Battery Corrosion in 1.5-Volt Battery Compartments

Electrical and electronic topics for small boats
Oldslowandugly
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Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2016 11:19 pm
Location: Queens NY

Battery Corrosion in 1.5-Volt Battery Compartments

Postby Oldslowandugly » Thu May 13, 2021 4:28 pm

I have [a boat electronic or electrical device that operates on 1.5-Volt batteries from a internal battery compartment]. I always check to make sure it has fresh batteries and it works before stowing it on board. This year it did not work.

I opened up [the unit] and found corrosion at the bottom of the internal battery wiring. I thought this odd since I keep it in an flare canister and sealed tight with electrical tape. No water ever gets inside. The only cause for the corrosion had to be from a battery.

I still had last year's batteries on hand. I always remove them at the end of a season. None looked like they had leaked. All three tested at 1.5-Volts. Nevertheless, the bottom of the copper battery wiring was corroded a bright green.

I removed the internal copper wiring and used some vinegar to neutralize the corrosion. Then I brightened the copper with some sandpaper.

When I put [the device] back together it worked like it should. To prevent any future damage I used some LANOCOTE anti-corrosion paste on all the copper contacts as well as the ends of the batteries.

jimh
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Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
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Re: Battery Corrosion in 1.5-Volt Battery Compartments

Postby jimh » Thu May 13, 2021 5:16 pm

Are you writing about AA Bateries?

Oldslowandugly
Posts: 717
Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2016 11:19 pm
Location: Queens NY

Re: Battery Corrosion in 1.5-Volt Battery Compartments

Postby Oldslowandugly » Thu May 13, 2021 5:56 pm

No, they are size "C". No visible signs of leakage.