Factory Remote Housing Replacement

[Asmara]

I’ve been looking everywhere for a new plastic housing to replace my factory remotes. I even looked on eBay for non-working remotes with good plastic without luck. All three of my factory remotes are old and in various stages of decay. I finally had to buy some of these pouches to hold the remotes but I really never liked the look.

After some trial and error, I finally found a remote housing that, with minimal modification, would fit the Toyota innards and work

Parts list
Bit of heat shrink tubing (5/32”) or electrical tape
FB20 4 button remote from polycase.com $2.55
Battery Holder $0.45

Tool list
Needle nose plyers
Diagonal cutters
Utility knife
Hot Glue Gun (or slow way clear silicone)
Soldering iron

You'll note I ordered both single button and 4 button remotes (hoping to get lucky with the single button). The housing is identical. You might be able to modify the button ring on the two button remotes to work as well but as they come, they wouldn't work.

 

[xskydivingdudex]

mine were getting worn down and i was able to actually go to the used car department at the toyota dealorship and they gave me 6 remotes that i could have the housing to. 4 of the remotes looked almost brand new... I have changed my alarm to a viper 5901 but the remote jsut sits in my room and looks brand new. If u want i could send it to u but i only have one.

 

[Asmara]

Trim the back piece

Start by trimming all the raised plastic in the back piece with the diagonal cutters and knife. It should be flush.

Optional - Drill a small hole in the face piece in the mold mark to allow the LED to shine out. I used a #43 wire bit. The mark is the circle in the center of the housing opposite the key-chain hole.

 

[Asmara]

mount buttons

Mount the buttons on the front plate. Trim the two mount guides (circled in red) for the gray buttons to about flush with the top of the vinyl (about ½ way down).

Fire up the hot glue gun and soldering iron

 

[Asmara]

Battery Holder

Trim the battery holder. Cut off the PCB mounts and bend the upper right tab flat.

Original left and after right. Note sure why I took the picture with one upside down but too late. I circled the tab that needs to be bent flat.

 

[Asmara]

mount the battery holder

File the plating off the battery tab top and bottom and solder to the positive terminal on the PCB.

Bend the leg for the negative lead so it can get over the edge of the battery. Put heat shrink tubing on it to prevent it from touching the positive edge of the battery.

Hot glue the battery holder in place, and put a layer of glue along the bottom to keep the battery from sliding out of the holder with a hard jolt (don’t think it actually would given how tight it is when the cover is on but just in case).

Use the hot glue to seal the hole you drilled for the LED. Do it from the inside and put an ice cube on the outside to keep the glue from over penetrating.

 

[arracado]

Does anyone else's keyless entry remote lower their back window? I just bought a '99 SR5 this past weekend, and the remote is in some sort of heat-shrink casing so I can't see what it looks like exactly, but from reading the manual that came with the car originally, I don't think it's the same remote. It's nice that I can lower the window, but not so nice that I can't raise it with the remote too.

 

[Asmara]

Done and other thoughts

There are before and after pictures. I'm not sure what battery the factory remote is supposed to use but CR2032 is too big for the housing. CR2025 works but it is tight (that's what I ended up using), CR2016 would probably snap together easier but with a shorter battery life.

Yep, two more buttons for a total of three that don't do anything. It must be an upgrade. All said and done when I did my second remote, it took about 20 minutes.

 

[Asmara]

mine were getting worn down and i was able to actually go to the used car department at the toyota dealorship and they gave me 6 remotes that i could have the housing to. 4 of the remotes looked almost brand new... I have changed my alarm to a viper 5901 but the remote jsut sits in my room and looks brand new. If u want i could send it to u but i only have one.

Now you tell me!

 

[steve-]

Nice write up and pics Asmara! :bigok:

 

[Asmara]

Rear Window Control

Does anyone else's keyless entry remote lower their back window? I just bought a '99 SR5 this past weekend, and the remote is in some sort of heat-shrink casing so I can't see what it looks like exactly, but from reading the manual that came with the car originally, I don't think it's the same remote. It's nice that I can lower the window, but not so nice that I can't raise it with the remote too.

I'd be curious to know too. The 2nd real button on my remote doesn't do a thing.

 

[steve-]

Does anyone else's keyless entry remote lower their back window? I just bought a '99 SR5 this past weekend, and the remote is in some sort of heat-shrink casing so I can't see what it looks like exactly, but from reading the manual that came with the car originally, I don't think it's the same remote. It's nice that I can lower the window, but not so nice that I can't raise it with the remote too.

If you have a factory fob for the keyless entry you should have three buttons on the front,lock/unlock and one to roll down the rear window.It will roll down the rear window for you but it will not roll it back up,seems like it would make sense to roll back up but it doesn't.
And there is one red panic button on the back to set off the horn if you needed to.

 

[Asmara]

Factory FOB

If you have a factory fob for the keyless entry you should have three buttons on the front,lock/unlock and one to roll down the rear window.It will roll down the rear window for you but it will not roll it back up,seems like it would make sense to roll back up but it doesn't.
And there is one red panic button on the back to set off the horn if you needed to.

It's a factory fob (RS3000 Alarm system) but they must have improved it on the 99+. Mine has two buttons, The primary button and one that doesn't do anything but can be programmed to unlock another vehicle or even the same vehicle so it doesn't matter which button you press.

 

[TheDurk]

I'd be curious to know too. The 2nd real button on my remote doesn't do a thing.

The trick is you have to hold it down for a few seconds before it starts to work. It will then go all the way down. It is some kind of accidental activation prevention. Even so, if I am carrying a bunch of stuff plus my keys, on occasion I will come back to a car with an open window.

 

[rytown87]

keyless remote casing

mine were getting worn down and i was able to actually go to the used car department at the toyota dealorship and they gave me 6 remotes that i could have the housing to. 4 of the remotes looked almost brand new... I have changed my alarm to a viper 5901 but the remote jsut sits in my room and looks brand new. If u want i could send it to u but i only have one.

Do you still have that casing? I could really use it. Is it for a 2004 4runner?
Let me know. [email protected]. Thanks.