How to Remove a Stuck Battery in a Mini Maglite

A mini Maglite is unlike a regular flashlight because it uses more powerful batteries to light its bulb. A battery can become defective and swell to larger than its normal size, getting stuck inside of the maglite’s battery compartment. You can remove a stuck battery from a Maglite, providing it is made of metal and you feel comfortable with the possibility that the casing might break. The Maglite will be useless as long as the stuck battery is still inside of it.

Put a sheet of newspaper on a table. Stand the mini Maglite on the newspaper with the battery cap facing up. Hold the mini Maglite down on the newspaper with your left hand.

Hold the pliers in your right hand. Grip the jaws of the pliers around the sides of the battery cap. Twist the pliers to loosen the battery cap from the mini Maglite. Put the pliers on the newspaper. Unscrew the battery cap from the mini Maglite with the fingers of your right hand. Put the battery cap on the newspaper.

Unscrew the reflector from the front end of the mini Maglite. Remove the retaining ring from the front end of the mini Maglite. Pull out the light assembly from the front end of the mini Maglite.

Take the mini Maglite, the needle-nosed pliers and the wood block outside. Put the wood block on the sidewalk.

Kneel down by the wood block. Hold the wood block down using your left hand. Hold the mini Maglite horizontally with your right hand.

Slam the mini Maglite onto the wood block with as much force as you can muster. Continue slamming the mini Maglite onto the wood block until you can see the edge of the stuck battery exiting from the battery compartment at the back.

Hold the mini Maglite by the front end with your left hand. Grab the edge of the stuck battery with the jaws of the needle-nosed pliers. Pull the stuck battery out of the battery compartment. Dispose of the stuck battery properly.

Go inside. Put the mini Maglite on the newspaper.

Wrap the steel wool around the blade of the flat-head screwdriver. Insert the screwdriver into the battery compartment of the mini Maglite.

Twist the screwdriver in a circle to scour out the inside of the battery compartment. Remove the screwdriver. Tap the battery compartment end of the mini Maglite on the newspaper to empty it of dirt and debris.

Blow out the battery compartment of the mini Maglite with compressed air.

Scour around the rim of the battery lid with steel wool. Blow off the battery lid with compressed air.

Put a Maglite battery into the battery compartment. Put the battery lid onto the back end of the mini Maglite.

Put the light assembly back into the front end of the mini Maglite. Put the retaining ring back onto the front end of the mini Maglite. Screw the reflector back onto the front end of the mini Maglite.