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Sircatalyst
Tinkerer
Username: Sircatalyst
Post Number: 1
Registered: 02-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - 07:01 pm: | 
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I have a Canon A1, which has served me well for years now.
But it's been behaving rather strangely, lately. At first, the shutter would only fire intermittently. At times it would simply not fire, I'd wait awhile, and then it would fire again. There was no observable pattern and the problem seemed to be at random.
After awhile, the LED display in the viewfinder began to fade. I assumed the battery was running out, so I ordered another one. This worked fine for some time (although the random-shutter problem still persisted), however, recently, the LED display has started fading out again, and the shutter doesn't want to fire at all.
I did some (rather unscientific) tests to see if the battery was still alive, and while it seems to have some juice left, it still seems rather low, given the fact that it's a brand new battery.
Any ideas as to what might be causing this strange problem? It seems almost like a short somewhere, but I'd rather get a second opinion before jumping to such dire conclusions...
Should I just start the funeral march now, or is there hope? |
Glenn
Tinkerer
Username: Glenn
Post Number: 518
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 19, 2009 - 10:17 am: |
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There could be a number of faults that give rise to your camera's symptoms, which only a CLA will pin point. One reason for a premature exhausted battery is not always checked early on in the stripdown, but is so easy to sort out that it should be checked first - dirt/debris can short out/provide current leakage path on the plastic insulators that support the battery test button and associated switch contacts. If the top of the camera is removed, you can see the plastic 'pillars' etc that support and isolate said switch from the chassis casting. Sometimes giving the insulation pieces a good brush/clean can solve the problem, you should also check the insulation on the wires associated with the battery 'box' and the feed to the test button. |
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