Corroded battery

[U778706]

I'm trying to fix a friends watch. The battery failed some time ago and wasn't replaced, consequently it corroded in the watch. Does anyone have any advice how to solve this problem.

[parmenion31]

depends on the stage of corrosion, you might put another battery and the watch will run , if not then you try to clean it.

I dont know the movement but if its cheap better replace it

if you can post a picture please.

[parmenion31]

just out of curiocity what brand battery was in?

[U778706]

It's an omega with an eta 978.002 movement

[vinn3]

are you going to clean out the  corrosion in the battery chamber?

[parmenion31]

Its a fine watch then !

i would try to clean it first , if its still dead a new movement costs arount 40euro i think.

[Ishima]

I thought that cal. was obsolete. with a possible replacement with a Ronda cal. that i can't remember offhand.

leaked batteries usually fry the circuit board, but you can try removing the circuit and gently cleaning any corrosion/leakage off with Iso alcohol and cotton swabs. There are other ways to clean it if it's more stubborn. but try that first and add a new battery, you might be lucky. 
 

[U778706]

I've already carried out a gentle clean of the battery area, installed a new battery but no joy.

[U778706]

I believe there is a ronda calibre that is a good sub but apparently the dial feet aren't the same.

i might take your advice and try cleaning the circuit.

thanks all for the advice.

[Brian3]

If the circuit board is still good you can overhaul the movement, fairly simple job if you have the equipment, run everything except the circuit board and rotor thru a cleaning cycle, lubricate jewels very lightly with 9010 on rebuild.

Brian

[rogart63]

Probably has gone deeper into the movement? Corroded some wheels or the circuit board. Maybe could be serviced. You wan't now until you tried? 

Could try finding a donor watch? You should be able to find them in other watches? 

Ronda replacement is 751E 

I think you should try to repair it? Found a lot of old untested 978.002 movement on ebay. 

Much more fun then having a Ronda movement stuck in your Omega? 

Edited October 2, 2016 by rogart63

[parmenion31]

i am still curious about the batterys brand, energizer and sony i mostly use are great.

[Ishima]

Renata, Rayovac, Varta or unbranded, a broad bet, but the one I place. You're right about Sony and Energizer, Parmenion, they never leak unless left in watches years after draining, and even then it's usually very slight. 

[rodabod]

I'd buy a whole spare movement (or watch containing spare movement) from eBay and substitute it, assuming you are familiar with hand removal, dial removal and fitting. 

[MilTimeCan]

6 hours ago, U778706 said:

I've already carried out a gentle clean of the battery area, installed a new battery but no joy.

At this point, you might want to try soaking the movement in Naphta (Zippo or Ronsonol lighter fluid).

Naphta is a more aggressive solvent than iso alcool.  

I did this recently on a 2002 Rotary quartz watch movement with success.

Of course, results may vary depending on the extent of the corrosion, if the corrosion reaches the quartz oscillator (that's number 5 in the picture, the round tube), then the movement is toast because that's the main component of the watch. I have a friend who's an electrical engineer explain this to me before I attempted it.    

 

http://www.explainthatstuff.com/quartzclockwatch.html 

Now about the naphta.

There are two ways of trying this. You will need to remove the movement from the case.

1) Drip: Get a small shallow glass dish. Place the movement in a vertical position so the naphta will flow into the dish. Be gentle, a little goes a long way the point of the exercise is just to flush the acid corrosion out. Gently squeeze the bottle or can to let it drip in the battery cavity area. Carefully remove the movement and place it on a paper towel or thick napkin to allow the naphta to drain, do not try to air dry or blow on it to accelerate the drying otherwise it will fly all over. Wait at least 10 minutes, and then gently shake to see if any naphta remained in a cavity, it should drain out. If there was naphta, again wait a few minutes it will evaporate.

2) Immersion: Get a small shallow glass dish. Place a little bit of naphta in the bottom of the dish, just enough to cover 2 mm at most (the upper part of the battery cavity). Then carefully place the movement battery cavity side down into the dish. Very gently, agitate the dish from side to side to distribute the naphta.

Let sit for a minute or two, not too long the quartz occillator tube is sealed it should be alright if the corrosion hasn't reached the tube.

You will see some sediment at the bottom of the dish, that is the gunk inside your movement. Again, carefully remove the movement and place it on a paper towel or thick napkin to allow the naphta to drain, do not try to air dry or blow on it to accelerate the drying otherwise it will fly all over. Wait at least 10 minutes, and then gently shake to see if any naphta remained in a cavity, it should drain out. If there was any naphta, again wait a few minutes it will evaporate.

If you are concerned about attempting this, there are other great ideas on this site (they consider the different types of cell batteries):

http://great-british-watch.co.uk/how-to-spot-and-deal-with-watch-battery-leaks/        

Hope that helps.

    

Edited October 3, 2016 by MilTimeCan

[vinn3]

for most battery driven equipment,  a warm solution of baking soda in water will melt away that corrosion - JUST in the battery box. vinn