I have this digital camera, and it’s sorta buggered … the reason being (I think) that the springy paddles at one end of the battery case have rather lost their spring so the batteries aren’t so well connected any more.
So I had this thought that if I were to stuff some good conducting easily mouldabe material down the end (and of the things I have on hand, silver foil seems to fit the bill) it might complete the connection and fix the problem.
Now, on the one hand, I think if I do this I may not be able to get the stuff out again, so I’d like to know it’s a vaguely sensible plan before I do it.
On the other hand, the thing’s rooted anyway (and too cheap to be worth repairing) so, hey, what have I got to lose?
Well, I did this as a kid when I had some piece of electronics that failed, so it’ll work for a while. At least until the foil falls out. It’s not really a long term solution.
You should make sure the contacts aren’t corroded – if they are, they’ll need to be cleaned before anything will work.
well, I’ve been doing that for about 6 months on and off, actually I have to hook it out with a crochet hook and then it just sags back after a few uses … part of my plan was that this might increase the actual contact area, cos I think the “pointy end” (technical term ) was slipping off the contact.
anyway, nothing ventured so I’ve been stuffing the old alfoil in where I think it would make a difference, but … no luck. Either it just wasn’t conductive enough after all, or there was a different issue.
You could try inserting a small piece of resilient material behind the paddles, to keep them bent out/springy; in this case, it wouldn’t need to be conductive - maybe a slice of pencil eraser or something.
I have to hook it out with a crochet hook and then it just sags back after a few uses … part of my plan was that this might increase the actual contact area, cos I think the “pointy end” (technical term 
) was slipping off the contact.