Macintosh Battery Carnage

PS2it

Well-known member
I guess I've been pretty lucky with the Macintosh stuff that I've picked up over the past years. I've seen batteries leak, but I haven't really experienced it firsthand.

Today was the end to that! I just got back from picking up some Macs, and unfortunately, we've got some battery leakage victims!

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They actually look pretty decent on the outside, and I was pretty excited about the SE Superdrive! Unfortunately, the innards are really what matters.

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Interestingly, every SE that I've had (and most that I've seen), except for the SE/30 of course, didn't have a battery holder.

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By far, the Classic is worse. That chassis is probably done for too, seeing as the metal is pretty thin from the rust.

At the end of the day, I'd like to try and fix the SE, since I should be able to swap in a good SE board and change over the ROMs. We'll see what happens, I had my eyes on a SE board on eBay, but of course, it ended 4 minutes before remember to bid on it!

More to follow!
 

Pezdude

Active member
I have been pretty lucky too with Mac batteries. Come to think of it, I don't think I have had any computer come in with battery leakage yet! It's crazy to see how much damage one battery can do in a device.
 

PS2it

Well-known member
I have been pretty lucky too with Mac batteries. Come to think of it, I don't think I have had any computer come in with battery leakage yet! It's crazy to see how much damage one battery can do in a device.
It's pretty amazing how far the damage spreads too, at least half of the metal is damaged. I'm sure I could track down another board and chassis and put it back together.

In the meantime, if anyone needs parts or pieces, let me know!
 

Performa

Member
Wow! That is a lot of carnage. Crazy how the rust is even on the machine chassis!

Looks like they've broken IC's off on both boards too- a lot of work to put those boards back together, unfortunately.

How do the analog boards and CRTs look?
 

PS2it

Well-known member
Wow! That is a lot of carnage. Crazy how the rust is even on the machine chassis!

Looks like they've broken IC's off on both boards too- a lot of work to put those boards back together, unfortunately.

How do the analog boards and CRTs look?
Both the classic chassis and the boards are a little far gone for me. Though, I think these might make good parts candidates, a least for what’s usable. Overall the SE faired better, I’ve been trying to track down another logic board to replace it with. Definitely doesn’t have anywhere near the amount of rust the classic does.

As far as everything else goes, (CRTs, drives, analog board, etc) it all looks to be in good shape. Only things that were in the path of the spray from the battery were damaged, fortunately that was only the board, and the chassis.
 

Pezdude

Active member
Both the classic chassis and the boards are a little far gone for me. Though, I think these might make good parts candidates, a least for what’s usable. Overall the SE faired better, I’ve been trying to track down another logic board to replace it with. Definitely doesn’t have anywhere near the amount of rust the classic does.

As far as everything else goes, (CRTs, drives, analog board, etc) it all looks to be in good shape. Only things that were in the path of the spray from the battery were damaged, fortunately that was only the board, and the chassis.
I might know someone who has a spare Macintosh Classic, so I can still see if he has it if you still need a spare Classic board!

I found out the hard way this past weekend that though I have had good luck with Macs and their batteries, the same cannot be said for Newton Messagepads. I picked up two Newtons this past weekend and both have had some pretty damaged battery compartments due to the batteries never being replaced. Both technically power on, but can't run off of battery power.
 

PS2it

Well-known member
I might know someone who has a spare Macintosh Classic, so I can still see if he has it if you still need a spare Classic board!

I found out the hard way this past weekend that though I have had good luck with Macs and their batteries, the same cannot be said for Newton Messagepads. I picked up two Newtons this past weekend and both have had some pretty damaged battery compartments due to the batteries never being replaced. Both technically power on, but can't run off of battery power.
I would definitely be interested! I'd like to try and save what's left of it. Other than the battery damage, it’s in decent shape.

Having any battery that leaks sucks! I was in a similar boat with a PowerBook 145b, the laptop worked ok, but the battery had leaked out of the case and worked its way throughout the bottom shell. It even ate through the coating on the inside!
 

