Leaking Battery Stuck in Mag-Lite

IF the exposed end is clean and dry (yeh right) you coud epoxy a wooden dowel to it, leave it over night...then try and pull it out in the morning

...when this fails you can post a scathing sarcastic reply!

I'm assuming you can get in from the other end and drift it out....

Del

Hello geomech,

The corrosion is not rust, because the maglite is made from a very high strength magnesium/aluminium alloy.

Sadly, when a dry cell leaks, the leaking chemicals react with the torch casing, as you have noted.

With all Maglite torches I have ever seen, you can remove both ends of the cylinder which encloses the batteries.

In this situation, get a broom handle or wooden dowel, just a bit smaller than the torch battery diameter, and after soaking the cylinder/switch assembly cylinder in hot water (boiling if you can) for an hour or two, give that inserted dowel a few taps with a large hammer or mallet.

Normally the leaking battery comes out easily, providing you let it soak in hot water long enough to soften the corrosion products.

Once you have gotten out that battery, leave cylinder soaking overnight, and use an old toothbrush to remove the last of the oxide etc , and allow to dry thoroughly.

As a tip for next time - to save you all this bother: Oil or grease the inside of the torch cylinder, and re-coat with oil (silicone grease is best), each time you replace batteries.....

Sparkstation: "With all Maglite torches I have ever seen, you can remove both ends of the cylinder which encloses the batteries."

I have a 3 D-Cell Maglite in my hands. The tail end cap and the reflector head and lamp holder are the only readily removable parts. To get access to the top of a stuck battery the lamp holder and the switch mechanism must be removed. There is NO JOINT in the main barrel of approx. 1-1/2" OD

Go right ahead and drive a broom stick through yours. IF I had a battery stuck in mine I would remove the switch first OR use a large sheet metal screw welded on a threaded rod and screw it into the stuck battery. A weight with a hole in it and a nut on the end of the rod can remove the battery if it is not to thoroughly corroded and virtually welded to the aluminum casing. In that case buy a replacement.

Never, ever leave dry cells in any piece of equipment that is not used for extended periods of time. They will eventually leak and cause problems.

Thanks, Del the cat and Sparkstation for your quick and informative ideas. I'm out Bush at the moment and cannot get back to Sunny Perth until next Wednesday but I'll try both methods that you have mentioned.

Del the cat, I haven't figured out how to get in from the globe end yet. I flew out the morning after I discovered the corroded batteries so didn't get much chance of thinking about it. I've been practicing my sarcastic replies lately but I'm afraid I reserve them for my lovely wife. Ha, Ha, He, He, only joking.

Sparkstation, Once i get the damn thing out I'll certainly do a bit of preventative maintenance as you have suggested. I have 6 Maglite's: One 4D cell mag, Two 3D cell mags, a 3C Cell and two rechargeable maglites. Yes I have a fetish for Mag-lites, does it show?

Cheers.

Both I and my son had 6D cell Maglites.

The punishment these could take almost beggared belief.

Run over by LandRovers, RL Bedford truck and the army trailer behind loaded with 2 large Bedford diesel engines, even mine found its way beneath the tracks of a crawler crane.

The Maglites took the punishment and more, just lost a bit of that black finish, but kept on working OK.

Thieves abound, and my son's LandRover was broken into one night, and his Maglite stolen.

A few years later, and in another City, my LandCruiser was broken into,and my Maglite was stolen.

So...The Moral of that is: The Maglite is strong, and well-designed, but keep them out of sight in your vehicle, when you park for awhile.....

Some people will five finger discount anything.

