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Massive dual CMOS battery leak on a 40 MHz Macintosh IIfx [message #381879] Sat, 09 March 2019 17:24 Go to next message
Noofle is currently offline  Noofle
Messages: 1
Registered: March 2019
Karma: 0
Junior Member
Two days ago I picked up some vintage apple Macintosh computers along with
some vintage apple accessories and was ecstatic when the person giving me
the computers said I could have their Macintosh IIfx in near mint cosmetic
condition (besides some yellowing of the plastic) free of charge. When I
got home however and opened the beastly machine I was presented with one of
the worse cases of CMOS battery leakage I have ever seen. *Both* the CMOS
batteries had leaked onto the motherboard and it was not pretty to say the
least. Now I'm tasked with repairing my Macintosh IIfx but I don't even
know where to start. Any advice? Here's a picture of the leak: Link to
Hi-Res Image of CMOS battery leak. <https://imgur.com/a/egH3reu>

[image: image0.jpg]

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Re: Massive dual CMOS battery leak on a 40 MHz Macintosh IIfx [message #381952 is a reply to message #381879] Wed, 13 March 2019 14:28 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Jeff Walther is currently offline  Jeff Walther
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Registered: August 2012
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Senior Member
I would get yourself over to 68kmla.org. The forums over there have
discussed a number of repairs of this type. However, sometimes the board
is too far gone. It's hard to tell until the leakage is cleaned off and a
closer look is taken.

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Re: Massive dual CMOS battery leak on a 40 MHz Macintosh IIfx [message #382031 is a reply to message #381879] Tue, 12 March 2019 12:03 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Mason Matulewic is currently offline  Mason Matulewic
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Registered: March 2019
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Junior Member
Get some rubbing alcohol and stiff toothbrush and start cleaning it off.
Take out the old batteries and memory and anything else.

After cleaning off as much as you can, put the motherboard in the
dishwasher and clean it like you would for dishes (just don’t use the high
heat dry option)

From there you can check to see what has been ruined and needs to be
replaced.

Same thing happened to my mint condition color classic.

On Tue, Mar 12, 2019 at 8:04 AM Noofle <nooflebot@gmail.com> wrote:

> Two days ago I picked up some vintage apple Macintosh computers along with
> some vintage apple accessories and was ecstatic when the person giving me
> the computers said I could have their Macintosh IIfx in near mint cosmetic
> condition (besides some yellowing of the plastic) free of charge. When I
> got home however and opened the beastly machine I was presented with one of
> the worse cases of CMOS battery leakage I have ever seen. *Both* the CMOS
> batteries had leaked onto the motherboard and it was not pretty to say the
> least. Now I'm tasked with repairing my Macintosh IIfx but I don't even
> know where to start. Any advice? Here's a picture of the leak: Link to
> Hi-Res Image of CMOS battery leak. <https://imgur.com/a/egH3reu>
>
> [image: image0.jpg]
>
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> The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/vintagemacs.shtml and our
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Re: Massive dual CMOS battery leak on a 40 MHz Macintosh IIfx [message #382032 is a reply to message #381879] Tue, 12 March 2019 11:58 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Clark Martin is currently offline  Clark Martin
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Registered: August 2012
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Senior Member
I’d start with cotton swabs and Isopropyl Alcohol (90%).


Clark Martin
A designated driver on the information Super Highway

> On Mar 9, 2019, at 2:24 PM, Noofle <nooflebot@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Two days ago I picked up some vintage apple Macintosh computers along with some vintage apple accessories and was ecstatic when the person giving me the computers said I could have their Macintosh IIfx in near mint cosmetic condition (besides some yellowing of the plastic) free of charge. When I got home however and opened the beastly machine I was presented with one of the worse cases of CMOS battery leakage I have ever seen. Both the CMOS batteries had leaked onto the motherboard and it was not pretty to say the least. Now I'm tasked with repairing my Macintosh IIfx but I don't even know where to start. Any advice? Here's a picture of the leak: Link to Hi-Res Image of CMOS battery leak. <https://imgur.com/a/egH3reu>