Performa

Member
Both the classic chassis and the boards are a little far gone for me. Though, I think these might make good parts candidates, a least for what’s usable. Overall the SE faired better, I’ve been trying to track down another logic board to replace it with. Definitely doesn’t have anywhere near the amount of rust the classic does.

As far as everything else goes, (CRTs, drives, analog board, etc) it all looks to be in good shape. Only things that were in the path of the spray from the battery were damaged, fortunately that was only the board, and the chassis.
I know I've mentioned it before, but I know there's a means to connect the CRT to a composite out. The dead machine could make a very stylish monitor, or with the help of something else (say a raspberry pi) it could become something mighty cool again in it's own right.

If there's any way I can help, I'd be happy to.
 

Pezdude

Active member
I know I've mentioned it before, but I know there's a means to connect the CRT to a composite out. The dead machine could make a very stylish monitor, or with the help of something else (say a raspberry pi) it could become something mighty cool again in it's own right.

If there's any way I can help, I'd be happy to.
That is a super cool idea! If I ever get a Mac that is beyond repair, I would love to do something like this.
 

Pezdude

Active member
I would definitely be interested! I'd like to try and save what's left of it. Other than the battery damage, it’s in decent shape.

Having any battery that leaks sucks! I was in a similar boat with a PowerBook 145b, the laptop worked ok, but the battery had leaked out of the case and worked its way throughout the bottom shell. It even ate through the coating on the inside!
I'll see if he still has it and let you know!
 

PS2it

Well-known member
I know I've mentioned it before, but I know there's a means to connect the CRT to a composite out. The dead machine could make a very stylish monitor, or with the help of something else (say a raspberry pi) it could become something mighty cool again in it's own right.

If there's any way I can help, I'd be happy to.
That is a super cool idea! If I ever get a Mac that is beyond repair, I would love to do something like this.
If someone wants to give it a shot, I'd be happy to pass it along!
 

PS2it

Well-known member
Random thought- would a Macintosh monitor tube fit or be compatible with an Apple 2c monitor? :unsure:

Interesting idea! I forgot you had that bad IIc monitor!

Seeing as they are both 9” monochrome CRTs, and usually mono CRTs are fairly interchangeable, that might just work! There is actually a write up on that exact thing here. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like anyone actually ever tried it.
 

PS2it

Well-known member
It's been a while, but I was able to source a new logic board, RAM module, and chassis for the Classic!

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After a quick clean-up and recap it's all good to go! I generally use solid tantalum capacitors when I recap Macs.

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PS2it

Well-known member
We've finally finished these two Macs! Last post we finished the Classic after finding a replacement logic board, and chassis for it. But what about the SuperDrive?

Seeing as a logic board for it was already sourced, all we had to do was put it back together! The only thing I wanted to fix was the rusty chassis. The rust was nowhere near as bad as the Classic, so I figured I could probably save it if I could get the rust removed. That is where Evapo-Rust comes in handy! I discovered this stuff quite some time ago, and it's probably one of the best rust removers out there! It's my go-to for these types of projects.

Here are a couple of before and after pictures!

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I bought a 5-gallon bucket and filled it with about 4 gallons of Evapo-Rust, this is the perfect amount and size for these Macs or any other small parts. It only took about 2 or 3 hours to remove most of it, but about 5 or 6 hours were needed to get rid of rust in the pitted areas. If you leave items in for too long, the original coating will come off. So it's best to check them periodically.

I'll have to come back and coat this with something, but in the meantime, I'm pretty happy with the results!

Here it is partially assembled!

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The original 20MB MiniScribe 8425SA was still installed when I got it, and after working the stepper motor back and forth with some oil it was back up and running!

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This SE, like some of the other Macs in this lot, came from the Fond Du Lac school district. This particular one came from Woodworth Junior High School.

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There we go! A happy ending for 2 compact Macs! Now off to the next project in the never-ending list!
 

Performa

Member
Woah! That Evaporust stuff really did wonders on that one!

Maybe we should try that on that beat up IBM here in my shop. ;)

Seriously nice work sir, that Superdrive SE looks awesome! Can't wait to see what you work on next!
 
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