A Geologist once borrowed my company issued Rechargeable Mag-lite and when I came back into the office the next day, there was a slight chemical smell in the air. I looked over to where my maglite recharger was situated and my maglite was returned but was oozing sludge. I quickly turned of the power and with acid proof gloves took my maglite off the recharger. The highly intelligent geologist replaced my rechargeable cell with standard Eveready heavy duty batteries. I found out later that the battery went flat so he thought that normal batteries were fine. Mmmm. But forgot about them and placed it back on the recharger. Luckily we had a technical officer who was a magician. 3 Days later my Mag-lite was returned looking all new but with a slight difference. He painted bright orange. His joke. He had to take it apart with an oxy-acetylene blow torch.

When I left the company they gave it to me as a going away present along with a coat rack made from a Oregon railway sleeper and dog spikes. The bracket for the recharger was attached to it. Good present.

This is nice. I have a Maglite fetish as well, and have one with a stuck battery. My schedule is rather hectic right now, so I just tossed it in the garage and grabbed another one. Now I have no excuse for not fixing it!

Maglite fetish ....???

The mind boggles

Try Coca Cola. It will remove battery corrosion in just a few seconds. Can't say this won't destoy your Mag-lite but you can't use it right now anyway so you might as well give it a shot.

Coca Cola has Phosphoric Acid included as part of the "Secret Recipe".

Because of the type of Magnesium/Aluminium alloy of the torch body, and the electrical switch there also, it would be prudent to use the hot water system etc, rather than do further damage to the torch.....

Boil the beast in a stainless pan and then let it soak with a bit of luck you should be able to knock the remains out.

I'm surprised I didn't see it mentioned but you could try soaking it in a solution of baking soda.

Shawn

I was also surprized that I did not see backing soda until this far down the list. A mixture of baking soda and warm water will neutralize the battery acid. You want to be careful when handling leaking batteries because chemical burns are not fun. I would soak it in the solution for a while before trying to scrub out any of the corrosion.

While car batteries use sulfuric acid as an electrolyte, dry cells' electrolyte can be either acidic or or basic. Alkaline batteries are pretty common and their electrolyte is alkaline (basic). Baking soda will only neutralize acid.

Tad

I also have a 3-D cell Mag-Lite with corroded and stuck batteries that I haven't been able to remove using purely mechanical means. I've done the screw thing only to have the screw pull out without even moving the battery. I've pounded a very large screwdriver into the battery and twisted the hell out of it. Still no luck. I've been fearful of flooding the thing with any kind of aggressive liquid feeling that if it doesn't work, it may corrode or otherwise damage what's left. So, I just have it sitting on a shelf waiting for someone to come up with a good, workable solution.

Are you suggesting that vinegar is the right thing to use or do you have some other concoction in mind?

Hard to say without knowing what kind of cell you used. If they are alkaline, vinegar may help neutralize the gunk. In general, I think copious amounts of hot water may be the best bet, as others have said.

Good luck.

Tad

If you know the Battery Manufacturer mail it to them. Most Name brands will guaranty their batteries wont do this. I had the same problem with my 4 cell mag light and mailed it to Duracell they sent me a new mag light. Even upgraded it to the new LED type.

When Mailing strip the light of as much weight as you can to save on postage. Of course it sounds like in your case it would cost more to mail it than it would to replace. If so try all the above mentioned ways of fixing it yourself.

I also have a Mag Light Fetish. They are indestructible. But remember they are considered a DEADLY weapon if used as a baton on a criminal. So make sure if using as such you can justify its use. Yes I had to do this once. Would have been easier for me to just shoot the SOB.

I have a 3 cell mag light as well with the same problem..... I will have to try these solutions out.....

As for those of you with the mag light fetishes..... make sure you use plenty of lube and start with the smaller ones and work your way up to the bigger ones.

I would run a long screw, such as a 4" deck fastening screw, into the battery. Grab the head of the screw with some long needle nose pliers or screw through an eye loop to a good piece of wire and pull.

The coca-cola might help too, or I have soaked the whole thing with WD-40 as well.

Just make sure you have eye protection on for when the battery pops out and sprays corrosive muck all over everything.

geomech:

I also sent my jammed-up flashlight back to a major battery manufacturer (not Duracell) and received a check for the value of the light. Good luck.

