Leaky Battery Video Transcript

Leaky Battery Video Transcript

William: " Hello Makers!

Today we're going to try to fix some leaky alkaline battery damage on some electronics.

This is a pretty common situation that we've all probably ran into at some time.

I have two remotes and this little Altoids can synthesizer that need to be fixed.

First, though, why do Alkaline batteries leak?

Alkaline batteries produce our desired electric potential and current through the reaction of several different chemicals. A consequence of this reaction is the production of  hydrogen gas. As the battery is discharged and used, more of this hydrogen gas is produced. This increases the pressure inside the battery. If the battery is physically damaged or the pressure inside becomes too much it will rupture. Once ruptured, the alkaline battery will leak electrolytes and other chemicals. Of particular interest is Potassium Hydroxide. This chemical will leak out and react with the carbon dioxide in the air to form a crystalline Potassium Carbonate which will steadily creep out and get everywhere and follow metal connections like those found in circuit boards. The potassium carbonate can oxidize and damage copper and circuit board components.

What can we do to prevent this?

The potential for leakage is increased as the battery is discharged and depleted. Removing batteries from devices which are not in use will both remove batteries from a situation where leakage could damage the part as well as stop them from being drained slowly by whatever devices they are in. Keep your batteries away from extreme heat. Another potential solution is to use lithium batteries of the appropriate characteristics. Lithium cells have their own set of personality traits, but do not tend to leak in the same way that Alkaline batteries do.

Lets begin the cleanup!

Here are the tools you will need:

Screwdriver kit, this one has bits for opening devices

Something scrubby, I have q-tips

Some vinegar, preferably white but all i had was apple cider and that will work

And a pencil eraser

Our procedure is simple, we use acid to neutralize the basic Potassium Carbonate and we wipe away the battery leakage and clean up whatever corrosion we can see. Then we analyize the damage to see if it is fixed or fixable.

We’re just gonna open this up. Unfortunately neither of my remotes today have screws. Its plastic tension tabs all over.

Now to apply a q tip and scrub away. You’ll notice some fizzing!

Let it dry and grab the pencil eraser to help scrub and polish the conductive surfaces to get them ready.

Now lets reassemble it and test it!

It works! Great Job!

Lets quickly do the next remote.

This one fought me a bit but it worked out in the end.

The synthesizer is much more nasty. The remotes were designed in a way that minimized damage to their components in the case of leakage. This may or may not have been intentional design but it is handy. On the synthesizer here, the leakage has got everywhere. It got under the solder mask and all over the copper traces. This one may not work anymore, which is a shame as it was a lot of fun.

I'm gonna have to take out some battery tabs and a switch in order to clean underneath them and see the damage.

I lost a copper trace in the corrosive damage. That is sort of the worst situation to be in.

This particular item is going to take a lot more work. I’ve done a little since the recording of this footage and it will take more work than is really within the scope of this video. Let this be a stark warning about battery leakage."

-William