In article , wrote:
My son left his hand-held combo calculator and electronic game lying
around unused for a long time, and the 3 AAA batteries inside the unit
became corroded and leaked onto the terminals. What can I use to clean
the terminals so that the unit is usable again?

Distilled water to clean up the leaked acid. Then denatured alcohol to wash
out the water. Allow to dry for at least 24 hours before inserting new
batteries.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

My son left his hand-held combo calculator and electronic game lying
around unused for a long time, and the 3 AAA batteries inside the unit
became corroded and leaked onto the terminals. What can I use to clean
the terminals so that the unit is usable again?

"tenplay" wrote in message
...
My son left his hand-held combo calculator and electronic game lying
around unused for a long time, and the 3 AAA batteries inside the
unit became corroded and leaked onto the terminals. What can I use
to clean the terminals so that the unit is usable again?

Did the batteries have a no-leak guarantee? Then contact the
manufacturer.

"The Energizer/Eveready guarantee typically states: "We will repair or
replace, at our option, any device damaged by this battery if it is
sent with batteries to Eveready. Guarantee void if user or device
recharges battery." This guarantee may vary globally, so please check
with your local Energizer office for details. "

Bob

And to think I waited 6 years for this info! I tossed a $500 scanner for the
same reason. No one would take on the job of fixing my screwup!

--
BetsyB
"Doug Miller" wrote in message
. ..
In article ,
wrote:
My son left his hand-held combo calculator and electronic game lying
around unused for a long time, and the 3 AAA batteries inside the unit
became corroded and leaked onto the terminals. What can I use to clean
the terminals so that the unit is usable again?

Distilled water to clean up the leaked acid. Then denatured alcohol to
wash
out the water. Allow to dry for at least 24 hours before inserting new
batteries.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

In article , "betsyb" wrote:
And to think I waited 6 years for this info! I tossed a $500 scanner for the
same reason. No one would take on the job of fixing my screwup!

Well, it's worked for me several times. First time I ever tried it was after
accidentally dumping a marine aquarium onto my Texas Instruments SR-50
calculator, if that tells you how far back in the mists of time it happened.
Calculator was about a year out of warranty, so I figured I had nothing to
lose by trying to clean it myself. Let's see... hmmm.... distilled water will
get rid of the salt and other nasty stuff. What will get rid of the water?
Hmmmmm.... alcohol should do fine. And it did.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

On Thu, 12 Jul 2007 13:53:30 -0800, tenplay wrote:

My son left his hand-held combo calculator and electronic game lying
around unused for a long time, and the 3 AAA batteries inside the unit

You don't say if it had alkaline batteries or acid batteries. They
are opposite and neutralized by opposites.

Tnen it depends how much corrosion there is on the terminals. I saw a
long thread on this once, but can't find it now. Here or
sci.electronics.repair .

became corroded and leaked onto the terminals. What can I use to clean
the terminals so that the unit is usable again?

On Jul 12, 4:29 pm, (Doug Miller) wrote:

Well, it's worked for me several times. First time I ever tried it was after
accidentally dumping a marine aquarium onto my Texas Instruments SR-50

And how long after that did you toss the calculator because of the key
bounce problem. Damn thing nearly drove me crazy before I got rid of
it!

Jerry

In article .com, Jerry wrote:
On Jul 12, 4:29 pm, (Doug Miller) wrote:

Well, it's worked for me several times. First time I ever tried it was after
accidentally dumping a marine aquarium onto my Texas Instruments SR-50

And how long after that did you toss the calculator because of the key
bounce problem. Damn thing nearly drove me crazy before I got rid of
it!

