32-bit acorn hardware • Re: A3000 cmos battery damage

Two questions though are more pressing : as you can see the chip sockets still look a bit crusty. I've tried vinegar, IPA and contact cleaner but to no avail. Any tips? Of course they're easily replaced but am worried about tearing up a pad or two.

I'd go with the approach of just trying them first. As you've acknowledged it can be easy to damage pads when removing parts, so testing to see if it's really needed first would be a good idea, though I do see what looks like some bent contacts on some sockets.

And the clock & keyboard IC pins are a bit dirty too. Would the battery gunk have caused damage inside the chip if it got as far as the legs?

Yes, it certainly can - particularly to the CMOS RAM. Again, though, I'd get all the traces first up first, and see if it really need to be replaced before doing so.

It looks like you could achieve a bit more cleaning around the bottom of L14 and IC10 label.

Statistics: Posted by IanJeffray — Fri Dec 05, 2025 3:45 pm

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