Leaking battery repair????

[abunaitoo]

I'm sure we've all had this happen.
Flashlight still works, but it's not as bright as normal.
Open it up and UGGGGGG!!!!
Battery leaked into the flashlight, and it's corroded.
What is the best way to remove the corrosion, and keep it from coming back????

[dilly]

The corrosion can be easily dissolved with coke or vinegar or some mild acid.

Be careful not to short the electronics on your flashlight with the aqueous solutions.

[bangerjim]

What kind of battery?????? Makes a big difference and you did not tell us.

If alkaline, just brush it off & rinse with water.

If old carbon/zinc neutralize with baking soda. Rinse and hope the internal acid did not eat your flashlight up!

If NiCD or NiMH.......those normally do not leak much, but still are alkaline-based and some mild acid should help clean it up.

If you are talking one of those MagLites...........good luck getting the batteries out!!!! I hate MagLites, because the tube is just large enough to slip the batteries in and if one ever swells, you are up the crick.

Best way to prevent it? Change the batteries on a regular basis!

banger

[GOPHER SLAYER]

I have never been able to bring back a flashlight after the battery exploded. I tried all the above. I have a nice three D=cell Maglite that I can't bring myself to throw away since it was a gift from a good friend. I keep thinking I will send it back for repairs but I just never seem to get er done. By the way that company is great to do business with. I recently called and asked if I could order a spring for one of the newer Maglites. They asked for my address and mailed it to me with never any mention of payment. What I dislike about the newer flashlights is the fact that once they build a slight resistance anywhere in the unit they go out. I have to bang them against something to get them to light again. Am I the only one that has that problem?

[Petrol & Powder]

Flashlight = A metal tube used to store dead batteries.

[bob208]

in the old days if a battery leaked you sent the flashlight to the battery people and they sent you a new flashlight. those batteries were Eveready.

[bangerjim]

in the old days if a battery leaked you sent the flashlight to the battery people and they sent you a new flashlight. those batteries were Eveready.
YES! did it many times as a kid. They always replaced the flashlight when the old carbon/zinc acid based batteries would eat thru and ruin the light.

I have had alkaline batteries leak and the white stuff is not aggressive at all. Just scrape it off, clean the connections and put new batteries in. This happens a LOT with the quartz clocks I have scattered around. Forget to change them out and they do leak a bit.

Mabe the OP will tell us what kind of batteries he is referring to so we can advise some ideas.

bangerjim

[joesig]

in the old days if a battery leaked you sent the flashlight to the battery people and they sent you a new flashlight. those batteries were Eveready.
Kinda still true. In Mag-Lites case, the shipping to Canada was in the neighborhood of just buying a new flashlight.

[bhn22]

I swore off Eveready batteries ages ago. I've never had a set of them that didn't leak and trash the light. And yes, I do have several MagLights.

[MaryB]

We used a ton of AA cell maglites at the casino. I built a jig to force out bad batteries. Take off battery cap and the light end so all you have is the battery body, find a dowel about the same inner diameter. I drilled a hole part way into a piece of oak that was the exact outer diameter of the tube then at the bottom a hole the size of the batteries. Set it in the board and start tapping, they will pop free and come out. WD40, cutting oil etc helps to free it up too

[bangerjim]

DuraCell's are the only batteries I ever use. Eveready's just do not seem to hold up in all the stuff I use batteries in. That is for alkaline.

Just avoid the Kirkland brand and the junk they sell at HF.

For NiMH's I buy the highest AH rated cells I can find. There are a lot of good ones out there.

[abunaitoo]

These are Alkaline batteries. Duracell.
From what I've read, they have some kind of liquid inside them.
Is that what's leaking out????
I always thought it was acid leaking when the battery went dead.

[mold maker]

I have 2 Maglites with the Eveready Alkaline affliction. what's the cheapest fix? Or where is the cheapest service including shipping.

[Tackleberry41]

Generally by the time you realize the batteries are leaking it usually to late. I had a mag light that it had corroded clean thru, and how I discovered it had leaking batteries. Usual problem is getting the old batts out. Thats your standard inline set up. Most anymore are the little AAA bundled batt packs, once they corrode, generally don't last long even if fixed.

[bangerjim]

The only way to get alk batteries out of a stupid Maglite is to drill them out. When they start oozing stuff, they swell up and the tolerance of the tube is so tight, it only takes a couple hundredths of an inch to wedge the batteries in permanently. Been there done that.

