Remote control battery leak

[Bert Coules]

I have a Philips Pronto universal remote control which has been stored away for a year or so. Unfortunately, as I discovered today, the batteries were left in place (I can tell by the weight). The slide-off battery cover is now completely unslideable and I suspect that one or more of the batteries has leaked, sealing the cover tightly shut.

If I'm right then the unit is probably a write off anyway but, just in case, is there anything which might persuade the cover to become moveable again? Mild heat? Cold? A quick poke with an angle grinder?

Many thanks.

[harryagain]

WD40? Won't hurt the elctronics either.

[cl]

Water. It'll dissolve the grot.

[Bert Coules]

Thanks for the suggestions. The cover seems to be so tightly sealed there's a chance that neither water nor WD40 will be able to penetrate, but I'll give both a try.

[fred]

In article , Bert Coules writes

Soaking on its back in a v shallow bath may be the way forward, it should restrict the wetting to the area away from the board and membrane contacts. I'd definitely suggest water first on grounds of minimal contamination.

You may need to dismantle further later to get a proper clean but one step at a time.

If that fails then you could try the plastic shim method of dismantling the case, without taking the batt cover off. It's pretty likely it will be a fully clipped together case with no screws and so may 'just'[1] pop apart. Isopon plastic filler spreaders have about the right degree of sharpness/stiffness.

[1] with judicious shim wiggling in the case split and minimum force

[Bill]

In message , fred writes

It would be worth while still trying to remove the battery cover first, a number of clip together housings do have a single screw inside the battery compartment securing the outer shell.

[Tricky Dicky]

If the batteries have swollen that might be what's jamming the cover on.

Richard

[Brian Gaff]

That will be the least of your problems. The corrosion of the battery terminals will probably render it,um terminal. Strangely wd 40 can often be used to dislodge the cover, but as I say, I had a cordless phone which some idiot had but put dry cells in that leaked and all the connections were knknackered. Brian

[Bert Coules]

Brian, thanks. I agree, the remote is probably now an ex-remote. But it looks as if I'm not going to have the chance of finding out: after trying WD40 (sprayed), water (dripped) and more water (with the unit left to soak), the battery compartment lid is as unbudgeable as ever.

[Bill]

In message , Bert Coules writes

With not a lot left to lose try hitting it. Not to destroy it, but a few solid blows and deformation of the lid, may break what ever is sticking it in place.

[newshound]

Agreed. Given that it is otherwise dead you could "sand" the cover off with an abrasive disk in an angle grinder, or on a bench belt sander. That's if it won't pry off destructively using a chisel.

[Bert Coules]

The cover is off. A combination of short sharp hits followed by much pushing, squeezing and sliding finally did the trick. I'm trying not to dwell on the fact that subsequent experiments have revealed the necessity not only of sliding the lid but also simultaneously pressing down on it - I'm quite sure that is what I had been doing. Well, fairly sure.

I was right about the batteries having leaked but the internal damage didn't look too bad. Unfortunately though, after a thorough clean and the insertion of new batteries, the remote still shows no signs of life. So more playing around to come.

Many thanks to everyone for all the contributions.

[Huge]

Pop it in the airing cupboard for a while.

[Bert Coules]

Thanks for the idea but it might not be necessary. Looking closer, one of the coiled contact springs in the battery compartment is extremely corroded: I'll try cleaning the end and see if that makes any difference.