Advice in preparation of Apollo 1240 battery removal
 

Hi there

I have an Apollo 1240 card for my A1200, tucked away somewhere in a packing box from when I moved. It has never been used and is still in its packaging and box but I fear that the NiCd battery will have done its worst. I am planning on going through all my boxes at the weekend to find it and then remove the battery.

If it has leaked, will the following work ...

Remove battery
Clean around any corroded areas with a cotton bud soaked in vinegar to neutralise the acid.
Clean several times with a cotton bud soaked in IPA
Leave to dry (and pray!)

I do not have any fancy kit for cleaning, but have ordered some IPA. If it is really bad I will have to send it to someone to attempt a repair. But is my immediate approach to this the right thing to do?

Thanks
Neil

Good luck with it :great You might also find THIS useful :)

Thank you!

I don't have a stiff brush, will need to get one just in case. Would a new toothbrush be ok?

Also, is it ok to use normal white vinegar to neutralise the acid if present (the sort I would find in the supermarket) or do I need a particular type?

Hi all

Thought I would let you know how I got on today. I eventually found my Apollo 1240 card and very cautiously opened the box it came in ... I wrote an account of what happened next and took a few pics which I will add at the end ...

After carefully removing the battery with fine-blade cutters, I initially cleaned the area using a cotton bud soaked in lemon juice to see how deep the acid had set in. It cleaned up well straight away but the jumper pins and jumpers were looking a little green in places.
Jumpers removed, I then gently cleaned the area with a new toothbrush dipped in lemon juice for about 10 minutes. I then left the area to soak in a little lemon juice for a while, before repeating the cleaning with my toothbrush. Again I left the lemon juice to soak in to those little nooks and crannies. I placed the jumpers into a little pot of lemon juice and left then to soak for an hour, before cleaning with the toothbrush, getting the bristles right in there!
I left the board to dry for an hour and then cleaned the whole area with IPA for about 10 minutes, then leaving the board to dry for another hour. At the same time I placed the jumpers into some IPA to soak for an hour.
I decided to “just make sure” I had fully neutralised all the acid by returning to cleaning the area with lemon juice and my tooth brush, then leaving a little on the areas for a further hour. The jumpers spent another hour soaking in lemon juice too.
Final clean of the area with IPA and my toothbrush and left the board to dry for an hour. Jumpers also soaked again in IPA for 1 hour.
A quick final, very gentle clean up of the area and all chips with a cotton bud dipped in IPA (I got some “special” cotton buds from RS Electronics especially suited to cleaning electronics).
I really hope that I have saved this board. To be fair, the battery leakage looked minimal when I first opened up the Apollo card’s box (compared to some cards I have seen online) so think I have been very lucky!

Not sure if I can attach the pics I took. Can this be done from my iPhone? I have uploaded them but how do I attach them to my post?

All the best
Neil

Hi, thought I would post a few "Before" and "After" pics of the Apollo 1240 battery removal and cleanup ...

The board having just removed the battery, complete with battery leakage ...

https://eab.abime.net/attachment.php...1&d=1594896040

And after cleanup ...

https://eab.abime.net/attachment.php...1&d=1594896040

Close up of the clock timer chip F74 after cleanup ...

https://eab.abime.net/attachment.php...1&d=1594896040

Looks like you got there in time, no significant PCB damage (maybe a little discoloration under the mask where the ground "grid" is) and the components seem okay too after cleaning.

All looks pretty nice to me :great More importantly though... does it actually run?

Thanks Musashi5150 :). I haven’t got round to testing it yet as my machines are in storage. I’m hoping I have caught it in time and have saved it but will have to be patient I guess until I can test it.