Nikon SB-900 door repair

Hello All,

 

I have a sb-900 with battery corrosion. The lid is pretty badly corroded. I bought a new lid and I can't seem to figure out how to take out the door attached to it. It slides up and down. Do I push it down with force or there is a special trick. Anyone know how? please help.

 

John

 

If it's like the SB-800, the door kind of twists off. It's quite difficult to explain, but the door needs to be rotated at the hinge end. If you google 'nikon speedlight door removal' or similar, you'll get a range of tips and instructions.

 

FWIW, I bought an SB-28 with a similar corrosion problem. All it needed was a good rubbing down using a Dremel type tool to polish up the contacts. From the picture, yours doesn't look too badly corroded at all. The plating looks mostly intact and should revive nicely.

The SB-800 and SB-900 have completely different doors. The SB-800 has the 5th battery option so that it’s door is very easy to remove to add the compartment to hold the 5th battery.

 

I had checked earlier. The door on the SB-900 doesn’t seem to be easy to replace.

I've cleaned up much more heavily corroded contacts.

I didn't realise that Nikon had reverted to a captive door after the SB-800. In that case, releasing the door probably involves splitting the main casing. This entails removing the hotshoe (4 screws) and removing another 2 screws under the rotating head. The main casing should then prise apart sufficiently to allow the battery door to come free.

 

During reassembly you need to be careful not to trap any wires between the two halves of the casing.

 

Worth the hassle? Only you can decide.

I just googled this topic, and there is at least one YouTube video on taking the SB-900 apart. Since I only watched a few seconds, I cannot comment on the quality of its method. Please keep in mind that an electronic flash has high voltage circuits inside. An electric shock can potentially be fatal in some occasions. Be very careful and do this at your own risk.

This corrosion isn't much - as John said - I have cleaned up much worse. A typewriter eraser or stainless steel wool (Chore Boy Ultimate) or a Scotch pad all used judiciously.

John and Sandy have a good point. I know the OP already has the new part, but maybe try to clean the leak and corrosion first, before attempting a complex and potentially dangerous repair job.

 

Based on the OP's image, the corrosion indeed doesn't seem to be that serious.

Edited April 9, 2018 by ShunCheung

It was cleaned and that's what happens after a week. I even used a polisher to remove the rust. I work sometimes, and I found it only work with New batteries only. So I want to change the lid and see what happens, I bought the sb-900 repair guide but they do not say how to take the door off the lid.

The metal contact strips don't connect to anything, so it's possible to just swap them out.

 

It means breaking or drilling out the plastic 'rivets', but a blob of glue under the metal contacts will hold them in place.

 

Not an ideal solution, but it saves having to remove the battery lid.

If it re-corrodes so quickly, there's gotta be an underlying problem.

 

I know the theory of electrogalvanic corrosion, but this is extreme...:eek:

 

What do the in-flash-body contacts look like?

 

There's a puddle of possibly electrolyte-laden moisture somewhere in there.....:(