jefframsey
Well-known member
I have been eyeballing this 540c at my local scrapper's shop for about 6 months now. Finally asked about it and it was completely untouched since arriving at their shop - a retro bag of mystery! I struck a fair deal with the shop and took it home. I have a friend (who is a member here) who has offered to sell me a power supply for this machine for a very decent price, so I decided to take the plunge. (Is there such a thing as too many vintage Apple restoration projects?)
When I pulled back the battery release clasps, I could see that each of the battery compartments showed that familiar white glow of exposed electrolyte, as if the batteries were trying to say "Oh? You think it's bad when a computer releases all of it's magic smoke? Wait until you see what is hiding behind door number two!" Physically removing the batteries took an act of congress, but I finally got them both out. I quickly realized that there were indeed things that can leak out of a computer that are worse than smoke. I finished the dissection as I wanted to see just how bad the circuitry was. Over all, it does not look too bad. The battery contacts are the only corrosion I see on the logic board. They have a very "blue-green" corrosion on them, a lot less like something that someone spilled in the kitchen and a lot more like something that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles bathed in at some point in the their youth.
Anyhow, down another restoration rabbit hole I go. Pics and updates as things progress. Oh, and one more thing: Does anyone have a right housing panel plastic piece for sale? It is part number 076-0265, circled in the following diagram:
When I pulled back the battery release clasps, I could see that each of the battery compartments showed that familiar white glow of exposed electrolyte, as if the batteries were trying to say "Oh? You think it's bad when a computer releases all of it's magic smoke? Wait until you see what is hiding behind door number two!" Physically removing the batteries took an act of congress, but I finally got them both out. I quickly realized that there were indeed things that can leak out of a computer that are worse than smoke. I finished the dissection as I wanted to see just how bad the circuitry was. Over all, it does not look too bad. The battery contacts are the only corrosion I see on the logic board. They have a very "blue-green" corrosion on them, a lot less like something that someone spilled in the kitchen and a lot more like something that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles bathed in at some point in the their youth.
Anyhow, down another restoration rabbit hole I go. Pics and updates as things progress. Oh, and one more thing: Does anyone have a right housing panel plastic piece for sale? It is part number 076-0265, circled in the following diagram:
