Help- Corrosion

I was bad, and neglected one of my favorite lights for a while. When I found it dead, and pulled out the batteries it had a fair amount of corrosion in it. The batteries were alkaline AAs. Is there anything which will dissolve corrosion from alkaline batteries without hurting the light? I know the phosphoric acid in many colas will clean the terminals of lead acid (car) batteries, and so I tried this in the light- but no go. Anyone else have any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

Energizer recommends initially trying vinegar. Pour some in, let fizz, dump out, repeat... As long as the alkali didn't bite too deep you should be okay.

I think this can increase resistance in the light. Flashlights tend to have lots of assembled, non-soldered connections that are easily damaged by corrosion.

Don't most major alkaline battery companies promise to repair or replace devices damaged by their batteries?

Have you tried using some aluminum foil on the corrosion? Try rubbing the foil on the corroded spots. It should remove the bulk of the corrosion. This works really well on the coil spring. As mentioned previously, Duracell, Energizer, and other major battery companies will pay for whatever their batteries have damaged. Just call or e-mail them. Duracell paid for my new
PT-Surge and its shipping costs when their batteries leaked inside it. Good Luck.

"Don't most major alkaline battery companies promise to repair or replace devices damaged by their batteries?"

Is this only the case when following their terms and conditions or whatever its called? If the packing says do not leave in light when not in use, will they still repair/replace? Interesting thing, this battery issue. I had not heard of such a thing before

Tim.

Duracell guarantee: "Should any device be damaged due to a battery defect, we will repair or replace it, at our option, if it is sent with the batteries to Duracell Consumer Service, Berkshire Corporate Park, Bethel, CT" 06801.http://gillette.custhelp.com/cgi-bi...mFueX4mcF9zb3J0X2J5PWRmbHQmcF9wYWdlPTE*&p_li=

Energizer guarantee: "We will repair or
replace, at our option, any device damaged by this battery if it is sent with
batteries to Energizer. Guarantee void if user or device recharges battery."
http://data.energizer.com/PDFs/non-rechargeable_FAQ.pdf

In probably another two weeks or so, I'll let you know from actual experience. Had three (3!) leaks all from Energizer. I sent all three back under their warranty. Mag2C, Solitaire, Stylus. In each case the batteries were totally jammed in and unremovable. In the two Mags, the endcaps got stuck from the corrosion and I was unable to even open them. I happen to know that the expiration dates were 2007+ so it wasn't as if I had really old batteries.

My experience so far was relatively painless. Call their 800 number, ask for customer service, was told "sorry" and a free mailing tag was sent out. Boxed the lights up, stuck the tag on and threw into the mail. Was told it would be evaluated by their techs and would take about 4 weeks or so. Will just have to wait and see how it all comes out.

Btw, I had a Stylus Reach go bad at the same time. Bad conductor or blown LED - not sure. Called SL, was told it wasn't even necessary to call them for an RMA, just mail whatever it was into them attn: Repair and include return info and description of the problem. I just received a nice, new Stylus Reach in the mail. No fuss, no muss, no bother. Definite reason for me to continue buying more SL stuff. Now, if they'd only come out with a 2x123 with a tactical impact bezel...

Followup on my stuck batteries in my three flashlights. Recap - Mag 2C, Solitaire, Stylus - all with stuck Energizer batteries. All batts fairly new. I called Energizer, they sent me a label, I mailed them all back. Well, today I got a letter apologizing for the problem and a check attached - $55 for all three!

As long as Energizer keeps standing behind their batt's and this doesn't happen too often, I'll keep buying them.