Bricked an Aimpoint M4s. Ideas??

[Jcon268]

Well I did it. I bricked an Aimpoint apparently by using the wrong kind of battery. FYI never use an Alkaline battery in your Aimpoint. Always use Lithium. Battery acid and such.. yeah.

Any ideas of what it could take to have Aimpoint fix this? Anyone ever gone through this process?

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[GrayGoose]

Maybe ask Aimpoint?

Aimpoint® US Store - Warranty and Service

Aimpoint guarantees our products to be free from defects in material and workmanship for a period of 2 years for professional and 10 years for personal use.

aimpoint.us

 

[NeoBlackdog]

How bad is it? Is there corrosion in the battery compartment?
I did that to an Eotech and was able to clean it out with baking soda and vinegar and a little scrub brush.

 

[Jcon268]

How bad is it? Is there corrosion in the battery compartment?
I did that to an Eotech and was able to clean it out with baking soda and vinegar and a little scrub brush.

Funny thing is there wasn't much corrosion in the compartment. A little at either end but not enough you'd expect to ruin an optic. I did clean it out exactly as you said. Hasn't come on yet. I'm afraid to do too much until I get a response from Aimpoint.

 

[Ben B.]

Make sure the terminal spring is seated well. My CompM4 has been "dead" 2 times over the years, each when I took it out to shoot after sitting for a while. I checked batteries, cleaned it out, but had to ensure that the spring was on well under the rubber washer. Mine has a serial number in the range of former US property, and is not covered by warranty. I've read that most Aimpoint repairs to these involve flushing battery compartment and ensuring good terminal contacts.

 

[Jcon268]

Make sure the terminal spring is seated well. My CompM4 has been "dead" 2 times over the years, each when I took it out to shoot after sitting for a while. I checked batteries, cleaned it out, but had to ensure that the spring was on well under the rubber washer. Mine has a serial number in the range of former US property, and is not covered by warranty. I've read that most Aimpoint repairs to these involve flushing battery compartment and ensuring good terminal contacts.

Yeah its the 2nd time I've had a battery leak which oddly has only happened in my Aimpoint. These batteries have never leaked under any other circumstance so I guess I gained a false trust in them. Are you referring to the spring and washer in the cap? I dropped a little baking soda and vinegar in the compartment and let it fizz up. It's drying out now but hasn't turned on and I'm not sure how long ago that battery leaked. I haven't taken this particular gun out to shoot in over a year.

 

[Jcon268]

Maybe ask Aimpoint?

Aimpoint® US Store - Warranty and Service

Aimpoint guarantees our products to be free from defects in material and workmanship for a period of 2 years for professional and 10 years for personal use.

aimpoint.us

Already reached out. Haven't heard back. Was curious if anyone had ever dealt with Aimpoint servicing their optic outside of warranty and what kind of costs they may have incurred..

 

[NeoBlackdog]

Get something down in there and abrade/scrape the area a bit. Some kind of brush or something to give it a little mechanical agitation and not rely strictly on the chemical action of the baking soda and vinegar.

 

[WillametteWill]

FYI never use an Alkaline battery in your Aimpoint. Always use Lithium. Battery acid and such.. yeah.

Curious, what brand of batteries? Confirming AAs (based on what I researched)?

 

[Jcon268]

Curious, what brand of batteries? Confirming AAs (based on what I researched)?

Happened with both Rayovac and Kirkland...but doing a little search I see that it has happened to people with all kinds of alkaline. Wish I had known this sooner. Only Energizer lithium going forward.

 

[Jcon268]

Get something down in there and abrade/scrape the area a bit. Some kind of brush or something to give it a little mechanical agitation and not rely strictly on the chemical action of the baking soda and vinegar.

It came back on! It's alive!...


Edit* it stopped responding again. My guess is the contacts may have become loose somehow. The compartment is pretty clean now. I'm going to let it sit over night to see what happens. I obviously need it more reliable than it is.

 

[Koda]

Aimpoints product page says you can use either AA alkaline or lithium batteries....

What does "bricked" mean?

The only time Ive had a battery leak is when it was stored long term. Years ago I read somewhere someones optic caught fire in the safe over this, but cant recall the post. The takeaway of course was remove the batteries if not using.

Was yours stored a while?

 

[TTSX]

 

[Jcon268]

Aimpoints product page says you can use either AA alkaline or lithium batteries....

What does "bricked" mean?

