2026-06-14 Vivitar 285 Flash Battery Leak Problem

Vivitar 283 and 285 flash are pretty common. This is a 285, easy to recognize by the zoom head. The 283 does not have this feature.

Most of these older Vivitar flash show signs of leakage in their battery packs. It doesn’t kill them, but it does make bringing them back to life a bit of a chore. Since the batteries are contained in a “clip” the top end doesn’t even have electrical connections to the sliding lid—the connections are inside the clip (copper at the top end and corrosion green at the bottom end).

I clean the clip’s contacts with water. The leakage crystals dissolve well in water. In very difficult corrosion contacts I use vinegar, rinsing it off with water and then letting them dry.

The contacts between the battery clip and the flash—located at the bottom of the battery well—often need cleaning too. Usually I just use water on cotton swabs because I don’t want vinegar anywhere near electronics. Particularly electronic flash, as they pack quite a wallop.

There aren’t many indicators on the back of a 285. Top left is the exposure check light (green) that lights up if the test flash had power to spare. Top right is the press switch (white) for the lighting up of the calculator dial on the right hub. Bottom left is the power on/off switch (showing red as the unit is on). To the right is the ready light—showing green to indicate almost full power.

When the 285 reaches full power the green light starts to flash red/green. The charge whine will cut off when the flash is at full power and then resume as the flash capacitor needs topping up.

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