Thread: A way to fix a prop that batteries have been left in?

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Has anyone had any luck getting a prop to work after the batteries have leaked inside it? Somebody gave me a prop and it looks like the batteries rusted inside the battery compartment. I would love to get it working again.. any thoughts?

The only thing I think you could do is go to radio shack and get a brand new battery compartment, and rewire it back into the prop. Then cross your fingers to hope it works and hope the battery damage didn't mess up the wires or other parts.

I have had batteries leak a few times. Mine always looked green and corroded but never rusted. What has always worked for me is to get a paper towel damp and wipe off the bad areas. Best of luck!

Have you tried putting new batteries in it and seeing if it will work?

I have had this occur several times. Try scratching the "white moldy stuff" off, I have had good luck just doing that. You can use an old tooth brush, or small metal brush to do this.

Now if you have the "oozy pussy" battery leakage, you could try using a baking powder and water mix and washing the terminals with that. Just be careful that you don't get the item too wet as it may mess up the innards. A lot of times it is just corrosion on the terminals and cleaning them will do the trick. I don't think the battery leaking really messes with the function of the unit.

Oh, and make sure for safety reasons you wear protective eyewear etc etc etc.

Good luck, and let us know!

We've had good luck cleaning off battery corrosion which is white generally, with an approach of using a screwdriver blade to scape off the corrosion and then cleaning off remaining corrosion with rubbing alcohol and Q-Tips. Aside from carefully removing the battery acid (don't get on skin and be sure to carefully dispose of) and cleaning the contacts, we've never had to do much more. You mentioned rust though so it's possible the wiring or contacts could have been compromised requiring something beyond the typical cleaning. As mentioned above, installing a new battery compartment might be the solution in that case.

You can neutralize the acid deposits with a mild solution of baking soda and water. It may foam a bit on contact, but will safely remove the crusty white deposits.

Exactly what Otaku said. Then slather a bit of dielectric grease on the contacts afterwards to protect them from oxidization afterwards, as the acid leaking out will readily eat through the cheap chrome plate on the terminals.

Thank you everyone. I really appreciate you taking the time to try and help but, I think the prop is dead.. The battery pack goes down inside the head of the prop so, it's very difficult to see or get to the top of it. I tried scraping it with a screwdriver and cleaning around the area but it still doesn't work. The funny thing is that all of you have mentioned white or green but this is a reddish brown color.. ?? Not sure what it is. The prop takes three AA batteries and it looks like just the middle one leaked so, I thought it may start working again.. not the case. But thanks anyway.. like I said before, I appreciate you all trying to help!

That just means it's already oxidized (rusted). If you use the baking soda and water method to neutralize the acid, you can then use a nail file board (or emery cloth, once it's dry ofc) to sand off the contacts. Test to make sure it's working, then go on to the next step, using dielectric grease to protect the contacts from further corrosion.

Oh, and yvw! Hope we can help you get it working again

I've always used sand paper or emery board and just cleaned off the spot the batteries touch..never bothered to really clean thoroughly and have had great success.