Need help with my old Mini Maglite

[Meezer918]

Hello All,

New guy here needing some advice. So I am trying to bring my old 2AA Mini Mag back to life and it's not going well. Please note that this is all for purely sentimental reasons. I know I can get another one for like 15.00 bucks. But I've had this one for a while, and I want to keep it.

The background on the light is as follows:

I bought the light around 20 years ago. It worked great for a long time. At some point it got put into storage and it had the infamous battery leak. I get the batteries out. Soak it in Coca Cola and scrub it out. I order a brand-new switch assembly. New batteries and ordered a 2 pack of the bulbs. I install the new switch assembly and a new bulb, and it immediately takes off working. I play with it for a few minutes. Then it flickers and goes out. Won't come back on. The second bulb got a slightly bent pin. It would insert, but not come on.

I figure its bad bulbs, as everything else in the chain is new. So, I order an LED module from Amazon thinking it would work. It did not.

So, I'm at a bit of a loss. I'm thinking it must be some sort of a contact issue, perhaps? Or can past corrosion in the barrel actually prevent the new parts from working? Anyone have any tips on what it might be?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[ABTOMAT]

The critical part is the inner rim of the tube that the switch butts up against. There's a ring of bare metal the switch contact needs to have a good connection with. My guess would be there some corrosion on there that's keeping the switch from completing the circuit with the body tube. Take the switch out and have a peek down the tube. If it's hard to manually clean (steel wool, brass brush, etc) I'd soak the bare tube in vinegar for a couple days to turn the corrosion into paste.

 

[bykfixer]

On top of this 👆 is the spring clean?

 

[Meezer918]

The critical part is the inner rim of the tube that the switch butts up against. There's a ring of bare metal the switch contact needs to have a good connection with. My guess would be there some corrosion on there that's keeping the switch from completing the circuit with the body tube. Take the switch out and have a peek down the tube. If it's hard to manually clean (steel wool, brass brush, etc) I'd soak the bare tube in vinegar for a couple days to turn the corrosion into paste.

Thanks for the reply. I will go back and look at this. Ill try the vinegar thing.

 

[Meezer918]

On top of this 👆 is the spring clean?

Spring and end cap are shiny and clean. Spring appears to be making good contact to battery.

 

[Meezer918]

The critical part is the inner rim of the tube that the switch butts up against. There's a ring of bare metal the switch contact needs to have a good connection with. My guess would be there some corrosion on there that's keeping the switch from completing the circuit with the body tube. Take the switch out and have a peek down the tube. If it's hard to manually clean (steel wool, brass brush, etc) I'd soak the bare tube in vinegar for a couple days to turn the corrosion into paste.

This worked. I soaked it in vinegar. Found a brass barrel brush out of a gun cleaning kit and started scrubbing. Worked like a charm. My old mini mag is back in action. Thank you for the advice. Its much appreciated.

 

[sween1911]

Awesome! As much as we love our super bright and efficient LED's, the beauty of old school incans is you can always get it running again with bulbs and batts.

I always has a Minimag around, great lights!

 

[ABTOMAT]

Awesome, glad to hear it. That contact ring inside the body is often overlooked. It easily becomes corroded but it's hard to see or clean.

 

[Meezer918]

Awesome! As much as we love our super bright and efficient LED's, the beauty of old school incans is you can always get it running again with bulbs and batts.

I always has a Minimag around, great lights!

I know there is better out there, but I just love my old Maglites. And I did upgrade to an LED module for it. I've added LED modules to all but one of my Mags. Much brighter light now.

 

[Buck91]

Does Evap-Rust work on aluminum corrosion as well? I'm not sure how the chemical reaction works.

 

[ABTOMAT]

Evaporust has some mystery juice in the recipe and it's billed as not acidic. Supposed to dissolved rust through other chemical processes. Acids are what dissolve aluminum corrosion the best. But not very strong ones. I've tried phosphoric acid and it works fast but starts etching pretty quickly. With vinegar you can leave it for weeks without harm in most cases and it'll still turn the battery leakage into paste.

Don't use any base/caustic chemicals. That'll strip the anodizing right off.

 

[Monocrom]

Good old Vinegar.
No mystery juices for my lights.

 

[Dave_H]

Would Hydrogen Peroxide (3%) solution work for a case like this? I find it to work on
metal contacts affected by leakage. Large bottle is cheap at Dollar Tree.

Dave

 

[Dave_H]

Would Hydrogen Peroxide (3%) solution work for a case like this? I find it to work on
metal contacts affected by leakage. Large bottle is cheap at Dollar Tree.

Dave