Re: Problem with RCX

Benton Jackson wrote:
> In lugnet.robotics, Louis Davis wrote:
> 
>>I have a 2.0 RCX that is only about 6 months old.  I had just put a new set of
>>batteries in it the other day and it was working fine.  I had not used it for
>>about a week and then tried it out and it was completely dead.  I opened up the
>>battery box and noticed that the batteries had leaked inside the box.\

> The dead short could have caused the batteries to leak. That's probably the only
> way to get batteries to leak in only a week.

I agree - and furthermore, whilst a dead short might well cause a 
battery leak (when the batteries get hot, the contents can expand and
rupture the cell) - it's kinda unusual for a battery leak to cause a
dead short - the corrosive gunk inside can eat away at thin copper
tracks - which might cause an open circuit - but the stuff isn't
conductive (or batteries would just short out internally!) - so it's
hard to see how they could cause a short in the RCX.

So - I'd call up Lego customer service - if you are nice to them,
they've been pretty good with some of us over replacing stuff that's
broken - sometimes LONG after warranty has expired.  You don't have
much to lose at this point.

If all else fails, I'd pull the RCX completely apart (it's not hard
to do - and there are instructions out on the web someplace) - see
if there is any more gunk to clean out and look for any foreign
bodies rattling around in there.