Hi all,

I've recently had some problems with my car alarm remote. Having opened it to take a look I noticed that the tactile switched are not working all of the time. I think if I change them it will solve my problems.

The only problem with changing them is this, the switches in the remote are small, 'low profile' ones and I can't seen to find them anywhere.

The switch measures 6mm square, and are only about 1.5mm - 2mm thick. There is not enough room in the remote case to use the 'standard' ones I have which are about 5mm thick.

Does anyone know a source for these switches? I'd be looking at replacing all of the switches in both remotes so I would need 6 in total so I'd rather not have to buy silly amounts (ie not more than say 15-20 of them). Also I would prefer a UK supplier so I don't have to pay silly postage costs for a few switches.

Thanks in advance for any help.

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Are these the kind which have a small black lump of stuff which gets pressed against some traces on a PCB below them? If so, I'd first try taking a Q-tip and some rubbing alcohol and giving the PCB and lump (what is that lump, anyway? Ferrite?) a quick scrub.

Used to work wonders for our keyboardist's synthesizers. I've also cleaned up phone keypads, remote controls, etc like this.


Torben

 

Is it just a piece of metal attached to the PCB?

I don't think there's anything you can do apart from clean it as it's likely to be custom built for the control.

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Something like these maybe?
http://www.e-switch.com/pdf/TL3342.pdf

 

Maybe Sparkfun SKU#: COM-08720?

(Sorry it's not UK).

 

Have you tried major suppliers like Digikey, Mouser, or Newark. I found these at Mouser. You are in the UK so I would try Farnnel/Farnel(?sp) which is the parent company of Newark.

2.5 mm high switch or this .25 mm hight switch

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Posting a picture would also probably make it much easier for us to help.

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Hi fingaz,
I get these things in the shop regularly for repair, Farnell sell replacement switches for most remotes although they now have a minimum of £20 for credit card orders.
By far the most common cause of failure on these remotes is bad solder around the switch connections, it would be best to check this before you start ordering switches (you will need a very strong magnifier).

 

Panasonic makes all kinds, Digi-Key sells them.

Dean

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Thanks Mikebits, these are exactly what I'm looking for. Where am I likely to get these?

SYE : I already tried cleaning and re-soldering the switches and it didn't improve anything.

Thanks to everyone else.

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'Intellectuals solve problems. . . Geniuses prevent them.' . . . Albert Einstein

 

Looks like Digi-key stocks E-switch products.
E-Switch - Vendor Home