Check your wii remotes

[BortLicensePlate | 652]

So I'm not sure how will known this is, but I had no idea and I'm sure theres at least some others out there so thought I'd share. Apparently if you dont touch your wii remote for a while the batteries inside explode and get corrosion everywhere. I saw it mentioned online and checked my remotes and sure enough, it happened. Everything else I had with batteries was fine, I think this is something specific to the wii remotes. But yeah if you havent played wii in a while and forgot to remove the batteries, have a quick look to see. I'm sure unchecked this could ruin a lot of controllers over time

Edited December 7, 2019 by BortLicensePlate

[Teh_Lurv | 254]

Good PSA. I've had it happen to my wiimotes with only a few months of inactive use. 

[Gutling | 31]

Thats anything with batteries. You should always take batteries out if not using something for a while. Remotes, controllers, alarm clocks, coin counter things, Transformer Trypticon, some vibrating christmas dog decoration (PS these are all specific instances I have experienced or fixed for people lol)

[MuNKeY | 241]

I used rechargeable in mine and they have long since been removed and used elsewhere, but like Gutling said above its generally a wise ideal to take batteries out of anything that uses them and not going to be used for an extended time.

[OptOut | 8,881]

This happened to my wavebird controller. RIP. 

[barrels | 125]

1 minute ago, OptOut said:

This happened to my wavebird controller. RIP. 

Ditto for my childhood game boy printer... RIP indeed.

In a similar note, for those like me that frequent thrift stores, ALWAYS check for corrosion. Getting something home that’s a goner can be heartbreaking.

[austin532 | 467]

The Wiimotes are known to still drain batteries when not in use. That explains why they never seem to last. Rechargeable batteries or the official Nintendo rechargeable battery pack is the way to go.

Edited December 8, 2019 by austin532

[BortLicensePlate | 652]

I was able to clean all the shit off, I'll test them out later to see if they're alright 

[austin532 | 467]

White vinegar is your friend when it comes to battery corrosion.

[captmorgandrinker | 1,649]

54 minutes ago, austin532 said:

White vinegar is your friend when it comes to battery corrosion.

So is a nice mix of baking soda and water.  I've brought plenty of stuff back from the dead with that.

Old toothbrush dipped in that, scrub a dub dub, wipe with a paper towel, and you're usually good to go.

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,011]

9 minutes ago, captmorgandrinker said:

So is a nice mix of baking soda and water.  I've brought plenty of stuff back from the dead with that.

Old toothbrush dipped in that, scrub a dub dub, wipe with a paper towel, and you're usually good to go.

Ok, I was confused why people would think corrosion would break the controller. I always  opened it up and cleaned it off.

[Skorp | 383]

My issue with Wii remotes is they are just completely dead even if you add new batteries after use for a while. No light or connectivity any more. Have around 20 now that are like this. Driving me nuts.

[ZBomber | 54]

1 hour ago, RegularGuyGamer said:

Ok, I was confused why people would think corrosion would break the controller. I always  opened it up and cleaned it off.

Yeah I honestly don't think I've ever had anything so badly corroded that it just stopped working. It's definitely annoying though and I think I've had batteries leak in wiimotes twice now.

[dewisp02 | 47]

35 minutes ago, ZBomber said:

Yeah I honestly don't think I've ever had anything so badly corroded that it just stopped working. It's definitely annoying though and I think I've had batteries leak in wiimotes twice now.

Depends which metals are used and if its plated or not. I have had plenty of wireless controller finds over the years that were completely destroyed by battery acid... to the extent the controller contact and leading wires were pretty much non-existent. You can pull apart other battery operated items and steal the guts to rebuild so still not completely fatal. 

[acromite53 | 337]

On 12/7/2019 at 10:30 PM, RegularGuyGamer said:

Ok, I was confused why people would think corrosion would break the controller. I always  opened it up and cleaned it off.

Don't underestimate battery corrosion. Its serious stuff. When it leaks onto the motherboard, it eats everything away. I've seen way too many wavebird controllers, OG gameboys, even laser tag guns that were too far gone with board damage. And once that starts to rust the battery connectors, it is a whole lot harder to clean that off and get any connection.

[RH | 4,895]

It's a related tangent, but one of my first questions on NA was about opening up sealed items that had batteries.  Was it better to open the sealed item so you could remove the battery (and be assured that the contents would never be corroded) or keep them sealed because many of us like sealed items.

I don't think there was a general consensus.  It still haunts me.  Eventually all batteries will leak (so I've been told) so if you have a sealed item that had batteries packed in (like Star Fox 64) then at some point it will likely be wise to crack it open and remove the batteries, rather than keeping them in the box.

[DefaultGen | 5,397]

48 minutes ago, RH said:

It's a related tangent, but one of my first questions on NA was about opening up sealed items that had batteries.  Was it better to open the sealed item so you could remove the battery (and be assured that the contents would never be corroded) or keep them sealed because many of us like sealed items.

I don't think there was a general consensus.  It still haunts me.  Eventually all batteries will leak (so I've been told) so if you have a sealed item that had batteries packed in (like Star Fox 64) then at some point it will likely be wise to crack it open and remove the batteries, rather than keeping them in the box.

Sell it sealed. Let someone else worry about it.

[Code Monkey | 2,005]

You must be young, this has been a problem for 30 years. I've seen $200 Transformers turn worthless because the batteries were left in them.

[RH | 4,895]

16 minutes ago, DefaultGen said:

Sell it sealed. Let someone else worry about it.

Well, there are items I collect and intend to keep.  That said, I also am aware that I can't take the collection with me.  For myself and for future sales (maybe 20-30 years down the road) I want to take care of my stuff for both my wallet and the next line of collectors.

[BouncekDeLemos | 82]

Yeah, it's a known problem with everything. I had this happen to my Gameboy once. Fun refurbishing project. lol

[Mogg | 4]

At this point if I know I won't be using something once a week at least I pull the batteries out and set them next to the console/controller/whatever.

[TDIRunner | 2,722]

Others have covered it already, but this advice should apply to anything with batteries.  If you don't plan to use it for a while, get those batteries out of there.  Energizer has a high end version of their AAA and AA batteries that are supposedly guaranteed to never leak.  I guess time will tell on those, but just to be safe, I keep the batteries out of anything gaming related that isn't actively being used on a regular basis.  

[TylerBarnes | 184]

Yup, this is indeed true for all battery powered devices. I once had a $400 photography flash get bukakked with battery acid from AA cells left in it for too long. 

[m308gunner | 352]

[guitarzombie | 923]

I work at an electronics store and MY GOD the amount of corrosive batteries I see in Wii controllers drive me nuts.  Whats odd though is that if they're not corrosive and get power, they almost are never bad.  Game Gear is pretty bad too.  And Xbox 360... ugh.