The X10 RF Remote Control in the kitchen stopped working, which could mean only one thing: a set of dead AAA cells.
A negative terminal in the battery compartment showed the expected corrosion:
The corrosion evidently pushed the cell away from the terminal just enough to starve the remote.
The cells, on the other paw, looked just fine:
They’d been in there a year, sported a date code that’s still a few years in the future, and had a 1.3 V loaded output. Looks like that little bit of corrosion gave me enough of a heads-up to get the cells out before they rotted.
The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning 
Comments
2 responses to “More Alkaline Battery Corrosion”
So what do you do about corroded terminals to get them working again without mangling them? I’ve tried fine sandpaper on the end of a stick but I’m hoping for something more sophisticated. I have these visions of you electro-etching it and then replating it.
I use a bit of vinegar on a cotton swab to knock down the pH, dab it off with water, let it sit around to dry out, and move on. When I’m feeling especially industrious, I add some Caig DeOxit Red to keep the surface from getting all gritty and intermittent.
You’re supposed to check all your batteries every year, but as nearly as I can tell that wouldn’t do any good. They look fine, right up until they get The Rot. Besides, that starts feeling a lot like work.