Replacing a corroded "AA" battery box - Greatest America Hero Instruction Manual

[Starganderfish]

I recently picked up a copy of the Greatest American Hero Collectors Edition Box Set from eBay. Really enjoy the show and nice to have the discs (though it's available for streaming on Prime). The main reason to purchase was to add the included "Instruction Manual" prop to my collection.
It's a really nice piece, the lenticular print on the inside cover that switches from Alien to Engliish is a beautiful touch.
The listing was very clear about the state of everything - all components are included but the Manual has had battery leakage and electronics no longer work, so I knew what I was getting. Looks like a bit of water stain or damage on the silver title page as well, which I'll try and gently clean.

I'm contemplating whether I can repair/replace the battery compartment and get it working again. Has anyone done this before? Replacing corroded battery terminals/compartments on old toys or props.

I've opened it up and I can see where the leakage has corroded the wire connecting to the battery compartment but for the most part, everything else looks in good shape. I'm a reasonably competent amateur when it comes to soldering and nothing here looks too tricky.
What are my chances of success likely to be?

My initial thought, after giving it a once over, would be to remove the wiring from the battery compartment, pop the corroded terminals out and replace them, then resolder the connectors and see how it goes. I think it's just three parts. The Positive, The Negative and the Dual connectors. If I can avoid having to pry the plastic battery box out that would be ideal.
I found a AA battery compartment at a local electronics store for a few dollars and I'm thinking I can remove the terminals from that. New terminals are only a few cents each online, but nowhere local sells them so it's either wait for a month to get them from China or pay $25 shipping!!

 

[Starganderfish]

The book istelf is pretty cool. The construction is almost entirely solid acrylic, theres a bunch of LED's inside for lighting the spine, tabs and the icons. The graphics on the inside aren't terribly accurate to the screenshots from the Season 3 opener which I think is the only time we see the inside of the book in the show.
Of course that's the second version of the book, because Ralph lost the first book in the pilot episode. He of course almost immediately loses the 2nd book as well so screenshots of the prop from the show are few.
I think I read somewhere that a new prop was constructed for the 3rd Season episode, and was cosmetically different to the original, so it's possible the replica from the collection is based on the first one.

Even if I can't get the existing internals working, it's a very cool display piece and there's plenty of room in the interior to gut it and install some new lighting. Aside from the on/off switch on the back there doesn;t seem to be any other additional functionality, which makes sense, we didn;t see it do anything other than light up in the show, though it does look like Ralph is pressing some buttons and the green text kind of looks like it's meant to be a display screen.
Very happy with this piece as is, and will be even happier if I can get it to light up.
Ultimately, I'd love to buy a copy of the suit (there's a few around online) and build the black box from the pilot episode that the suit came in.
It's a relatively basic construction using black opaque acrylic, some drawer slides and some prismatic plastic sheets and basic LED lights. But that jobs a few years away, if ever.

 

[moviebuff5]

If they were alkaline batteries, it might be as simple as cleaning the terminals with white vinegar and a cotton swab. Then neutralize the vinegar (or at least rinse well) to avoid further deterioration. I have used that to recover several items that had batteries leak.

 

[Starganderfish]

If they were alkaline batteries, it might be as simple as cleaning the terminals with white vinegar and a cotton swab. Then neutralize the vinegar (or at least rinse well) to avoid further deterioration. I have used that to recover several items that had batteries leak.

Hmmn, Worth a try. There's a fair bit of leaked acid/corrosion on the wires though, which makes me think it might be worth replacing.

 

[Galactifan]

Hi Starganderfish, I’d suggest just carefully cleaning the corroded terminals. Be aware, if you try to replace the metal terminals then the heat from a soldering iron will transfer to the terminals and could melt the plastic casing. Good luck! At least you didn’t lose the instruction book.

 

[Starganderfish]

Thanks for the advice folks. A little vinegar on a cotton bud did the trick! Super pumped. The lights a lot less diffuse in person and the individual LED bulbs are pretty obvious, especially in the spine and the individual internal triangles pretty much all look orange. But it still looks great. Just need to give it an all over clean and then decide if it’s good enough or if I want to mod it with better internal lighting.