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Samsung M380 Trender went for a swim; battery still shows voltage?

My 15 year old son "found his phone in the pool" yesterday. It's a little Samsung M380 Trender in which I already replaced the LCD when it was caught in a closing car door last fall (long story).

The phone is now completely dismantled & sitting in a bag of rice until I can do a cleanup with 99% isopropyl alcohol later today.

My question is specific to the battery. It has a moisture indicator which is now bright pink. However, I'm measuring about 3.3 volts across the terminals (+ probe on the + terminal, and - on each of the other two, I get about 3.29 V and 3.32 volts, respectively). I plan to replace the battery anyway, but is there a chance I can use it to troubleshoot the rest of the phone? I hate to order in a new battery only to find out the LCD is bad... or something else is wrong.

Just wondered what experience & expertise was out there on this topic. Thanks for any advice.

Answered! View the answer I have this problem too

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Forgot to mention, the battery is labeled to supply 3.7 volts, so it is reading below it's rated voltage. But I don't know how recently it was fully charged.

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For as long as it retains a charge, and the circuit protector inside the battery lets it being charged, you should be okay with using it. Of course, since you are already planing on replacing it, all you have left to do for now is to clean it. I believe the threshold for this battery is 2.7 volt.

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had a few batteries with charge after a dunk...problem is they drain fast and charge slow. They're pretty cheap anyway so I tend to replace it when I'm cleaning everything else. Good luck. Some LCD's can take days and days for moisture to come out...like a sponge!

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Feels weird to answer my own question, but figured I'd post for the benefit of those who come here with a similar problem.

The answer is, YES, in this case, the battery continues to perform almost normally.

I completely dismantled the phone, cleaning with 99% isopropyl alcohol, noting how amazingly fast corrosion & crud appeared on some components. I reassembled the phone, inserting the aforementioned battery, and it booted right up. The LCD did show a weird bubble effect from lingering moisture, but that has cleared significantly over the last few days.

My son indicated the battery does lose its charge faster than it used to. I'll order a new one the next time I need to pick up some parts, but we're finding this one to still be quite usable.

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Greg R will be eternally grateful.
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