The only time Ive had a battery leak is when it was stored long term. Years ago I read somewhere someones optic caught fire in the safe over this, but cant recall the post. The takeaway of course was remove the batteries if not using.

Was yours stored a while?

Stored for about a year, yes. Brick is a general term for something electronic losing its function..hence it's as useful as a brick/paperweight.

The major draw of Aimpoint is its reputation for durability and battery life. Most people who keep them on a defense gun don't want to have to pop in a battery when something is threatening their lives. Just saying, it doesn't make much sense given their pedigree. I think Aimpoint should reconsider their suggestions unless they want more people making claims. I'm still not convinced mine is functioning as well as it was before...

 

[American123]

Battery acid is best dissolved with simple water, the solution is dilution.

Make sure all of it is properly dissolved, and then it is all properly dried out.

I've revived plenty of things that are corroded with battery acid. You want to avoid getting water into the internal because it's water tight so it's go no where to escape to except the way it went in. A hair dryer, but not cooking the internals, could help.

While this sounds stupid simple - you've missed something.

Also: You get a $400 red dot optic and then skimp on the batteries… for shame.

 

[Koda]

The major draw of Aimpoint is its reputation for durability and battery life. Most people who keep them on a defense gun don't want to have to pop in a battery when something is threatening their lives. Just saying, it doesn't make much sense given their pedigree. I think Aimpoint should reconsider their suggestions unless they want more people making claims.

Ive always wondered about this, I wish these optic companies would clarify this issue.
Its well known to remove batteries for long term storage for most all battery powered devices. My best guess is that for self defense optics its best to power cycle them once a month or something to prevent whatever causes battery leakage from storage.

 

[Jcon268]

Ive always wondered about this, I wish these optic companies would clarify this issue.
Its well known to remove batteries for long term storage for most all battery powered devices. My best guess is that for self defense optics its best to power cycle them once a month or something to prevent whatever causes battery leakage from storage.

Aimpoint even boasts that their RDS can be left on for 4 to 5 years on a single battery change. Not just the battery in the compartment but the dot actually turned on. But this all relies on a quality battery design. I think alkaline is fine for 95% cases but I think this is one of those exceptions. Of course I change out the battery every year or so anyways (3 to 4 years before I need to according to them) but I come to find a wasted battery within a years time.
If it were a hunting or plinking gun I'd pull the batteries out. Then again, most of those optics, if illuminated, use a CR2032 which is also lithium. This is actually the only optic I've ever used that uses a AA.

 

[Jcon268]

Battery acid is best dissolved with simple water, the solution is dilution.

Make sure all of it is properly dissolved, and then it is all properly dried out.

I've revived plenty of things that are corroded with battery acid. You want to avoid getting water into the internal because it's water tight so it's go no where to escape to except the way it went in. A hair dryer, but not cooking the internals, could help.

While this sounds stupid simple - you've missed something.

Also: You get a $400 red dot optic and then skimp on the batteries… for shame.

I used the hair dryer and it came back on. Low heat for about 5 minutes. You're right, there was water in there that needed to be dried out.

As far as skimping.... this is the only optic I've ever encountered that uses a AA battery. Every other optic I've ever owned used a CR2032 which is lithium. I never had to think about it potentially being alkaline. So I guess rather than skimping it was more a matter of overlooking the possibility of it needing a special battery. Everyone has AA sitting around their home. And as @Koda mentioned, it says you can use alkaline right on their website. There was no reason for me to believe it could have these issues.

 

[Jcon268]

Also: You get a $400 red dot optic and then skimp on the batteries… for shame.

Try $800+

 

[American123]

I used the hair dryer and it came back on. Low heat for about 5 minutes. You're right, there was water in there that needed to be dried out.

As far as skimping.... this is the only optic I've ever encountered that uses a AA battery. Every other optic I've ever owned used a CR2032 which is lithium. I never had to think about it potentially being alkaline. So I guess rather than skimping it was more a matter of overlooking the possibility of it needing a special battery. Everyone has AA sitting around their home. And as @Koda mentioned, it says you can use alkaline right on their website. There was no reason for me to believe it could have these issues.

I get that. What setting did you have the aimpoint on?

I don't have aimpoints that take AA, but I have many of those cheap AAA Sig Romeo 5 and have let them sit for more than a year without experiencing corrosion build up. I wonder if the "shake awake" feature keeps the draw low enough to prevent that.

I've only ever used Duracell, they aren't perfect though.