A forstner bit of a smaller diameter on an extension is about the only way. Once you get a ~1" hole down the center, you can dig the rest of the gunk out. But you will probably never get new batteries back in! I did it in a lathe. I would not attempt it with a simple hand drill because the bit will wander. But the thing is ruined right now anyway! So anything you do is better than nothing.

The stuff leaking out is the alkaline solution. It WILL attack aluminum! The MagLite is made of........wait for it.................anodized aluminum.

There are far better choices of flashlights than MagLite. It is an old school design very popular in the past. With new uber-hi intensity CRE LED's and LiON battery technology, you do not need that huge long heavy tube that gets batteries stuck in it. I have several lights that use a single ~4V Lion rechargeable battery and an 800 lumen (!!) single LED radiator that will blind you. It is 5x as bright as my old 3 cell Maglites and weighs only a few ounces. The LiON batteries last for almost forever on a charge.....and recharge in only 1 hour....either plugging into a 120vAC outlet or the 12VDC cig adaptor in the car. The flashlight has it's own charging circuit inside to insure pa perfect charge everytime.

I even have one that has solar cells on the side that charge the light while it is just laying under a lamp or in the sun. And has a 5vdc USB port to power/charge my iPhone/iPad! 500 lumens from a single LED!. Amazing.

Look around before sinking any money in a MagLite!

banger

[rr2241tx]

Years ago I replaced the bulbs in our MagLites with LEDs and the batteries are stored near, but not IN the flashlight. Batteries last much longer and there's no corroded-in battery issues. Not very handy for emergencies but beats the heck out of having no flashlight.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

My 2¢
time to upgrade to LED torch with Lith-ion batteries...like what Wiljens sells in GB.
I've sold some of my mag lites at last years local gunshow, and the last few I have will go on the table this september.

[CastingFool]

Maglite will not do anything for you if the batteries have leaked out and corroded the insides. However, if corrosion is not the issue, they seem to go all out for you. I sent them a 3D Maglite that the off/on switch was bad and they replaced it, along with a new lens. I also sent them one of the new high intensity LED minimaglite my son had found in a dumpster and gave it to me. (He knows I like Maglites) and they fixed it at n/c. I simply dropped it off at one of their service centers, but I had business to do in that town anyway.

[abunaitoo]

The flashlight is a LED type.
It's one of those flashlight wand combos.
Three AAA batteries that fit into a holder.
Was still stuck, but I got it out with no damage.
It has a magnet on the bottom, so I stick to the inside top of the gun safe.
I hope I can clean it out. Works great for the safe.

[Petrol & Powder]

Flashlights are a lot like guns; thousands of variations with an equal number of opinions and no one is wrong :wink:......
Before we wander too far off the reservation let's not forget that it is a portable tool used to produce temporary illumination and ther eae plenty of ways to accomplish that goal.
I gave my girlfriend one of those "shake up" flashlights because there's no possible way she would ever replace batteries or maintain them. It's not a great light but it always works. Add a wind up LED lantern and radio and you have a maintenance free set up that will at least work.
I gave my father a rack mounted rechargeable flashlight because it is always in the same place and will work when he needs it. It's all about fitting the right tool for the job.

LED, NiMh, Li-Ion, solar, wind-up, halogen, blah, blah, blah......... Pick what works for you !
I actually use a carbide miners lamp and a kerosene lantern along with my mag lights and LED flashlights.
It's a big toolbox !!

[TheDoctor]

Sounds like a nebo. Had one, boyos swear they didn't take it anywhere.....

[shaune509]

The new led's are nice and bright but I still like the size of a good 4d maglite for its nightstik use. Have one china made 'mag' like 4d that has the switch section threaded to the battiery tube, much better design for service and it was less $$$.
shaune509

[Petrol & Powder]

I had one of those years ago. Brinkman ? IIRC ? You could swap the tubes around and make it a 2 cell, 3 cell or a 5 cell and you could attach the switch to either end. You had to change the bulb to match the number batteries but it was actually a pretty tough light.

[brassrat]

So I check my 3 cell ML that sits and never used. Clean as can be and works. The batteries are Energizers that say use by 2008, so they are like 15 yrs old lol. I changed them and hope for no problems now

[BrentD]

Box it up and send it back to the manufacturer along with a receipt for the one you bought to replace it - works for me.