Found this in a battery recycle bin of a Home Depot.
As you can see the D cells are corroded and stuck in there! :_( How do I get them out?
Also what is this flashlight, what brand, when was it made, etc?
Whoever trashed it had taken off the end cap and reflector. They probably wanted to salvage what they could before throwing it out. But they didn’t rip the LED out 
BTW, that LED is on a springy mount… maybe for a zoomable reflector/lens or something like that?
I tried to get the cells out. This is what i’ve done. The cells still won’t budge!!! It’s like they’re part of the case.
LED Mag light, 3D cell I believe. Are you in the US?If so you can buy these anywhere.
Opps, on second look I think it is a two D cell version.
Yeah i don’t think there’s anything worth salvaging here
If you want to turn it into a project. Soak in water a few times over night. Also it can be cleaned up very well with vinegar. You can use a tooth brush to scrub away while soaking the stuff.
I cleaned up all the white crud with vinegar.
I drilled into the first cell there as you can see and took most of the innards out. But I gotta get the outer casing un-stuck from the tube and slide it out.
Is there a way to remove the LED and electronics assembly on the top? If I can get that out then I can punch those cells out from the other side.
There’s the LED!! And the switch! And whatever may be inside there. :~
You can buy a new led for under $2.
Trust me there is nothing useful inside. There is no point salvaging unless you are going to use the host to mod, in which case you’d do better getting a new light with a healthy switch assembly. New maglites are really cheap specially older models like this one.
Also, DL200xxxx is the serial number, D cel, Led. It is most likely the first model with a luxeon LED.
I assume the new LED maglites still have the switches built the same way?
Pinch the rubber cap to pull it from the switch. There should be a small hole in the center of the switch button; use a small allen wrench to unthread/loosen the set screw inside. It’s just a pointed screw that digs into the opposite side of the tube. When it’s unthreaded, you should be able to remove the entire switch/LED assembly from the tube.
Did you try WD40?