Tips For Fixing a Broken Terminal On a Digital Camera
Here are five ways to fix a broken battery terminal on your digital camera
. They range from simple and temporary to more complicated and permanent. Practice these methods until you are confident that you are skilled enough to do them on the camera.
1
The first option is the easiest and cheapest. If the terminal is the one that connects the two batteries, simply use a piece of aluminum foil to form the contact and glue it in place on the side away from the batteries. If the entire surface is missing that the foil would attach to, simply make one from a piece of plastic (like a milk jug) and tape it in place.
2
If you are a little more skilled and the connection is still there but the flap won't close because a small piece of plastic is missing, you can tape it shut. If the tape is too ugly for you, you can try your hand at plastic welding (melting two pieces together) with a soldering iron by melting a small piece from the inside of the camera that you can spare to fill in the missing or broken part. The soldering iron must be used outdoors because of fumes, and only heat up the surfaces enough to melt them together -- not to burn them.
3
Use conductive glue to form the missing contacts, wherever they are. Since the conductive glue does have a degree of resistance, use only the amount that you need in places where more solid alternatives do not exist. You may wish to cut a note card to use as a stencil before squeezing out the glue and removing the card to allow the mixture to cure according to instructions on the container.
4
Soldering may help with the problem. If the terminals on the inside are the ones that are broken, open up the camera. Close a pair of needle-nosed pliers on the wire between the area that you wish to solder and electrical components to act as a heat sink to prevent heat damage from the soldering. Preheat the soldering iron and use rosin core solder to clean off the tip of the soldering iron against a moist sponge. Make sure that the two contacts that you intend to solder are free of oxidation and dirt by sanding them. Heat the area you want to solder and hold the rosin core solder near the area you are heating so that the solder flows toward the heat. Allow the contact to cool before putting the camera back together.
5
Buy spare parts online from the manufacturer if your digital camera model is still in production. Alternatively, you can get spare parts from another camera that is similar from eBay or another online auction site.
Tips For Fixing a Broken Terminal On a Digital Camera