Leaky battery consequences in an Apple IIgs

Here is the first of my machines I've processed from the Apple haul the other weekend.

Outside, the Apple IIgs didn't look too bad. Like all the other machines it was grubby of course and some of the keys were yellowed. I did notice the box was quite damp, and in fact there was a puddle at the bottom.

There was also a brown liquid dripping from the bottom of the computer case. Hmm... I opened it up and this is what I found...

Pool of acid on the motherboard of an Apple IIgs (I removed the power supply for the pic)

Yikes!! It seemed the lithium battery didn't take kindly to being stored in a shed for years. One interesting observation is that this was the only Apple that where mice hadn't taken up residence. Who would, with a pool of toxic acid as a room mate!

Looks like this is one unit that will be heading for the e-waste recycling centre. Pity, as they are the last of the Apple II line, hence of historical interest. I started a thread on this on the (International) Vintage Computer Forums. You can read some of the discussion here.

Moral of the story? If you have units in storage with these kind of batteries, it would pay to check them!

Tez

4th September, 2008