DickL

Thanks to everyone who has replied. I have e-mailed Head office for Energiser (America) about the leaking batteries and my buggered Maglite they reponded by refering me to the Australian division and am waiting thier response. I will wait until Energiser reponds before proceding to get the battery out. Will try the epoxy method first then go onto the hotwater method. Can't get to it until the up-coming Wednesday but will keep you informed of progress.

Cheers.

Hi geomech,

I've got 2 Mag-lites, a three D cell and a four D cell. I have not been happy with either one of them. The 4 cell unit is constantly loosing connection to the bulb (bulb goes off intermittently) and have to shake it to get bulb back on. I've cleaned and tried my best to make sure everything is electrically secure. The waterproof switch cover fell off of the 3 cell unit. I won't buy another Mag-lite product.

So much for my Mag-lite experience. If that battery is stuck that tight (probably from leaking, corroded battery) it's possible the aluminum housing is damaged. If I were you I would throw that thing as far as I could. Mag-lites aren't that expensive these days.

Far as I'm concerned, these new LED flashlights are the only way to go. A little pricey I know but batteries last a lot longer and light output is far superior to incandescent bulbs.

-John

I have 2 or 3 3 D's, a 4 D, and God knows how many AA types squirreled away in various drawers. I love them. One of my 3 D's I found buried in the sand at the beach, and it still works!

That's amazing. So that's where my Maglite went. I once lost a Maglite on a beach in Darwin. Must of got sucked into a MagLite sized wormhole and appeared in San Diego. Can I have it back please?

Just send a self addressed, stamped envelope, care of "Squirrel nut, Maglite worm holes"

You little comment reminded me of my own personal experience with finding a mini mag.

Of course I wasn't lucky enough to find someone else light. I just found one that I lost moths before I decided buying a new one.

I lost my BLACK mini while on a camping trip. So naturally I figured it was gone for good.

I went out and bought a new one then digging through my fishing stuff on another trip I found the old one. Never did figure out what ate almost all the black paint off it and put little pits in the casing. But Now I have a blue one and a customized silver one. That looks so disgusting no one will even borrow it. But it still works. The only thing I can think of that could have gotten to it in my fishing stuff is some of the artificial baits I have. I've seen what these rubber type baits can do to containers not designed to hold them for any period of time. Had a cheap tiny tackle box with some thrown in there and they ate right thru the thing.

Your post remind me of a cell-phone I used to have. It was powered by what I think are called 4/3 AAA (same as normal 1.5v triple A's but 4/3 the length). When they eventually died I was able to find replacements via a great on-line company. Sadly I forget the name, but service was great. After a quick phone call they knew exactly what I wanted, and delivered next day. They even sent a prepaid envelope for disposal of the old ones. Good prices too. If anyone is really interested I'll try relocate the company ( this was about 5 years ago).

Why would anyone want a 4/3 length battery anyway? How shall I fit it into my 3/3 length compartment?

Actually, I don't have a particular 3/3 length compartment but just supposing I did, what then? Maybe I could mangulate the compartment out to a 4/3, but then WOE to the maiden electronics that lie sleeping peacefully beyond the 3/3 barrier.

What now nutcracker?

Yet back to you JJ, 4/3 AAA exist. I was slightly bemused but , yep, 4/3 length exists. I first encountered it when replacing batteries in a mobile phone. Nearly fell off my horse until I spoke to a specialist company. My mobile failed, and I searched the Iinternet over for a replacement. A mate said check this company and they knew what I was after. 4/3 do exist ! You can get the extra length, you just have to ask!

The wife said 4/3 of 6 would be just fine!

Was that in inches or centimetres, Johnjohn?

Was I the only one that got that joke? He. He.

Surely 4/3 of AAA is just AAAA eh? Algebra innit?

