A-1 Shutter Locking Open

My Canon A1 has recently developed an issue where, when the film advance is

cranked, the shutter will open on it's own and lock that way. At that point, the

film advance lever won't move and the shutter release doesn't do anything. If I

slowly cycle the shutter but don't advance the film (multiple exposure), I can

get the shutter to close and can cycle it again. The problem seems to be more

prominent when quickly cranking the film advance lever. If it is done slowly

everything works fine, but if turned quickly the shutter will open itself

automatically and stay that way.

Before I take it to the shop, I just wanted to see if anybody has any ideas that

I could try myself. The fact that it works fine when everything is done slowly

makes me think it may just need a good CLA. Any advice is appreciated.

Since the A-1 has an electromagnetically controlled shutter, it could be that the magnet or the wiring inside has either demagnetized or developed some other internal problem. Also, it could be that the battery is dying (my AE-1 Program did something similar when the battery was close to dead). Before you send it in for a CLA (although a CLA for a camera this age would be beneficial anyway), try changing the battery to a fresh one, and fire the camera several times. If the problem continues to occur, take it to a reputable repair shop. Hope this helps!

 

JW

Thanks for the response, forgot to mention that the battery was one of my initial suspects as well. Put a new one in and checked the battery meter to make sure all is well and it didn't help.