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Support for older Macs: http://lowendmac.com/services/
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Re: Massive dual CMOS battery leak on a 40 MHz Macintosh IIfx [message #382244 is a reply to message #382031] Wed, 20 March 2019 17:38 Go to previous message
vintage-macs is currently offline  vintage-macs
Messages: 425
Registered: April 2014
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Senior Member
Noofle,
All suggestions here are just suggestions. It worked for me but it won't necessarily work for someone else and you have to ask yourself if it is worth fixing, if it is worth neutralising the acid, if you intend to have it clean or if you intend to get it working again. Understand that everything is done at your own risk.
You may also wish to watch videos on YouTube about rust removal as well as cleaning vintage Macintosh circuit boards.
Photograph the board - take multiple photographs - noting any socketed chips. Carefully remove the socketed chips taking care not to damage the pins. The photographs are to help you remember how the chips should be reinserted. Make sure your photographs are sharply in focus.

Anything that would be damaged by water, like paper or card should also be removed. This is a general guide for anyone using a dishwasher to clean old circuit boards. I've washed Compact Macintosh Analog and Digital boards and sometimes they have speakers attached - the speaker will be destroyed if it goes in the dishwasher. They are usually held with pop rivets which should be drilled out carefully. Then use a soldering iron to remove the electrical connections to the speaker.
You can use new pop rivets to reattach the speaker or some small nuts and bolts. Use nylock nuts or some kind of threadlock product.
Mason advises to clean off as much as you can.
The corrosion can be treated with a dilute acid like a clear (sometimes called 'white') vinegar mixed 1 to 1 with water. Gently brush the vinegar mix over the green (copper oxide) substance on the legs of the chips. The soft scrubbing of the toothbrush and the vinegar should loosen a lot of the corrosion. If the corrosion is still severe, using the vinegar on its own without the water may remove some more corrosion.
You can also mix a little water with bicarbonate of soda and brush that in as well. It provides a slightly abrasive paste and neutralises the acid in the vinegar.

On the matter of using the dishwasher...

After washing, it's important to rinse the board with deionised (DI) water and allow it time to dry thoroughly. The deionised water will flush out any remaining contamination from the dishwasher - remember, it washes dishes, there will be some detergent, maybe some food grease that doesn't make it all the way out of the drain hose. It will also remove a lot of the rust particles and any other metallic contamination. These will have circulated through the dishwasher during the wash cycle. It would be a good idea to run a dishwasher cleaning product through the dishwasher after using it to clean circuit boards.
If you have access to a can of air duster, that can blast some water from under the chips you were not able to remove.
Then leave it somewhere warm (not hot) to dry.
In work we have an oven set to 50 degrees C, about 122 F. Usually half an hour is enough after a thorough wash, and then a three stage rinse with DI water.
At home I use a spray bottle (like kitchen or bathroom spray bottles) to flood the board with DI water. I usually pat dry the boards with kitchen tissue before placing them in the airing cupboard / hot press / boiler cupboard / linen cupboard or drying cabinet, depending on where you are located. You may also prop the board against a wall, above a radiator or baseboard heater that circulates water through pipes in a central heating system.
Don't prop it up on an electrical radiator or baseboard heater. You don't want water near an electrical device and they can get very hot.
I hope this gives some folks a bit more knowledge in order to take their refurbishment of a vintage Macintosh to the next level.
Good luck,
Keith

On Friday, 15 March 2019, 13:08:52 GMT, Mason Matulewic <dmatulewic@gmail.com> wrote:

Get some rubbing alcohol and stiff toothbrush and start cleaning it off.  Take out the old batteries and memory and anything else.
After cleaning off as much as you can, put the motherboard in the dishwasher and clean it like you would for dishes (just don’t use the high heat dry option)
From there you can check to see what has been ruined and needs to be replaced.
Same thing happened to my mint condition color classic.  
On Tue, Mar 12, 2019 at 8:04 AM Noofle <nooflebot@gmail.com> wrote:

Two days ago I picked up some vintage apple Macintosh computers along with some vintage apple accessories and was ecstatic when the person giving me the computers said I could have their Macintosh IIfx in near mint cosmetic condition (besides some yellowing of the plastic) free of charge. When I got home however and opened the beastly machine I was presented with one of the worse cases of CMOS battery leakage I have ever seen. Both the CMOS batteries had leaked onto the motherboard and it was not pretty to say the least. Now I'm tasked with repairing my Macintosh IIfx but I don't even know where to start. Any advice? Here's a picture of the leak: Link to Hi-Res Image of CMOS battery leak.




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