I still have it in a box somewhere. The battery pack finally reached the point
where it couldn't be recharged. I bought a replacement battery pack in about
1982; then that died, too, and by that time (late '80s or early '90s)
replacements were no longer available -- but I was using it regularly up until
that time. I'm not aware of any "key bounce" problem -- maybe you had a bad
one, or perhaps the problem was confined to only certain lots. Mine was bought
new in late 1974.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

Wash the contacts with a baking soda solution if carbon batteries were used.
I have seen them use Coke to clean contacts if alkaline batteries were used
(theres got be something better without all that sugar). Regardless, flush
with distilled water and make sure it is 100% dry before reinserting the
batteries. Any ionic contamination with a applied power source will lead to
growth of blue crude. Let me repeat: make sure it is 100% dry before
reapplying power. Letting it sit in the sun for several days will help

In most cases, you will also loose any plating on the battery contacts.
Usually the base metal is steel with a nickel over plating. Most likey you
will have to take a piece of emory cloth to the battery contacts to polish
up the steel. Most likey, you will also have to repeat the the emory cloth
every time you replace the batteries (steel/iron likes to corrode/rust)

"Doug Miller" wrote in message
. net...
In article , "betsyb"
wrote:
And to think I waited 6 years for this info! I tossed a $500 scanner for
the
same reason. No one would take on the job of fixing my screwup!

Well, it's worked for me several times. First time I ever tried it was
after
accidentally dumping a marine aquarium onto my Texas Instruments SR-50
calculator, if that tells you how far back in the mists of time it
happened.
Calculator was about a year out of warranty, so I figured I had nothing to
lose by trying to clean it myself. Let's see... hmmm.... distilled water
will
get rid of the salt and other nasty stuff. What will get rid of the water?
Hmmmmm.... alcohol should do fine. And it did.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

On Thu, 12 Jul 2007 21:48:57 -0500, "jmagerl"
wrote:

Wash the contacts with a baking soda solution if carbon batteries were used.
I have seen them use Coke to clean contacts if alkaline batteries were used
(theres got be something better without all that sugar).

Diet Coke.

I've tried putting a little solder on the bare metal, but I forget how
well that worked.

On Jul 12, 4:29 pm, (Doug Miller) wrote:
In article , "betsyb" wrote:
And to think I waited 6 years for this info! I tossed a $500 scanner for the
same reason. No one would take on the job of fixing my screwup!

Well, it's worked for me several times. First time I ever tried it was after
accidentally dumping a marine aquarium onto my Texas Instruments SR-50
calculator, if that tells you how far back in the mists of time it happened.
Calculator was about a year out of warranty, so I figured I had nothing to
lose by trying to clean it myself. Let's see... hmmm.... distilled water will
get rid of the salt and other nasty stuff. What will get rid of the water?
Hmmmmm.... alcohol should do fine. And it did.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

Doug's right...dropped my pager ~10 years ago into an agitating washer
(soap & hot water)

fished it out, took out the batteries, rinsed it in distilled water,
then a little bit of alcohol ...popped it into the oven at ~150 for a
few hours

it worked!

cheers
Bob

In article .com, BobK207 wrote:

Doug's right...dropped my pager ~10 years ago into an agitating washer
(soap & hot water)

fished it out, took out the batteries, rinsed it in distilled water,
then a little bit of alcohol ...popped it into the oven at ~150 for a
few hours

it worked!

Yep -- electronics aren't harmed at all by getting wet. As long as the power
is off. And *stays* off until they're dry.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

On Jul 12, 7:36 pm, (Doug Miller) wrote:
In article , wrote:
My son left his hand-held combo calculator and electronic game lying
around unused for a long time, and the 3 AAA batteries inside the unit
became corroded and leaked onto the terminals. What can I use to clean
the terminals so that the unit is usable again?

Distilled water to clean up the leaked acid. Then denatured alcohol to wash
out the water. Allow to dry for at least 24 hours before inserting new
batteries.

Acid??????????????
I think such batteries (typical AAA etc.) contain 'alkaline' materials
not acid? Unless they are newer, rechargeable Ni-cad or lithium-ion.
After all the original LeClanche 'wet batteries' used Sal Ammoniac
(and btw were repairable/replenishable/reusable, unlike today's throw
aways). Also many 'batteries' one purchases are deemed 'Alkaline
cells'!
But sounds like good clean up advice.

