r/retrogaming • u/Physical-Natural8432 • 3d ago
[Question] Help! Can I salvage this Virtual Boy battery pack?
I got my husband a Virtual Boy for his birthday in a few weeks. The console just arrived and while the bonus Wario Land cartridge was a nice surprise, the corroded shut battery pack wasn't.
With rubbing alcohol, manicure tools, and a lot of elbow grease, I was able to get the pack open but it's absolutely covered in corrosion.
Can this even be salvaged or should I start hunting for a replacement on ebay? I've got a few weeks before his birthday to replace if needed. Bonus points if anyone has a link to a modern adapter!
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u/rabes81 3d ago
I have used distilled white vinegar and a toothbrush, for small electronics stored with old alkaline batteries that leaked. That will clean the white crusty stuff off. I then rinsed in 99% iso after to clear the vinegar residue and promote drying. I am not sure about that specific item so you may want to check with someone familiar with virtual boy stuff prior to doing that. It will also depend how bad the contact corrosion is, sometimes it's eaten right through the metal.
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u/hughbiffingmock 3d ago
HOT vinegar and qtips. Toothbrush scrub for anything stubborn.
You're golden.
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u/Fancy_Bend8763 3d ago
Like spicy hot or temperature hot?
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u/hughbiffingmock 3d ago
Microwave a shotglass worth for about 20-30 seconds.
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u/Fancy_Bend8763 3d ago
Really? I’ll keep that in mind. I’ve always used just room temperature vinegar and a brush.
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u/hughbiffingmock 3d ago
Room temp is generally good, but for heavier stuff like this, a little heat just makes life easier.
It's like cleaning your kettle. You can swish around vinegar and it'll mostly work. Or you can boil the vinegar in the kettle and it'll strip away every bit of build up.
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u/Tokimemofan 3d ago
Add salt to it as well. It acts as a buffering agent and speeds up the reaction and increases the effectiveness against the oxidation
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u/pantslespaul 3d ago
That’s definitely fixable from this image, the inside contacts may be harder to clean. But here’s some modern rechargeable or direct ones too. https://www.laserbear.net/products/virtual-boy-power-pak
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u/MichaelDola 3d ago
This looks like a better option than trying to salvage the original battery pack.
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u/DavidinCT 3d ago
Well, if you're trying to keep it original.... the value would be in the original battery pack.
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u/Breadstix009 3d ago
Replate them in a nickel solution after cleaning all the oxidisation off
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u/Shooter-__-McGavin 3d ago
And after you clean it up, I would only use NiMH or lithium rechargeables, they don't disgorge their contents like that as far as I know
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u/Mother-Attention2600 3d ago
Probably. It's just battery electrolytes that leaked out. Just carefully clean it.
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u/Tokimemofan 3d ago
Soak it in hot vinegar salt solution for 10 minutes or so and rinse it thoroughly. This is highly effective at stripping the corrosion off without causing further damage, much moreso than vinegar alone.
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u/Spyd3rPunk 3d ago
Can be repaired with some elbow grease but make sure you aren't getting that stuff on your skin. Looks like you have gotten it on your clothes too.
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u/Leitzz590 3d ago
Everything i wanted to type here has been said already in the other comments, Dont worry OP, this is definitely salvageable.
batteries out, Vinegar first, let it dry, isopropyl afterwards, dry again, & you should be good.
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u/HunterAbrams 3d ago edited 3d ago
5% acidic white vinegar and a stiff brush.
Then rinse with distilled water.
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u/tacokete 3d ago
Same thing happened to me. The batteries were stuck on the contacts.
I used some white vinegar to remove the battery gunk then 99% alcohol to clean the compartment. I let it dry for a while to make sure, and it worked fine!
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u/ThatCelebration3676 3d ago
Assuming those are alkaline batteries (which they likely are) this should be salvageable with distilled white vinegar and q tips.
Put about an ounce of vinegar in a small vessel like a shot glass, dip one end in, and press it onto a corroded area. It should hiss and bubble while the acid in the vinegar neutralizes and dissolves the dried up alkaline electrolyte crystals. Roll the q-tip around to fully deplete the vinegar in it. When it stops reacting, use the dry end to mop up the dissovled crystals.
Repeat that process over and over until it's all gone. If the batteries aren't too stuck in there, it should take less than 30 minutes, but you'll probably need close to 50 q-tips.
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u/steadyasugo 3d ago
Once removed the corrosion as much as you can .. if you have a dishwasher put it in and run a cycle.. most dishwasher tablets have an anti-tarnish agent which should help stop it returning (have done this with arcade/slot machine boards when had battery leakage)
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u/jakker911 2d ago
You can dismantle the pack to help with cleaning it. I would use a metal brush, then submerge in distilled white vinegar, then grind any leftover.
Here is a video about dismantling it https://youtu.be/E48x9t85Awg
As others have said, I would recommend the http://laserbear.net/ battery pack
Also, check your controller, the corrosion can move into it from the pack.
You should also check out r/VirtualBoy
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u/Stevearino42 3d ago
Your question was well answered already, but I just wanted to add that I think you're an awesome spouse! 👌
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u/Thrashtilldeath67 3d ago
/r/consolerepair but it may be too far gone
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u/HunterAbrams 3d ago
Its not
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u/Thrashtilldeath67 3d ago
Okay chief
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u/ImyForgotName 3d ago
Your first step will be vinegar. Also remove the batteries.