How to fix battery corrosion in Walkman battery pack?

March 17, 2019 10:30 AM

I opened up my Walkman Pro (WM-D6C) and found that, however long ago I'd last used it, a) I'd left batteries in the battery pack, and b) they corroded. I cleaned it up a bit and tried new batteries, but no luck. (The unit's otherwise functional, as it works with the AC adapter) Here are some photos of the unit: https://imgur.com/a/zBoOyfq

Is there a way to remove the corrosion and make this battery pack functional again? Replacements for this pack are not readily available, if my quick scan of Amazon and eBay is any indication.

Thanks for your help.

posted by the sobsister to Technology (7 answers total)

I fixed this problem in my label maker by using vinegar.
posted by jgirl at 10:41 AM on March 17, 2019 [2 favorites]

Seconding vinegar, but even just plain abrading the metal that comes in contact with the battery with a file or sandpaper to expose un-corroded metal would likely be enough to fix the issue.
posted by Aleyn at 1:44 PM on March 17, 2019

For heavy corrosion like that, I would use sandpaper to get down to clean metal.
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 3:55 PM on March 17, 2019

Best answer: That looks fairly light, but there's a load of alkaline electrolyte there. Dilute vinegar, or better, dilute lemon juice on cotton swabs works best. Dab some on, watch it fizz off , repeat (replacing cotton swabs every now and again). Once the residue is gone, repeat the dabbing with cotton swabs soaked in clean/distilled water. Run an emery board over any contacts until there's some bright metal visible. Let dry, and you should be good.

I've resurrected a Simpson meter so coated in goo that the needle wouldn't move this way.
posted by scruss at 5:48 PM on March 17, 2019 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks to all for your suggestions. I’ll give them a try and report back.
posted by the sobsister at 6:09 PM on March 17, 2019

(If the holder is a write-off, making these niche little plastic doohickeys is what 3D printing is for. I'm not seeing an exact replacement on Thingiverse, but someone else will likely have had this problem too.)
posted by scruss at 9:27 AM on March 18, 2019

Response by poster: I used a lemon solution with some Q-tips, and, voila, all the gunk vanished or fizzed off. A little file abrasion, and the unit is now back to working order. Many thanks, all, for saving me money and effort to try to replace this piece!
posted by the sobsister at 12:05 PM on March 18, 2019 [2 favorites]