corrosion on Solo lights

Have 2 Solo 2000 video lights that have corrosion on the node area where you attach for recharging.

What is the best way to get rid of this corrosion?

You can use some commercial contact cleaners but you need to be careful to not completely deplete the connector. This has for a long time been an issue with Sola lights. The new GEO lights seem to be much more nicely designed in terms of charging.

BVA

_{I have used Soft Scrub and it works very well if the corrosion is not too heavy, and is mild enough to decrease excess material removal.}

I use the same make up buds that I use for orings with white winegar. You can use the plastic part under the bud to scrape gently the oxide and then clean in and out with the white winegar.

I am at fault as I did not always get the contacts perfectly dry on boats so there is only one side corroding because of ion migrations between the two poles.

The contacts are gold plated but when you clean them you can see some part of them is of a different colour only that is the corroded part and as long as it still charges it is not a big deal.

I wonder if the contacts will last longer than the internal battery needing replacement so when I send it for service they probably do both

I wonder if the corrosion is only a visual distraction, that is, has the corrosion actually interfered with charging for anyone?

I wonder if the corrosion is only a visual distraction, that is, has the corrosion actually interfered with charging for anyone?

You can get the occasional flashing lights and not charging with dirty contacts so it is good to clean them but the corrosion itself need to go a long way before a cleaned corroded contact does not charge

Second the vinegar and swab. Contact cleaner also works. I spray it on a swab first. After you clean it, wipe it with dielectric grease and reapply regularly. It will charge fine through the dielectric grease and won't recorrode. For some reason, only one terminal corrodes on mine.

For some reason, only one terminal corrodes on mine.

I think that L&M decided to not put any type of capacitor in the charging circuit at least on the early versions, and both terminals have major corrosion on some of my lights. On the L&M page they say

How to remove contact corrosion:

You can make our own cleaning solution by mixing a few drops of 25% vinegar / 75% water. With a small amount of this mixture and small piece of fine steel wool, you can gently remove corrosion and get these battery contacts shining like new!

What is the best way to dry my Sola?

After you have rinsed thoroughly, it is also extremely helpful to dry the light off. Residual water droplets can lurk inside the small space of the charge contacts and cause corrosion.

Bill

Very useful Bill.

So ideally you want to dry the contacts with compressed air before charging and if you are unlucky apply the cleaning procedure

I got myself some fine steel wool and works a treat.