It's true I tell's ya, it's true ! large it up guys and make the most of what you have ;

http://www.limn2o4.com/Knowledge/Industrial_Standard_Cylindrical_Battery_Sizes.htm

Drill a hole into the end of the remaining battery, you can then insert some kind of pulling tool (maybe one of them oil well companies has such a thing). If no puller is found, mangulate the hole so that long nosed pliers can grip onto enough of it to pull.

Hey Del I remember that 'gluing trick' from the thread on de-corking a wine bottle.

Hi Kris, fancy seeing you here

(Damn...I told 'em not use the 'S' word....now the thread will wander off into the bathysphere...)

Maybe the KrisDel^TM special 'Mangulating' tool would be handy..an ideal present for the engineer at Christmas?

Del

Kris, I managed to drill, screwdriver and mangulate the middle battery and pull it out of the torch but by bit. Just. This is a 3 DCell Maglite so the last battery is closest to the switch and the end of it is about 14cm (5.5 in) from the end of the torch. So I would need a drill bit at least 16 to 18 cm long and a pair of pointy nosed pliers that can reach that long through a hole barely 35mm (1.4 in) wide. Must be a very tiny oil well rig that has a pulling device that is less than 35mm wide. Lillyputian?

I got the 14 day free trial version of the "KrisDel^TM special 'Mangulating'" tool and I've been especially pleased with it. If the full blown version is anything like the trial version you absolutely must purchase it geomech. I have been especially pleased with mine.

Last night I mangulated the blades on the wife's KitchenAid mixer. You should see the beautiful shape they now have (wife hasn't seen them yet, but I can't wait).

This thing is so versatile! Every ME absolutely needs one. And it's so portable. The trial version fits right into the back pocket ready to mangulate anything at hand! I understand the full version may come with its own carrying case (genuine faux leather?).

I was so impressed with the job it did on household items I thought I'd try it on the four D cell Mag-lite that I so dislike. So I coated the third battery in with "Liquid Nails",
inserted the batteries, and let it sit overnight. Next morning I removed the first two batteries and inserted the "mangulater". That KrisDel™ unit performed superbly! When I energized it, the "stuck" battery went flying out the side of the Mag-Lite never to be seen again. I could actually see daylight through that aircraft aluminum casing! I was amazed!

I have passed this trial version along to my neighbor who said he will do likewise. He said his cow was constipated and thought it might solve old Minnie's problem.

If the expected testimonials flood in as expected we may have to ask Kris and Del to set up a website. I don't think I can handle all the traffic alone.

Thank you in advance KrisDel™. The world is waiting!

Thanks for the testimonial....

I believe we may have an opening for a Marketing Executive (it's shaped like the one in the side of your maglite)...

I'm afraid it will be commission only initially as we are have cash-flow probles...mainly associated with the storage of vast quantities of virtual product.... virtual warehousing is very expensive don'cha know.

Del

Hello again geomech,

If you are going the "Drill Way", check at your electrician/plumber/builder friend for a 13 inch long masonry bit of the diameter you need.

Alternatively call at your local tool/hardware store, for the same.

Yes, I know that the drill face and relief angles are not quite right, but it will do the job OK.

Years ago I made up an interesting modified "T" Tap handle, by cutting it in half, and brazing on pipe couplings for 1/8" gas thread.

This enabled me to use steam pipe cut to various lengths, and threaded.

Also I used the jaws end, (for square head Taps and Ezyout Extractors), which fitted various sized "Ezyouts" (reverse direction coarse threaded extractor bits), from faraway at the other end of the pipe extension/jaw-assembly tool.

In a number of cases, I was able to drill, tap, and fasten more than 8 feet down ventilation ducting etc, and because I always did those "interesting" jobs after hours, nobody was able to work out how the finished work was achieved.

I'm sure with a little ingenuity, you should achieve removal of that last leaked "dry" cell.

