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Waynemel
Tinkerer
Username: Waynemel
Post Number: 24
Registered: 08-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 16, 2009 - 06:22 pm: | 
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I am trying to repair an AE-1 that was donated to my school. I have cured the squeek, but the shutter does not open when fired. The curtain moves and the mirror actuates, but all shutter speeds sound the same. The lever in the camera that actuates the aperture in the lens also does not move when the shutter is fired.
Does anyone have experience with this problem? |
Cooltouch
Tinkerer
Username: Cooltouch
Post Number: 30
Registered: 01-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 16, 2009 - 09:57 pm: |
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Did you remove the mirror box to lube the squeak? If so, you might not have gotten it back in place just right. It's been a long time since I've had the mirror box out of an A-series Canon, but as I dimly recall they were a bit fiddly to get positioned right. |
Waynemel
Tinkerer
Username: Waynemel
Post Number: 25
Registered: 08-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, October 17, 2009 - 06:08 am: |
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No, I didn't remove the mirror box. I used the "needle method". Is it difficult to disassemble this model? |
Cooltouch
Tinkerer
Username: Cooltouch
Post Number: 31
Registered: 01-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, October 17, 2009 - 12:25 pm: |
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Not terribly, no, but as I mentioned above, it is a bit fiddly getting the box back in. I don't recall this specifically being an issue with A-series Canons, but I have dismantled other SLRs that had little bumpers and/or cushions made out of some sort of rubber-like material that had begun to crumble with age. When this occurred, things like levers and actuators no longer worked properly. It could be this sort of mechanical problem, and I suppose it might be electrical as well, given that the AE-1 is battery dependent for all shutter speeds. |
Gez
Tinkerer
Username: Gez
Post Number: 153
Registered: 09-2007
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, October 17, 2009 - 02:21 pm: |
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Was the camera working properly before the de-squeaking effort? Did you lube the flywheel by removing the top left mount screw? If so, it is possible that oil has got on the shutter gears. Once the main solenoid releases the mirror the mechanism then releases the first curtain latch. This could explain the slight movement of the curtain you observe, but something, not the mirror since it is up, is preventing the curtain running off.
Are you sure the aperture stop-down arm isn't moving? Is is very fast with no lens in place. The spring that drives the mirror rise is also linked to the stop-down mechanism. |
Waynemel
Tinkerer
Username: Waynemel
Post Number: 26
Registered: 08-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 19, 2009 - 11:46 am: |
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I don't think the camera was operating properly before I de-squeaked it. The roll of film that I ran through it showed no exposures.
I have noticed the aperture stop-down arm does work occasionally. I think it works more often when the camera is upright, and not at all when held on an angle.
I think it is obviously going to need a complete tear-down to determine the cause of the problem. |
Waynemel
Tinkerer
Username: Waynemel
Post Number: 31
Registered: 08-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 - 05:27 pm: |
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Ok, I have taken the mirror box out of the camera and everything seems to be in place.
I have learned from another post that the aperture arm may act oddly when the lens is not mounted, so there may not be a problem there.
Here is what appears to be happening:
1. All shutter speeds are the same - What governs the shutter speed on an AE-1?
2. The shutter curtain moves as expected when advancing the film, but when the shutter is fired, the curtain just seems to return to it's "resting" position. There is no opening visible when held up to the light when the shutter is tripped, so I think the gap in the curtains is not opening.(I hope that makes sense - I'm not very familiar with curtain shutters)
Does anyone have any suggestions? |
Fiftyfifty
Tinkerer
Username: Fiftyfifty
Post Number: 43
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, October 29, 2009 - 12:53 am: |
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What you are describing is that the second curtain magnet is not holding.
With the base off and the lens pointing away from you,it is the magnet on the left.If you can trip the shutter and at the same time hold the magnet closed, the shutter should be open.
The magnet faces may need cleaning, do this with a piece of card soaked in lighter fluid. If does not work use a meter to check the resistance of the winding ( you can see the contacts on the top of it ) it should read about 200 ohms. If tou do not get a reading there may be a break in the windings or the very small connecting wires....new maget required.
Hope this helps you along. |
Waynemel
Tinkerer
Username: Waynemel
Post Number: 32
Registered: 08-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, October 29, 2009 - 07:10 pm: |
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Thanks for the tip Fiftyfifty. Your suspicions were correct. When I checked the magnet, I got no reading at all with my meter. I set the camera to "B" and fired the shutter to test if the magnet was getting voltage, and it was. There must be a break in the windings. |
