ScuzzBlog: Diaries November 2023
Entry 20th November 2023: Post 1: Amiga 500 Plus battery damage - Cleaning up.
Amiga 500 Plus battery damage - Cleaning up.
I made some comments recently on a well known forum about the A500
Plus and battery issues and I thought I would repeat them here ..
As to cleaning, the Isoprop can only do so much given the hardened
nature of the corrosion. Like rust on a metal gate at some point
you will need to get more abrasive. White vinegar will soften the
corrosion and dissolve some but when evaporated simply leaves a
residue of that which it attacked. That is where the baking soda
or bicarb comes in cus that is basically an abrasive to remove the
softened corroded material left by the vinegar. Eventually you have
to literally scrape off the green stuff and that can be very damaging
to tracks, circuits and tinning to chip legs. Most videos show repairs
as aggressive as scraping the whole board to its copper and rebuilding
tracks with wires. Chips and sockets are simply de soldered and
replaced.
Its a pretty heartless job to be honest and even if you manage to
restore the board you are likely to have to keep coming back to it.
What you can't see is the damage to components that are quite a
distance from the battery.
Whilst many like the full on aggressive process I tend to be a
little more guarded. I remove the battery and as much of the green
as I can with vinegar and bicarb and keep working the area and
abrade where I can to remove hardened corrosion. I then test the
board and circuits to see if any of it is working and make a
judgement if it is worth rebuilding. Interestingly I have had 500
Plus machines look totally fine and then removed the ROM chip and
have a socket clip/foot come out with the chip leg.
One other thing and that is to remove the board completely and
have a look at the back.
PS A lot of damage to motherboards is actually a combination of
the battery plus environmental issues such as damp locations and
places of dramatic temperature shifts. Also standing on end and
allowing insects to move freely in and out of the machine causes
problems. The little white dots all over the top of the floppy
is caused by spider droppings and its corrosive. When left to move
freely inside a computer they can cause real damage,
The board is not a lost cause but will be a real challenge to the
most dedicated of restorers. I do wish you the best of luck. I have
repaired many A500 Plus machines and even today I have a strict
rotation of checking them and photographing damaged a
Amiga 500 Plus battery damage - Cleaning up.
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Last updated 20th November 2023
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