Then all you have to do, is remove the "crud" clean up, and grease the barrel, just in case, before next battery insertions.....

Are you telling me you can use the equivalent of an "EZout" to remove a gooey substance? Maybe we can market a competitive product to the KrisDel™ Mangulater!

Let's see, how about the "crud" clean up, and grease the barrel" anti-Mangulating, triple bifurcating, Nintendo series.

Hello Johnjohn,

Depending on how long that torch has been just a'sittin' there, the leaking cell's inner contents may well have dried out and solidified into an almost concrete-like state - I have seen torches with cells in that sorry situation.

I have not actually tried the method on a Maglite/leaking cells situation, and don't intend to damage mine, by waiting for the results of a practical test with it.

Cheers from far away.....

The drill bit is no problem, even I have one that long. Admittedly the long-nose pliers are a problem ! However, scroll down this listing . Bore the entire thing out !

It is a sort of Lilliputian type thing - the average oil well has diameter/length ratio like a very very long strand of human here, but tools can still be deployed and steered. It would take the little operatives a long time to get to the irksome battery on foot.

I didn't read every reply, so could have been said above..

Send the Magg'y back to the manufacturer of the batteries or Maglite themself, and get it fixed, one of them had a RTB warranty, and free replacement, cannot remember now, have had the small key-chain "AAA" light replaced a few times ;o)

Whilst expedient and sensible (though you did miss the 'claim on insurance' one ) It's just not CR4. Respect for a sensible answer etc, but enter the daft spirit ( I think it's mescal by the way) . Perhaps we should launch a 'Geomech emergency Christmas fund' or similar ! The 'Mag' is in danger ! He may be scamming us for a free present. ROFL

I think geomech may be scamming us all for 4/3 of the usual Christmas present we would give him. Some folks are just never satisfied.

Hello again geomech,

I've been thinking further re your problem.

Seeing as you are in Perth, do you have a friend who works at Mt Newman, Mt Whaleback in the Pilbara, or other friend who works with explosives.

Firstly, install a fixed wire netting "catcher" over the other end of the torch, allowing for the dry dry cell volume to arrive suddenly.

A carefully calculated small amount of Cordtex, a blasting cap, along with a 6 volt battery, short length of twin flex, a pair of earmuffs (Grade 5 or better), along with a see-through explosion proof shield, and you'll have that dry dry cell out in a moment.

Best to do this away from built-up areas, or you will no doubt get a visit from the boys in blue.

As I said earlier, you need to think laterally.....

After trying that poor old Geomech will be thing laterally, vertically, and all over his walls ! ROFL

Lets face it folks the Maggie is probably worthless at this point. Maybe he should have a little fun(?) with it. Fill it almost up with Coca-Cola, drop in a Mentos then (if he's very, very fast) screw the cap on then run like hell!

Better yet, forget the cap. Just have fun with it. Who knows, maybe the combination of phosphoric acid along with the soothing(?) power of Mentos may loosen the damn thing after all.

If that doesn't work, do like I said earlier and toss it and buy one or more LED flashlights

These comments have become as useles as the mag- lite.

Amen!!!

But fun nevertheless, you gotta admit.

I do agree that the Mag-Lite has gotten a lot more build up than it's worth! Just because they have succumbed to mass marketing hype and produced a once great product in 15 different colors and lengths (including pink mini-mags for keychains, for ladies (of the night ), that doesn't, by any means, make it a superior product.

The hours of thought, debate and general ribaldry on this subject, if the time was charged for at proper rates, would have more than paid for a lifetime supply of Maglites......

Yes, you are right Sparky, but not as much fun.

Hello again geomech,

I trust by now you have removed that leaking dry cell, and are well on the way to completing the repairs to the Mag-lite.

Please advise which method/s you used, and when repairs are completed.

The suspense is keeping some without sleep.....

Flying home tonight Sparky.

Will give the wife and kids a quick kiss and go straight to the shed. Typical Male.

