fixing flooded light?

[gzscuba]

Hi,

I recently went on a night dive in salt water, and the one of the tank lights (2 triple-A batteries) that I had recently bought flooded. I noticed it when I was washing everything post-dive. Oddly, the light still worked with the water in it !?!

Anyway, I dumped the batteries and rinsed it with fresh water. There is some corrosion on the light bulb section, but the rest of the light seems okay. Is there much that I can do to clean the o-ring and verify that the system is water-tight? Or should I just toss it and buy a new one?
Will holding the light underwater in a sink for a few hours be an adequate check?

Thanks,

 

[O2Addict]

Is this a Princeton light? We have had most of our flood at some stage or not. If it is they wilol exchange it under warantee.

I spoke to the Princeton guys at DEMA and they suggested the following things,

1) Screw the cover down until the light comes on but do not tighten it. Tightening it causes the case to distort and may cause a leak.
2) Only turn it off once out of the water and have dried it off. The difference between off and open it minute!!

Hope that helps

 

[Scottri]

I have salvaged a few flooded lights over the years. The trick is to rinse them quickly and get the batteries out as soon as possible. Clean it well with fresh water and you can use vinegar to remove some of the corrosion. A very light sandpaper works to clean the contacts as well. Clean the o-ring or replace it if it's damaged. Dry it very well. I use compressed air. Put it back together and go DIVE!