Get it out asap, looks like it's already leaking.

replaced mine yearly back in the day and whenever I got a motherboard with one on it.
they generally last 3 to 5 years but like all rechargeables they're optimal within 2 years.

As others have pointed out, get that sucker out FAST!
Though the photo quality is pretty bad, I see what looks like corrosion next to those resistors above. So you'll need to handle that as well (tissue soaked in vinegar & IPA should take care of that). Depending on the damage, you might need to redo the soldering on the affected pads.

Well this *is* a varta battery I think. Most people call this form factor of NiCD batteries "varta batteries" because most (all ?) of the are made by varta.

Like the others said, get it out asap, and if it started to leak, clean your motherboard with some white vinegar.

Yup, that's the classic Varta NiCad barrel of corrosive Death, the embodiment of Evil itself.

Get that thing out before it eats up the traces on the mobo.

On it!

Looking at those resisters, my guess is that it has already leaked a little bit.

Try adding a drop of vinegar to the area where the battery was and seeing if it reacts to anything. If it does, get to cleaning before the battery juice starts eating away at the board. It's not a fun process the stuff spreads far and wide some how.
If it's sold in your area, get the concentrated vinegar, it would cut down the wait time.

BTW, most people call battery juice, battery acid and get confused when it reacts with vinegar. Those type of batteries are basic and thus react with the acid in the vinegar.

Well

Could've been worse I guess.

The SIMM sockets and the board around affected resistors cleaned up ok (I hope there is no damage under the sockets, that will be impossible to repare)

Two SIMMs were eaten, I won't be surprised if those won't work.

After the cleaning

This is for the board view after the cleaning

The green halo between the battery terminals is the electrolyte going between the layers, can't do anything to that. Hopefully this didn't short out or ate the traces there.
I'll see how this thing boots up!
Will probably first try to boot it with 6 Ram modules instead of 8, don't want the two corroded SIMMs to add another unknown variable to the troubleshooting...

Badscrew wrote on 2021-07-26, 22:08:

Will probably first try to boot it with 6 Ram modules instead of 8, don't want the two corroded SIMMs to add another unknown variable to the troubleshooting...

Good decision! The less unknown, the better!

All 486 I know of will only work with four 30pin SIMMs in each bank. Six modules will cause problems.

It won't work with installed 6 memory modules as one bank will be incomplete. Well, it just might boot and show 4MB of memory.

CalamityLime wrote on 2021-07-26, 19:40:

If it does, get to cleaning before the battery juice starts eating away at the board. It's not a fun process the stuff spreads far and wide some how.

Come to think of it, it's actually quite unbelievable how it sometimes spreads. I mean, it literally appears in distant places, far away from the battery, without showing a clear path to how it got there. Magic, I guess... 😁

Doornkaat wrote on 2021-07-27, 10:24:

All 486 I know of will only work with four 30pin SIMMs in each bank. Six modules will cause problems.

That's valid for all 386 / 486 boards with 30 pin SIMMs. Each 30 pin module provides 8 bits of data, so you need 4 modules for the full 32 bits.

Badscrew wrote on 2021-07-26, 22:04:

The SIMM sockets and the board around affected resistors cleaned up ok (I hope there is no damage under the sockets, that will be impossible to repare)

The first 3 slots should really be removed (with a desoldering gun and some experience it's not very hard). My guess is that there's a lot of gunk underneath, and it will continue to eat away at all those traces that go under the memory slots.

Doornkaat wrote on 2021-07-27, 10:24:

All 486 I know of will only work with four 30pin SIMMs in each bank. Six modules will cause problems.

Good to know!

I'll create a separate topic for this PC revival.

My idea is to use it as a Windows 3.11 machine, so 4 Meg should be allright.

bloodem wrote on 2021-07-27, 11:16:

The first 3 slots should really be removed (with a desoldering gun and some experience it's not very hard). My guess is that there's a lot of gunk underneath, and it will continue to eat away at all those traces that go under the memory slots.

This is what i fear.
Don't have the desoldering gun - but this may be the reason to get one finally 😁

Badscrew wrote on 2021-07-27, 13:07:

bloodem wrote on 2021-07-27, 11:16:

The first 3 slots should really be removed (with a desoldering gun and some experience it's not very hard). My guess is that there's a lot of gunk underneath, and it will continue to eat away at all those traces that go under the memory slots.

This is what i fear.
Don't have the desoldering gun - but this may be the reason to get one finally 😁

That is on my list as well . Maybe somebody can give some recommendations as to what to get .

Good luck with the board .

darry wrote on 2021-07-27, 15:01:

That is on my list as well . Maybe somebody can give some recommendations as to what to get .

I've been using this one for a few years and it's been great.
There is a learning curve, though. And, of course: The. Tip. Must. Always. Be. Clean 😁