Force FX Saber having issues! HELP!

[canofhumdingers]

Help! I have the original ANH vader Force FX saber & I screwed up by leaving batteries in it too long. They corroded & now I'm having issues. I caught it fairly early on, so the corrosion was pretty much limited to the battery contacts. I've cleaned the corrosion off the battery pack as well as I could (using vinegar & Q-tips). I can't see any more corrosion & I kept cleaning until I could no longer get anything to pop or fizzle (that's the sign that the vinegar is eating the corrosion away). Then I rinsed the battery pack down in the sink to get rid of the vinegar & spent the next two days drying it VERY thoroughly.

So I went to put batteries in it today to test it out. But I ran into a problem. 5 of the batteries seemed to be fine, but the sixth would immediately start heating up once in place. It became hot to the touch within seconds. Of course, I popped it out as fast as I could. I tried 4 or 5 other batteries, all to the same result. It doesn't matter if I have any other batteries installed in the pack or not, this one slot makes evey battery I put in it become hot instantaneously. The only other thing I can think to try is to get some regular batteries, as all the ones I have in the house right now are rechargeable types.

So does anyone here have more experience with electronics & perhaps know why this is happening or what to do about it?

 

[canofhumdingers]

Ok, weirdest thing. I took all batteries out & let it be for a few more hours. Came back to it this afternoon & thought I'd give it another try. This time it worked perfectly. No over heating batteries. No shorting out & powering up/down uncontrollably when the switch was on (which is what clued me in the batteries had corroded to begin with). No monkey business whatsoever. It worked just like when it was fresh out of the box. I'm totally dumbfounded, but happy it seems to be back to normal!

I'd still appreciate any input about what might've been going on from those more knowledgable than me. I've always been pretty slow when it comes to electronics.

 

[Sym-Cha]

Hello there,

You've just experienced the dark a.k.a. the hot side of Vader's Force FX saber my good man :lol

-Chaim