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Deckeda
Tinkerer
Username: Deckeda
Post Number: 1
Registered: 08-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 03:16 pm: | 
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As you may know, there's no slack in the wire that connects to the tab on the battery holder. And I can't seem to keep the wire snugged up against or wrapped around the tab while soldering.
I'm contemplating lengthening the wire (THAT I should be able to solder) and just jamming the new end under the tab (between tab and plastic holder.) |
Ethostech
Tinkerer
Username: Ethostech
Post Number: 130
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 07:23 pm: |
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Most - if not all of the Canonets use Mercury cells and it is characteristic that the positive lead is assailed by what is known as "black wire corrosion". That is to say the multistrand copper cores transform to black non-conductive powder. If you can clean the end to be soldered to bright tinnable copper - then you are OK. If not - then you can be sure that the entire length of the wire up to its first soldered terminal on the camera's pcb is dead and useless. You would not be able to lengthen that wire by soldering an extension. The total wire must be replaced with new.
As you may know, Mercury cells are no londer available but there are suitable alternatives which I might add, do NOT long term create black wire corrosion.
Hope this helps |
Deckeda
Tinkerer
Username: Deckeda
Post Number: 2
Registered: 08-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 08:18 pm: |
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Interesting. But mine doesn't have that problem. The corrosion I had looked white, and was limited to the metal on the holder. When the wire snapped off the strands were (and are) otherwise fine.
Wish I had known about this years ago. I never stored the camera with a battery in it (just over 10 years) and when I was using it never saw any corrosion. But today when I opened it up ... it looked as if an invisible battery had been left in it to rot.
Thanks. |
Fredster
Tinkerer
Username: Fredster
Post Number: 35
Registered: 06-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, August 21, 2009 - 07:20 am: |
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You are probably best off lengthening the wire, and doing so by replacing it in 1 piece rather than a splice. It is sometimes possible to Crazy Glue the insulation of an existing wire to keep it in position while you solder the end, but the heat from the iron will cause the glue to release so you need to work fast and are likely to end up with a cold joint. |
Ethostech
Tinkerer
Username: Ethostech
Post Number: 132
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, August 21, 2009 - 07:25 am: |
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Fair enough. Your problems are then not so great.
They would have been even less great if Canon had left just a little slack in the battery chamber wire. I can think of several Mercury battery powered SLR's which require the mirror-box pulled in order to rewire from battery compartment to pcb. But "serviceman-friendly" seems not to be a design and production criterion of camera makers. Particularly so the contemporary genre of black polycarbonate gizmos which all snap together with concealed internal lugs - either never to be accessed or broken in the attempts. |
Deckeda
Tinkerer
Username: Deckeda
Post Number: 3
Registered: 08-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, August 21, 2009 - 09:05 am: |
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Hehe --- new challenge. The metal tab originally "snapped" onto the battery holder proper popped off. Just as well, it was in sad shape anyway. And it gave me a new idea, to forget about soldering the wire to the tab entirely and feed a tiny clump of the new wire through the hole where the metal nub had poked through.
I'll try sealing the wire to the battery holder with some liquid/gel insulation to both keep it there semi-permanently as well as insulate it from the back chassis of the camera, which appears to be ground.
Good thing nobody's paying me to do this kludge. I'll see how this works before attempting to dig into it and replace the entire wire. I don't really have tools, proper workbench or experience (obviously) for all that. |
