Slatecaller
Active Member
All I did was gently pry the transponder out with a small screwdriver and knife. Not too much damage to the fob.
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One of mine came out without doing anything. Used a tiny flathead jeweler screw driver at one end at carefully pried from both ends until it came out. On my wife’s I had to use a razor blade and cut out a side section as in the install video. I think it would still easily go back in and work just fine. It isn’t going to fall out or anything.I'd like to know this also. Just about everyone who has done this have mentioned they have had to break the original fob. I would like to know if it is possible to do the conversion without having to do that.....
Scratching up the plastic on the transponder, causes no issues.Any way to tell if I jacked up my transponder? I got it out, but it was a little messy and I scratched up the plastic.
To be clear, I do not regret my purchase and think the AJT design looks cool as hell.My design is greatly simplified from the factory fob, adding an extra layer to hold it in like the OEM fob would have added bulk and cost (given this is a relatively low volume product). I wish there was something more I could do at this point, I really did not foresee so many people struggling with this.
The plastic is PC-ABS and ABS (depending on color) which is the same that the material the factory fob is made of.
We generally put less texture on our fobs than OEM, and I think this is causing the perception of a "cheap feel". Until now no one really complained about it. I personally don't care for excessive texture on something that gets handled so much. One of the reasons we don't use a lot of texture is that over time the surface will wear, whether it is our fob or oem, simply due to how much the fob is handled. The more texture you start with, the more the wear will show and the worse it will look over time. That said, due to this feedback we will consider adding slightly more texture in the future.
@NickTinVAJust to underscore for anyone watching this thread - this new fob is GREAT. I know it doesn't seem that much smaller by dimensions, but it feels DRAMATICALLY smaller in the pocket, and it's lighter too. If your goal is to be more minimalist, do it, you won't regret it.
As a side note, I struggled to get the transponder out and just didn't. I put the factory fob with transponder and the manual key in a faraday bag and locked it in my vehicle safe. If someone's already gotten in there, there's nothing they can't get, including the entire vehicle.
Cheers!
Nick
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When you open up the stock JL fob, is it possible to remove circuit board, without disturbing the key and it's wound spring.. ?
I'd like to just slide out the circuit board. I already have a cut key and am not going to place the transponder in the AJT Design fob..
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Concur with this advice. I did not recharge the spring though, since honestly it didn't seem worth the effort. The spring is in there, but is limp (insert joke here). The key will still come out when the button is pressed with a slight wrist flick.I've done it.
My technique is to....separating both halves of the fob just enough to twist them in the opposite directions...
(I'll guess top of fob clockwise and bottom counterclockwise...)
but keeping them as close together as possible, so as to not uncock the spring....
maintaining pressure, pull out circuit board and put back.
….I don't think recocking the spring though, at least IMHO, is that bad a fate as to worry about it becoming undone.
you just grab the leg of the spring and twist the top of the fob in....a can't remember if its clock or counterclockwise direction....
I'll say counterclockwise because the spring then has incentive to twist clockwise, exposing the physical key, which opens, as you know, in that spin direction.
: - )
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Whatever your motivation for not recharging the spring Nick, some might call that a "feature." ; - )Concur with this advice. I did not recharge the spring though, since honestly it didn't seem worth the effort. The spring is in there, but is limp (insert joke here). The key will still come out when the button is pressed with a slight wrist flick.