Man, WTH is this?

[Bass'd on a true story]

I once had an intensely battery acid corroded device that cleaned up well and functioned without a hitch. If that's a hard pedal to come by, you might want to take pictures and call GC customer service. There is a possibility that they will just refund you 10% of the cost and let you keep the pedal.

 

[FilterFunk]

I have a philosophy; if I wouldn't feel right selling it to someone else, then I got ripped off.

Good philosophy!

 

[Dark Barn]

Is it just me or are 9v batteries more leakage prone than other batteries?

 

[alaskaleftybass]

Another reason to like passive basses and built in effects to amps.....

 

[Planespotter]

I got a deal on a woolly mammoth that had a 9v battery puke it's guts out. The battery was 11 years old and actually still worked even though it leaked all over the inside of the pedal. I cleaned it up and it works just fine.

 

[willbassyeah]

a crackhead forget to clean the pedal.
Dont sniff on that stuff man!

 

[BAG]

Selfish concern here... Is that from a 9 volt battery?

If so I need to dig some basses out of the closet, quickly.

I would pull out any batteries from basses and pedals that you don't use at least once a month. With semi regular use the chances are that if a battery leaks you'll pick it up early when you start getting signal issues from a low or dead battery. I should take note of my own advice and pull the batteries from a couple of guitar pedals i've not touched in quite some time.

 

[superdick2112]

Selfish concern here... Is that from a 9 volt battery?

If so I need to dig some basses out of the closet, quickly.

Yes. Yes you do.
Its ugly when it happens to a $150 pedal, but its a disaster when it happens to a $3,000 bass.

I own 11 basses & 8 guitars, so the easiest way I've found to keep track of the last time each one had a battery change or a fresh set of strings (including gauge & brand) is to track them using a simple word document list in my computer.
I check the list on the 1st of each month, and each active bass gets a fresh battery at least once a year. I also keep notes on which strings sound best on each instrument.
As for pedals, I never use batteries - just power supplies.

 

[Ross W. Lovell]

Selfish concern here... Is that from a 9 volt battery?

If so I need to dig some basses out of the closet, quickly.

IF and that's a big IF, you purchase no-name batteries this is likely.

Being the Oled Geezer that I am, I remember when this was quite prevelant in flashlights, my toys and other battery operated devices, so much so that Ray-O-Vac batteries, the blue and yellow ones with the Lightning cat on them, started to offer product replacement in the early 60's.

There was another company, Mallory with black and white stripes on their products, they had such an issue they had to rebrand the company to avoid the public's memory, we call them Duracell now.

 

[Ross W. Lovell]

Yes. Yes you do.
Its ugly when it happens to a $150 pedal, but its a disaster when it happens to a $3,000 bass.

I own 11 basses & 8 guitars, so the easiest way I've found to keep track of the last time each one had a battery change or a fresh set of strings (including gauge & brand) is to track them using a simple word document list in my computer.
I check the list on the 1st of each month, and each active bass gets a fresh battery at least once a year. I also keep notes on which strings sound best on each instrument.
As for pedals, I never use batteries - just power supplies.

All my batteries get replaced twice a year during Daylight Savings Tlme, like my smoke detectors. Lithium so in the rack mount every 3 years along with backing up regularly

 

[Camaro]

I'd ask him:

 

[Slevage]

Looks like the result of some type of short could have been a pedalboard power supply issue?

Nope----leaky battery

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Selfish concern here... Is that from a 9 volt battery?

If so I need to dig some basses out of the closet, quickly.

Yes, you should. I use a power supply for my pedals and it would be easy to forget that the factory 9V is still in there for a long, long time. Open up a 9V sometime. It's just 6 AAAA batteries in series internally. Well, that depends on the brand, I guess. But it's generally 6 1.5V cells in series.

 

[rtslinger]

Selfish concern here... Is that from a 9 volt battery?

If so I need to dig some basses out of the closet, quickly.

Yup run like hell Joe this is what is inside a 9 volt just 6 1.5 v batteries, some claim they never will leak but why take the chance

 

[micque]

Acid, similar to whats in a car battery, its easy to clean up with a little water and baking soda if it hasn't leaked on a circuit board, but be very carefull, if you get that stuff on your fingers and then rub your eye with it or somehow flick a small bit of it into your eye you will remember that error for a very long time, a friend of mine got some in his eye wile cleaning the top of a car battery, even after flushing it out with a lot of water he still hollered his head off the whole 25 minute ride to the clinic, get it on your clothes you will be in style cause the holes will appear supprisingly fast, I think the baking soda nutralizes the acid.

 

[organworthyplayer337]

I get what you guys are saying about passive basses, power supplies etc. though I think batteries are fine if you take care of them. These things require some level of upkeep and if someone doesn't, this happens. That battery probably has been left in there a LONG time.... I'm mean a loooooooong time.

Plus,
I've never had this happen to any pedals/basses that are in my possession for a while, because I take care of them. But not everyone does (or they forget) and it leads to the pedal doing it's best Walter White impression. This pedal in particular has a very good one

 

[Joe Nerve]

OK. Now that I'm worried... As removing all my batteries isn't as easy a task as it might seem....

Is this leaking of 9 volt batteries in a bass just a theoretical possibility? Has anyone here experienced it? And please be honest.

I have basses that have sat with the same battery for over a decade without issue. The idea of checking or changing them every 2 months is preposterous to me, and I honestly can't imagine there being a problem. With over 15 active basses for over 20 years without a single incident, I'm not going to start obsessing about this. I will consider taking the batteries out of this basses just sitting around for years. But again, has anyone ever had a bass battery leak on them ?

 

[organworthyplayer337]

OK. Now that I'm worried... As removing all my batteries isn't as easy a task as it might seem....

Is this leaking of 9 volt batteries in a bass just a theoretical possibility? Has anyone here experienced it? And please be honest.

I have basses that have sat with the same battery for over a decade without issue. The idea of checking or changing them every 2 months is preposterous to me, and I honestly can't imagine there being a problem. With over 15 active basses for over 20 years without a single incident, I'm not going to start obsessing about this. I will consider taking the batteries out of this basses just sitting around for years. But again, has anyone ever had a bass battery leak on them ?

Never happened to me with my active basses. Though, can't fight the urge to open up an active bass I have that may still have the factory battery in it....

 

[Worldeeeter]

You don't say what the pedal is, or how easy it would be to replace. GC has a 30 day return policy. Corrosion is pretty easy to clean. IDK what the link says, but I have used white vinegar with success. If it was my purchase, I'd take photos, try cleaning it including the clip. If it works your golden. If not send it back. If you end up keeping it you might talk GC into a small rebate for the hassle.

Thread over - this is exactly what you do. Vinegar (acetic acid) will do an excellent job with cleaning up corrosion. It should work after that. If not, back it goes.

 

[BboogieXVII]

Just pulled some AA's from a Sony recorder. I already had to clean this device up one time because of battery leakage, thanks for the reminder. I really should use that recorder a bit more often.