GP2X problem. Please help


darkcpc

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Hi

Like so many on these boards I am a long time member and eagerly awaiting the Pyra for emulation purposes

Last year about this time, I bought a GP2X MK II unit from ebay to tide me over until the Pyra. It looked in great condition with the screen protector still on. I switched it on and it worked fine. No problems. I put it away as I was too busy too use it

I recently got it out to use it and had a look at the batteries. When I took them out (with some effort) I saw that the battery compartment was badly damaged and contacts appeared corroded (See attached pics) When I put them back in the unit wouldn't power up until I managed to fiddle around with them and eventually the unit turned on

What could have caused this damage and can the unit be repaired? There are screws on the back of the unit so can I replace the battery compartment with spare parts from another MK II unit?

I am not too technical about these things but I do have some soldering experience so will be happy to try myself if any soldering is required..

I know that I am very late to the scene but I really want to use this device as it was a great retro handheld in it's time with lots of homebrew

Can anyone help?

Thanks in advance
 

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Last edited:
Maybe some batteries has leaked their corrosive content.
Usually, electric contact cleaning product can do the job.
 
Yeah looks like the batteries were left in too long thus causing leaking. A very common problem with any device that uses Alkaline batteries and i've seen it in a lot of Nintendo GameBoys / Sega Gamegears.

As Battery acid is rather corrosive, I would open the device to ensure there's no battery acid on the board as that will be the biggest worry over the long term.

Neutralise any acid using vinegar with a Q-Tip then use isopropyl Alcohol to neutralise the vinegar (Wear gloves as acid is nasty). If the battery terminals are replaceable I would suggest you replace them instead.

Maybe this is your chance to mod the device so it takes a li-on battery ;)
 
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Looks like the kind of gunk that dries when alkaline batteries leak to me. You should always try to remember to shift the batteries out of things if you've left them in a drawer for more than a couple of weeks, if you can.

Although perhaps in this case they'd already leaked into the unit before you got it. The corrosion on leaked alkalines is usually more visible on the battery itself than the contacts, so if the batteries themselves look okay then I guess that's what happened, and the previous owner was lucky to get new batteries to work on corroded terminals.

The best remedy I expect would be to take this apart and wash each bit in methanol (meths) or maybe naptha (white spirit/mineral turpentine) - both of which are rather flammable so be careful. I wouldn't use the other common solvent, water, as those alkaline flakes can form a strong base in water which I've heard can corrode aluminium (which I guess is how it gets out of batteries through a defect in the lining), and could do similar to any electrolytic capacitor canisters or switch housings, or any other aluminium bits I can't currently think of. If the battery terminals are too pitted to provide a reliable connection, I'd try polishing them to reduce the pitting, but I'd expect just washing off the flakes will be sufficient.
 
Many Thanks for your replies.

Being such an old thread and with the GP2X long gone, I am impressed with the response.

I will have a go at trying to clean the terminals and corroded flakes using the chemicals mentioned.

@levi, The batteries in the unit were fine so I think you are right some older batteries may have leaked and the owner put new batteries in before selling it.

If I can find spare back part with the battery compartment from another unit could I just unscrew and replace? Would that be easier and I would't have to use those chemicals?

Thanks again for your help
 
When washing the plastics, you could just use water, because any alkaline solution briefly formed can't affect the plastics as far as I know. To be honest, the appearance of the alkaline solutions are probably so rapidly diluted by running water you could probably wash the board under the tap as well, just I find drying things I've washed in water takes a long time to dry, so I've much more experience using more evaporative solvents. Plus I don't know how easy it is to remove the LCD which I guess you wouldn't want to wash, just the battery terminals and the exposed board under the back plastics.

I guess if you're not concerned about any other contamination and are sure the battery electrolyte is completely dry, just disassembling it and brushing off the flakes should work too.
 
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