Chosen Solution
So long story short, it got chucked into my turtle tank by my nephew, and I am trying to see if it can be salvaged or if I need to just buy a new one altogether. I got it opened up just fine, the controller briefly turned on before dying and not able to charge up, and the board seems to have bits of what looks like corrosion around some of the connectors and soldered points on the board. Would a simple swap of the charging port and batter solve the issue, or is it SOL?
Hi @kurayami As you know water and electronics and electricity are not a good mix. The impurities in the water causes corrosion and provides circuit paths for the electricity which were not in the controller’s operating design and could damage the components. First do not turn on your controller and then you need to remove the battery as soon as possible from the controller to minimize any further damage. Then you need to dis-assemble the rest of the controller and clean all the affected parts using Isopropyl Alcohol 90%+ (available from electronics parts stores) to remove all traces of corrosion and water. Do not use “rubbing alcohol” as in some cases this is only 70% IPA or less, can contain scents and is not as effective. If you do use it, check the label to verify the amount of IPA Here is a link that describes the process. Electronics Water Damage You may have to replace the battery as it is very hard to recover a battery from water damage. As always with electronics, especially surface mounted PCBs be gentle when handling and especially when brushing away the corrosion. You do not want to remove any components from the board. Hopefully after you have done all this the controller might possibly work correctly again. Here is a link to the ifixit guide(s) for repairing your controller. (you don’t state which model it is, so hopefully it is listed) Sony Game Console Accessory Repair If this process seems too daunting, take your controller to a reputable, professional electronics repair service experienced in water damage repair and ask for a quote for a repair. If you decide to do this, do it sooner than later.
