"Graham." wrote in message
...

"Steve" wrote in message
...
We have a solar powered alarm clock which automatically synchronises with
the terrestrial time signal. The clock is marked 'PRECISION', 'SOLAR
POWER' and 'RADIO CONTROLLED'.

The display became faint and eventually it stopped working. I took a look
inside. There was an unmarked AA size battery (leaking blue liquid which
I cleaned up). I measured the battery's voltage which was 1.6V, well
above that of a normal rechargeable (1.2V?).

I presume the battery is the source of the problem. I tried replacing
the battery with both rechargeable and non-reachargeable AA ones, but the
unit still didn't work.

I suspect that the original battery was much more than 1.6V - maybe 3V?
But I can't find any references to
rechargeable AA-sized 3V batteries. Can anyone suggest where to get a
replacement battery (or other ideas)?

Cheers.

Any sign of damage to the PCB from the leaking electrolyte?

I think you are reading too much into the 1.5 terminal voltage with no
load.

--
Graham.

%Profound_observation%

Thanks for replying Graham. There's no damage to the PCB. Also, I've never
seen a rechargeable with 1.5V (even under no load); the battery (I should
say 'cell' really) is the most likely cause of the problem. I may risk
conecting a couple of 'normal' AAs in series and see what happens.

Cheers