Battery Corrosion Cleaning

I have a 6D Mag w/ 5Watt Luxeon in it. Suddenly stopped working some time back. I thought it was the switch not making contact but finnaly today, I discovered that one of the Batteries had leaked acid and corroded in the battery pack. So now, about halfway down the pipe, there is a large mass of crap built up on the walls and you can hardly get a battery to pass through it. How can I clean this junk out, with what? Thanks
Cameron

Is your Luxeon module epoxied in or you can remove all the guts? If you can remove ALL the guts---did I say ALL? That means leaving nothing but the tube itself---then you can clean it with white viniger. You should try to break loose any chunks with a stick first. The corrosive liquid should be sodium hydroxide, not acid---unless you were using those "heavy duty" batteries that should not have entered the high power flashlight in the first place. Do not leave the tube in contact with viniger any longer than necessary, and remember to rinse it clean afterwards.

Nah, It was just using some regular Duracells. Here's the thing though, how the crap do I get the switch out? The LED is epoxied to a heatsink that just pops right into the light, but I cant figure out how to get the switch out. Does it unscrew? Whats the best tool to use? Thanks for the Reply,
Cameron

Added:

Remove the rubber switch button. Inside deep is a set screw. Inside the head area is a retaining ring on older units. On newer units with the screw loose the switch assembly falls out. With the retaining screw ring it comes out then the switch assembly. The set screw has a dog point that digs into the anodoizing so make sure any crud is removed around the contact point if necessary.

End of edit.

I had this happen some years back with a regular 2D mag. What I did was to remove the guts and put some sandpaper on a stick and chuck it up in a lathe, a drill press or hand drill would work as well, and buffed out all the crud until the batteries would pass thru again. Then I clear coated the insides with Krylon to keep it clean. You might want to run some vinegar or liquefied baking soda down the bore to neutralize any left over residue first. I don't remember if battery goo is acid or basic in this case.

I do know all of it must be removed and neutralized. In the old days it was recommended to pour Coca Cola over the corrosion. If you don't it will return.

With a luxeon installed it may not be possible to remove the heat sink and switch module. If so you may not be able to complete the cleanup if the damage got down to the switch assembly. Radical vivisection may be the only remedy. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/faint.gif

I can remove the LED and heatsink. It was specially made for this by someone here on CPF for me and just a few others. It easily pops out, but what I need to know is how to remove the swith assymbly. Does it screw out?
Cameron

Here are some instructions for Mag disassembly:
Order Outdoors Mag servicing
Basically, you pry off the rubber cover, then insert a hex wrench into the hole in the switch and loosen a setscrew.Then the switch assembly slides right out.

Then I'd follow the other suggestions - take everything off, then throughly wash the tube and scrape off all alkaline crud and aluminum corrosion. I'd probably omit the vinegar if the washing was very thorough. Then I would polish as smooth as possible again.

Of course, you could also send it to Duracell and make them pay for a new light (original Mag, I guess) under the terms of their leakage warranty.