I'll keep you posted on the results.

Flying home tonight Sparky.

Ahhh... so you are Superman? And we all thought it was Clarke Kent

This link will enlighten you to your maglight issues. http://www.takeitapart.net/archives/mag-lite-2d/

Yeah. I finally received a reply from Energizer. They want me to send them the torch with the Batteries still in it. I Know, I know, the postage and hassle is probably more than the torch is worth but now it's a matter of principle.

I'll keep you posted.

Pun intended.

Hey! Thanks for letting us know. Be interesting to see what they have to say.

Do let us know.

If they don't give you a nice new one for Christmas, say you'll tell everybody on the internet how lousy they are ! E-mailing them a link to this place should do the trick if they hesitate. Hee hee. We want to know how good their Customer Service is. If they tell you off for having left old batteries in it, smile nice and ask them 'In the Season of goodwill" etc . I have gotten away with this on some appliances by going direct to the factory and speaking to somebody face-to-face. Easier for them to supply a new product rather than argue over how it failed. A bit of charm can work wonders. Merry X-mas to you, johnjohn and everyone else.

Hi:

I don't have a complete answer for you just yet, but since I own a lot of Mag-Lites and am on my second go- around with this problem, I thought you could possibly benefit from my experiences. First of all, the switches on D Mag-Lites are relatively easy to remove. You need a 5/64" Allen (hex) wrench. First, you remove the rubber boot the covers the switch button. Then you stick the Allen wrench into the hole at the center of the switch, and turn it CCW three times. The switch assembly is then free to come out the tail cap end. Of course, as you know, in the case of stuck batteries, you can't remove the switch anyway. I am looking for a decent solution that involves discussion of chemical reactions, where Alkaline batteries and Carbon Zinc are treated differently, since the former is base, and the latter is acid. I would think that vinegar would be used to neutralize alkaline leakage, while baking soda would be used to neutralize carbon zinc (acid) leakage. If you should happen upon such a discussion, please let me know. Such should help both of us. Good luck! PTL, Dave Zim'n

well my husband is currently outside beating the hell out of two maglite with these stuck battery issues..........I say throw the dern things away and start over! lol

Why?

He is out of your hair, he isn't lounging around, he is physically doing something, he is working on his fitness by beating up some inanimate object, what he is doing would also make the kids question, which is also a good thing, as they would learn something new.

Now, if you have some nails, or something you need fixed by utilising "banging" you could put him and the old maglight to good use getting whatever fixed.

If you bought him a new maglight to "Start over" how long will he have to lounge around doing nothing waiting for the new one to fail the same, the kids wont be questioning, he'll not be getting that little bit of excercise...

When he starts getting those batteries loose, ask to have a look at it, pour some superglue inside, and tel him it hasn't loosened anything, but while your banging, can you fix this for me...

I have a 4 cell mag and the exact thing happened to me. After beating the light on a block for a few i gave up for a few years. After moving i ran across it again while unpacking. So i tried it again. This time it took me five minutes to free the battery. I drilled a pilot hole in the center of the battery with a 10" * 1/8" bit. Then i beat a 10" * 1/2" lag bolt into the battery. By doing this the metal base of battery came off. I took it off the lag and beat the lag back into the guts of the battery until it could hold by screwing in the rest of the way. Just the head of the lag was still available so i flip it up side down, stuck the lag head in a bench vise, pulled to one side so i could put in a wood shim protecting the mag-lite rim from the vise. I then used the mag-lite as a lever against the shim and the battery was free. Now i have to clean it up and oil it.

