Toshiba T3200SX Question

From: Tothwolf <tothwolf_at_concentric.net>
Date: Fri Jan 4 17:54:10 2002

On Fri, 4 Jan 2002 CLeyson_at_aol.com wrote:

> Thanks for the advice. Found the battery, or rather what's left of it.
> Whatever it is that leaks or gasses out of Lithium batteries has eaten
> into most of the steelwork. I will have to replace the floppy drive
> and clean up metalwork. :-(

Are you sure it's a Lithium battery? I think most of these used NiCads,
and recharged them when they were powered.

You can remove NiCad leftovers from the boards/parts with vinegar after
removing the battery. You need to remove all traces of vinegar once you
are done, otherwise it will damage copper traces and other metals. I apply
a paste mixture of baking soda and water after rinsing the vinegar off,
and work over the area with a small plastic brush. The baking soda will
neutralize any remaining vinegar, and seems to be just abrasive enough to
clean off most of the corrosion without further damaging the copper
traces. After a mild scrubbing, I rinse the baking soda off with a kitchen
sprayer, and run the board through the dishwasher. Not all boards can or
should be washed in the dishwasher, however.

This process also works for alkaline batteries, since the NiCad mess is
also a strong alkaline.

I number of the boards I repaired after the Houston floods had damage from
the Lithium coin cells around the holders. It was an dark orange-red color
and didn't seem to be highly alkaline or acidic. A thorough cleaning with
baking soda and a plastic brush seemed to get rid of this stuff.

-Toth
Received on Fri Jan 04 2002 - 17:54:10 GMT