn't be a problem but if you're worried you could always use disposable gloves.

As regards your problem I think it's worth mentioning my son had a very similar issue with his S-Max and this turned out to be the vehicle battery.

Thanks everyone for the info so far.

I'd previously had the battery tested and was advised it was ok, and was being charged fine too. 

Got my multimeter and all the battery's I've used over the past few days in the keyfob all show slightly over 3v, which I think is the stated voltage for that size battery. 

Does this mean the keyfib isn't at fault?

Incidentally, car started fine all day today, started first time on 4 occasions 🤦🏼‍♂️

12 hours ago, StephenFord said:

Yep, red to red, black to black

I agree red to red, black to black, and blue to bits 🤣

I know its an old electricians joke but it just had to be said.

Further update.

After being towed home, and the car being able to bump start, it seems the starter motor is the culprit. 

Been quoted £380 to fit since it's got start/stop. 

Is that reasonable?

3 hours ago, hungledink said:

it seems the starter motor is the culprit

Hi Steve, I'm still trying to get my head around this. You have a problem with your Keyfob and the fault is the Starter Motor ????

The main issue was the not starting, but it was also saying the keyfob battery needs replacing. 

A previous post said the first step was to make sure the keyfob battery was fine so that's what I had done with the multi meter etc. 

 

Starter motor has resolved the issue. 

 

Bit gutted it cost £390 but c'est la vie