Maybe i got lucky. Good luck

F350pg

I have been using my maglite for about 6 years. My parents bought it for me when I went to college. I kept it under my bed as both a line of defense and a way to change fuses when the idiots I lived with blew them by running their space heaters simultaneously. After I got a place of my own, I kept it in my car in case I got a flat. I went to change the batteries one day and all but one came out. I banged the light on the concrete surface of my cabin floor for 20 minutes with no success. I am a big guy and tried smashing it into all sorts of things to liberate the last battery. All this effort resulted in nothing but disappointment. Two days later, I picked up the flashlight with the intention of smashing it down onto the ground again. As I lifted it, the battery fell right out. The corrosion had been blocking the battery, but for some reason, leaving it open allowed the battery to shrink just enough to fall out. Not sure if this will help anyone, but I was almost ready to purchase a new maglite and was able to postpone. My grandfather was a sheriff and had a maglite for 30 years w/no problems. The reason his lasted so long was because the police use theirs so often that changing the batteries is a non-issue. In my case, I changed the batteries every year or so. The solution I've come up with (and was told by the police) is to keep the batteries separate from the light, if you're only going to keep it in your trunk for emergencies. That way, the batteries won't corrode and get stuck in your flashlight. I hope this helps.

Try poking the buildup material with the metal vertebra of old wiper blades. Use the barbed end of the metal vertebra for scraping. But, be careful with your eyes. - Jojo of Walnut, CA

Take any user removable parts out end caps bulbs ect and run some "Rubbing Alcohol" Into the flash light if you want submerse the flash light in rubbing alcohol then when or if you can get the battery to slide out let the rubbing alcohol dry overnight. They use rubbing alcohol in production of PCB's so we know that it will cause no harm to the light.

my mag-lite has the same problem. I did manage to disassemble the front end of the light with some ingenuity. Taking the lens assembly off reveals a c-clip at the bottom of the bulb housing, after removing the c-clip the bulb housing and switch assembly will come out of the aluminium tube. That will alow pushing the ruptured cell out of the tube.

My problem is now to clean out the corosion in the tube and bulb housing.

Any ideas on this subject?

can't get the batteries out of my flashlight. They're stuck inside. How do I change them? Is this covered by my warranty?
When this happens, it almost certainly means that the batteries have leaked and are stuck inside the barrel. Note: Batteries normally swell before leaking causing them to get stuck inside the barrel. Mag Instrument does not warrant against battery leakage, however, we do have agreements with Duracell, Eveready and Ray-O-Vac that allow us to replace your flashlight. If one of these brands of batteries is stuck (by leaking in your flashlight), send the flashlight to us and we will repair or replace the entire flashlight at no charge to you. We recommend that you ship the flashlight UPS or Postal Insured for tracking purposes. Please send to; Mag Instrument, Inc., Attn; Warranty Dept., 1721 E. Locust St., Ontario, Ca. 91761-7769. You pay the freight to us and we pay it going back. Please also include a letter with your name, address, phone number and a description of the problem. Don't forget to indicate what brand of batteries is inside if you know. We will check to verify that it is Duracell, Eveready and Ray-O-Vac; and if it is, we will send you a new flashlight at no charge. Occasionally we open the flashlight and we find it contains leaking batteries that are not Duracell, Eveready and Ray-O-Vac. In cases of "off-brand" battery leakage, we can replace your flashlight for a charge of -- $12.00 plus your state's sales tax for a 'C' or 'D' Mag-Lite® flashlight, or $8.00 plus tax for a Mini-Maglite® flashlight. If you are not sure, send the flashlight to us, with the batteries inside, and we will check to determine the brand. If we find that they are "off-brand" batteries, we will contact you and arrange for payment before sending you the replacement flashlight.

I had this exact problem and couldn't remove the top two batteries with any amount of force. I disassembled it as far as I reasonably could. Bulb base and switch assembly were not removed and therefore, I could not access the top of the batteries. I then submerged the flashlight in boiling hot water and let it sit for about an hour. The water turned black and when I picked up the flashlight, the Duracell's just slid out. I cleaned it up, let it dry for 24+ hours, and then sprayed some light silicone on the new set of batteries that went into it. It works just fine.