Help! My Helios 4.5 has drowned :(

[FreeFloat]

I just discovered that my Helios has flooded......... The battery's pooched for sure, there's this gaping hole in the bottom out of which poured some very brown (rust colored) water. The lighthead also emptied about an ounce of water out of it.

Oh boy oh boy oh boy.

Being as I've only ever dived the thing in fresh water, what are my chances of salvaging it? I've disassembled as much of the lighthead as I can figure out how. The bulb sorta looks okay, I know the battery's finished, but is there any way to tell if the ballast might have survived? And what else can I do to try to save it?

 

[jonnythan]

I'd dry out and inspect the head/ballast as much as I could, then hook the head up to whatever 12V souce I could find to see if it comes on. I happen to have an 8 AA Radio Shack battery pack and a cigarette lighter adapter.. I'd just touch the leads to the connections on the inside of the lid and see if it strikes.

Course, the first thing I'd do is just call Halcyon. Why bother with all the hassle if they might just replace/fix it for you?

 

[FreeFloat]

I'd dry out and inspect the head/ballast as much as I could, then hook the head up to whatever 12V souce I could find to see if it comes on. I happen to have an 8 AA Radio Shack battery pack and a cigarette lighter adapter.. I'd just touch the leads to the connections on the inside of the lid and see if it strikes.

Course, the first thing I'd do is just call Halcyon. Why bother with all the hassle if they might just replace/fix it for you?

You really think Halcyon might?

I have no idea how it flooded to begin with.........

 

[jonnythan]

It can't hurt, can it?