HELP! M6TTL and problem with exposure dot and arrows

I have had an M6TTL for almost eight years - for the first 7 it performed flawlessly. Suddenly it began having problems with it's

exposure meter. Sometimes no red dot or arrows would come on despite a new battery. Then, at times, they would appear but would

not respond to my changes in aperture or shutter speed. Other times, the indicators would seem to be right on and responsive but

after taking a shot they would not disappear so I would have to turn the shutter speed dial to OFF to turn the indicators off. And then,

mysteriously, they would work flawlessly (like they just did on Thanksgiving). The next day, though, no lights at all (despite inserting a

brand new battery). It makes no sense.

 

It has been CLA'd by Sherry Krauter twice since 2003 without incident. It just had an additional visit with Sherry specifically for this

issue. At her workbench she could not replicate the problems I was having! She tested and cleaned contacts, etc. It worked

perfectly for her. Upon opening the return package a week ago it has variably worked well, work erratically, then not worked at all.

So it is behaving exactly the same as before the cleaning.

 

I have a good light meter. I have a good sense for exposure anyway. But I do not like having an M6 whose exposure indicators

aren't working properly.

 

Does anyone have an ideas as to what may be going on? Or suggestions for what I might do next?

 

Thank you in advance.

Call Sherry and tell her it's still having problems. Or you could try giving it to DAG, or Leica.

<p>More of the Golden Touch, I'd say. Even if you live in a climate that is very hot and dry or very humid, we know that the camera's metering worked well for seven years.</p>

<p>This is pain. This reminds me of what my M7 does. Everything is fine, then whoop-de-doo goes the light meter. Leica Tokyo put it on the bench and found nothing wrong.</p>

<p>I too say send to Sherry or DAG. But you might want to try a few small things first.</p>

<p>* Rotate the ISO dial a few times back and forth.<br>

* Clean the gold points inside with a lens cloth.</p>

<p>It is worth a try. </p>

<p>I had the same problem after 15 years of use and had Dag fix what turned out to be a short circuit while he did a complete cla. No problems since. Cla in 2005. I really thought I was going to have to spring for a new meter circuit board, but I didn't.</p>

<p>A similar problem with an M6 was fixed by Leica USA. A few years later the meter still works perfectly.</p>

<p>My experience shows, that if it were an M6, the new circuit would run $248 <strong>just for the part</strong>. (See pic)</p>

<p>The M6 TTL on the other hand, is a completely different flex assembly, and Leica in New Jersey, USA doesn't even sell them. (Very expensive if estimated as a meter replacement)</p>

<p>Send it back to Sherry until she experiences the issue. The warranty in this situation is your best friend; if she wishes to bail out of the repair (I'd guess a refund) you can then start fresh with Leica Camera Inc.</p><div></div>

<p>Just to keep things simple provided you have not sent it out yet. Check inside of the battery compartment. There are 2 test contacts just below the spring contact for the battery and these on occasion slide out a bit and touch the battery. This may be causing the intermittent problem. I know it defiantly causes batteries to drain quickly. If it is not apparent, you can cut a tiny piece of tape and cover the contacts and see if it fixes the problem.</p>

<p>I'm curious about how this worked out. I have had an M6TTL for about ten years but recently the metering is going wrong. Instead of moving smartly from one diode to another it kind of drifts between them as if it can't make up it's mind. Any further info on this subject would be appreciated.</p>

In the end, my camera was returned to full, normal functioning when Sherry Krauter replaced the circuit board (price was $248 as

mentioned above). I tried so many other things prior to the definitive fix. Erasers, new battery caps, sent to Sherry a first time but, when I

got it back, it still had the same problem though it was improved slightly... It just needed the new circuit board.

<p>Thanks so much for your response although of course it's not what I wanted to hear!<br>

Lawrence</p>