Alkaline leak AAAAAH Tank007 EO9

I stupidly put an alkaline in my wifes purple E09 and yep it leaked. The electronics are fine as I tried the head on my one. Problem is the battery end. I got the battery out, cleaned it out with vinegar but it doesnt work. I would like to take the spring out to clean it all properly but it wont budge. Does anyone know if these are soldered, or glued in place? Or should they just fall out?

Don't have the E09, but I've always had to remove the spring with tweezers or a dental pick on my AAA lights.

Once you get hold of it, twist in the same direction the spring coil is wound.

Should lift / thread right out.

Try to pull it out using hook made of paper clip.

I find it easiest to twist the spring anti-clockwise (if you’re looking inside) with some needlenose pliers to remove/reinsert. They’re not glued or soldered in.

Hope you can get it working again!

Don't remove the spring... The E09 is anodized inside the tube and you are going to have a very difficult time getting it reinstalled properly without having connection issues...

It is not anodized at the very bottom of the tube where the spring sits.

Maybe it was something specific to the first design of E09s then? This was a problem with the original ones I thought and was referenced in the squirrel's lengthy review:

https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/5882

Well I guess I'll take your word on the E09 spring..BUT I've removed and replaced the spring in numerous AAA's & AA' lights in all varieties and flavors...never a problem at all. Out and In in no time at all.

Why not just pour a little diluted Greased Lightning into the bottom of the tube after the spring is removed. Leave it there for 45 minutes or so then pour it out and rinse. That should easily get rid of any anodization near the spring and make reassembly a breeze.

If it is anodized, it shouldn’t be. That’s how the negative gets back to the driver through the spring and tube.

If I’m reading the OP right, he HAS TO take it out because it currently does not work.

My suggestion would be to just rip it out. You’re going to have to replace the spring anyway. Springs usually become useless after being exposed to an alkaline leak.

You can see how the spring is coiled:

My needlenose pliers are quite long. With care it is not that difficult to reinsert the spring.

It’ great to get all the experiences from others. Unfortunately the light doesnt work at the moment and it has to be the rear spring as there’s not much to these lights and I have already confirmed the head is fine. Maybe the battery had been leaking longer than I thought as the spring seems pretty solid in the tube, but still looks clean. I would just like to get in there and clean it and make sure the spring has good contact, cause it’s a great little light.

I also wanted to make sure I wasnt going to damage anything else by pulling it out if it was glued or soldered.

Taking on board the comments about whether it has anodizing or not i’ll probably just give it a go and pull it out.

billoz, it is possible the leak has corroded the non-anodized part of the aluminium that makes contact with the spring.

You can see such corrosion has ruined the tailcap of a Maglite. It is difficult to find any continuity in this corroded aluminium; even with a new spring the corrosion would need to be thoroughly cleared for the circuit to complete:

Just wanted to let everyone know I took the spring out. Had to use quite a bit of force and it was out of shape when I got it out. Cleaned up the spring and used a dremmel to slightly clean up the bottom of the tube. Bent the spring back into as good a shape as I could and placed it back in the tube. Light works perfectly again now :smiley:
Using NIMH now which I should have in the first place. No more alkaleaks !!
Thanks for all the help !!

20 lashes with an 18ga silicone wire for using an alkaleak in a non-emergency situation.

I know this is a old thread but I had the exact same problem with my Tank 007 E09 and was about to just give up on it and throw it away.

I used a paper clip with a hook on the end as the other poster recommended and yanked the spring out, cleaned everything up the best I could and the light now works again!

So thanks to this forum I’m a happy camper again.

Thanks guys.

Love a story with happy ending. :+1:

Friends don’t let friends use AlkaLeaks.

I have an E09 I bought some time ago that I’m about to gift as a stocking filler. Nice to be reminded that I should also include a lithium primary AAA, just to avoid the inevitable alkaline nastiness.

That’s great bourne. Mine or I should say my wifes little E09 is still going strong since the fix. No more alkaleaks for me since.