On Fri, 13 Jul 2007 07:55:21 -0700, terry
wrote:

On Jul 12, 7:36 pm, (Doug Miller) wrote:
In article , wrote:
My son left his hand-held combo calculator and electronic game lying
around unused for a long time, and the 3 AAA batteries inside the unit
became corroded and leaked onto the terminals. What can I use to clean
the terminals so that the unit is usable again?

Distilled water to clean up the leaked acid. Then denatured alcohol to wash
out the water. Allow to dry for at least 24 hours before inserting new
batteries.

Acid??????????????
I think such batteries (typical AAA etc.) contain 'alkaline' materials
not acid? Unless they are newer, rechargeable Ni-cad or lithium-ion.
After all the original LeClanche 'wet batteries' used Sal Ammoniac
(and btw were repairable/replenishable/reusable, unlike today's throw
aways). Also many 'batteries' one purchases are deemed 'Alkaline
cells'!
But sounds like good clean up advice.

Don't forget carbon-zinc batteries, in AA, AAA, C, and D sizes and in
9-volt rectangular. They contain acid, and have been sold for at
least 60 years**. Most devices will run fine on "flashlight"
batteries, although the batteries don't last as long, and I guess cost
more per amp.

**Except I think the 9-volt ones. Anyone know how long the current
AA, AAA, C, and D sizes have been sold?

My copier repair people suggest leave the copy paper in a frost
free fridge, to dessicate it. Same likely works on a pager, and
less likely to melt plastic.

--

Christopher A. Young
You can't shout down a troll.
You have to starve them.
..

"Doug Miller" wrote in message
et...
: Doug's right...dropped my pager ~10 years ago into an
agitating washer
: (soap & hot water)
:
: fished it out, took out the batteries, rinsed it in distilled
water,
: then a little bit of alcohol ...popped it into the oven at
~150 for a
: few hours
:
: it worked!
:
: Yep -- electronics aren't harmed at all by getting wet. As long
as the power
: is off. And *stays* off until they're dry.
:
:

I can't remember for sure, but I think that I remember carbon
cells in the sixties. The alkalines came out in the seventies.

Radio Shack used to have gold and white cells, which were carbon
zinc. They changed to red and green. Red were carbons, and greens
were zinc chloride chemistry. And, the alkalines were gold.

I'm not good enough on history to remember how back carbon
batteries went. Wiki has an interesting article. I used to pull
carbon cells apart with pliers, and get the carbon rod out for
writing on the sidewalk. After the first one (the managanese
dioxide gets all over everything) Mom forbid further dissembly.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinc-carbon_battery

--

Christopher A. Young
You can't shout down a troll.
You have to starve them.
..

"mm" wrote in message
...
: Acid??????????????
: I think such batteries (typical AAA etc.) contain 'alkaline'
materials
: not acid? Unless they are newer, rechargeable Ni-cad or
lithium-ion.
: After all the original LeClanche 'wet batteries' used Sal
Ammoniac
: (and btw were repairable/replenishable/reusable, unlike
today's throw
: aways). Also many 'batteries' one purchases are deemed
'Alkaline
: cells'!
: But sounds like good clean up advice.
:
: Don't forget carbon-zinc batteries, in AA, AAA, C, and D sizes
and in
: 9-volt rectangular. They contain acid, and have been sold for
at
: least 60 years**. Most devices will run fine on "flashlight"
: batteries, although the batteries don't last as long, and I
guess cost
: more per amp.
:
: **Except I think the 9-volt ones. Anyone know how long the
current
: AA, AAA, C, and D sizes have been sold?

In article .com, terry wrote:
On Jul 12, 7:36 pm, (Doug Miller) wrote:
In article ,
wrote:
My son left his hand-held combo calculator and electronic game lying
around unused for a long time, and the 3 AAA batteries inside the unit
became corroded and leaked onto the terminals. What can I use to clean
the terminals so that the unit is usable again?

Distilled water to clean up the leaked acid. Then denatured alcohol to wash
out the water. Allow to dry for at least 24 hours before inserting new
batteries.

Acid??????????????
I think such batteries (typical AAA etc.) contain 'alkaline' materials
not acid?

Advice is the same: rinse thoroughly with distilled water, then with denatured
alcohol, and allow to dry.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.