B&H 346A - Corroding wires fixable? Or lost cause?

[Bethany Johnson]

Hello! I humbly come to this forum as someone newly dabbling in the 8mm world with my grandfather's old Bell & Howell 346A Super 8 projector. When I opened it up and tested it, the motor worked. But there was a lot of green/blue ooze everywhere, and I discovered the wires connecting the light to the toggle switch/motor are corroding. It looks like it's all soldered together, which is not a skill I possess. Given that, is there's a way to replace the wires or even the entire toggle switch? (And if so, where does anyone know where I would begin in that endeavor?)

I know this isn't an expensive unit so I could just buy another, but it has sentimental value, and also is an unemployment hobby I recently picked up, so the feeling of accomplishing this goal is worth more to me. Ideally if there is a way to fix it up, that'd be my preference. But I suppose I'd also settle for someone giving it to me straight that this is a lost cause.

Thanks in advance for any/all advice!

[Shane C. Collins]

Have you tried hitting those wires with some contact cleaner? You may be able to remove the corrosion that way. The wires themselves may be OK.

[Joseph Banfield]

Soldering is not difficult to do and all you need is a cheap low wattage soldering iron and some rosin core solder available at any hardware store. Just replace wirring with new stuff of the same guage and you'll be good to go. There are plenty of videos on Youtube that show how to solder.

[Scot McCauley]

So it looks like it is just a breakdown- of sorts - of the plastic covering on the wires? A lot of times the wires get brittle. Sometimes they get gooey. Do the wires outer plastic coating seem brittle or are there any bare wire sticking out anywhere other than where it is connected to the switch? The soldered contacts on the switch look fine from what I can tell. If the wires are brittle or there is exposed wire where its sheathing has fallen apart or dissolved that is an issue. If so they make a liquid electrical tape you can coat it with and cover up any of the exposed parts other than where it was originally soldered to the switch. Just anywhere where it might touch something else and short out. Other than that I would just wipe it up. You can use a Q-tip and some rubbing alcohol to clean that up with just make sure you do not have it plugged in at the time. I would do that before you try using the liquid electrical tape if needed. It will just help it bond to the old sheathing. Hopefully this make sense. Good luck.

[Janice Glesser]

Once you have the corrosion removed you can cover the wire with liquid electrical tape to seal and protect the old wires. Some brand have a small tip for easy application and others you can just use a small hobby paint brush to apply.

https://www.amazon.com/Ganbaro-Elect...s%2C191&sr=8-6