Help with Remote Control on Rowland Coherence II


This morning without warning and for no apparent reason, the remote control on my CII died on me. I'm figuring replace the 9V battery, right? Well a fresh duracell later and still no life. The external sensor/display is working manually; that is to say volume is displaying as is mute(--)and bypass (.). I'm trying to isolate the problem to the remote and I'm wondering whether those with Rowland remotes can tell me whether anything may be seen at the two small lens at the front end of the remote when it is depressed. Mine is completely dark. The remote is the same as the Synergy IIi, in case anyone has one of those. Any ideas how I might isolate the problem. My objective is to satisfy myself that it is either the remote and/or the sensor. Since the preamp is working and I can play my system by getting off my fat ass and adjusting the volume (oh how spoiled we've become), am I correct in assuming it is not the preamp or the power supply? I hate the thought of breaking down my system and shipping the unit back to JRDG. Any help would be appreciated.
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Info from the Rowland website.

Coherence, Synergy, Concentra, and Concerto IR Remote Control lock-up
The remote controls for the above listed products have an internal capacitor that can cause the microprocessor to lock when the battery has been nearly drained. This problem will continue even after a fresh battery has been installed. This capacitor allows the remote to continue to function even after the battery has become very weak. The solution to this problem is simple: remove the new battery and allow the remote to stand overnight with no battery installed. Once the battery is reinstalled in the morning, the remote should function properly again.
When this happened to me, I was told to simply snip the leads to the capacitor and the problem will never occur again. It's obvious what to snip once you open the remote.
Thanks for the help guys. I had it working by last evening. Whew, what a relief.
Here is response from JRDG should anyone be researching this in the future:

Hello Stew,

Please remove the battery overnight as you say here. Please make sure the voltage is above 8.3 volts while pushing any button on the remote.

Best wishes, Alan Cadiz

JRDG