Canon AE-1 not functioning - light meter?

<p>I bought an AE-1 at a camera market a few weeks ago, but recently it began to not work.<br>

The shutter still works, but light metering doesn't anymore. The red LED light below the meter just flashes. I have the lens on A mode, and I've tested all different light conditions. The battery is fine (battery test gives between 2.8 and 4 on the meter).<br>

When this first happened, I inspected the shutter speed ring a bit, and found that it had been lifted away from the camera body a bit, and a while later I managed to force it back down. This is quite different from it being lifted to set the film sensitivity; the whole chrome ring was lifted, exposing some components in the ring's selection action.<br>

Any ideas?</p>

<p>When you are testing the meter under different lighting conditions, what shutter speed value is selected on the dial? Secondly, what ASA value? If you set the shutter speed value to "60" (1/60 second), and the ASA value to "100", then point the camera towards a reasonably well-lit scene, you should expect to see the viewfinder aperture indicator needle appear <em>somewhere </em>on the scale.</p>

<p>If you shift then lens aperture ring off of "A", do you also see the flashing "M" indicator in the viewfinder?</p>

<p>Is the stop-down lever on the lower-left of the lens mount engaged? I believe on the AE-1 you will see a small silver button if the lever is indeed engaged.</p>

<p>Have you tried a new battery? I seem to remember on the AE-1 that sufficient battery voltage was indicated by a meter needle reading of 5.6 (or higher) on the aperture scale when depressing the battery check button.</p>

<p>This may be a long shot, but I suppose it's possible that the ASA dial resistor ring has become either seriously mis-aligned or even decoupled altogether, causing the meter not to register. The only reason I'm even remotely suggesting that is because of your description of the "detached" shutter speed ring.</p>

<p>Anyway, just some thoughts...</p>

 

<p>Thanks for the info. <br>

The 'M' flashes fine when the lens is off the A setting, so I suppose this indicates that the lens and body are communicating well, as it were, and the stop-down lever isn't engaged, though I haven't tested this out yet (I just leave it in the disengaged position all the time).<br>

I'll buy a new battery, but it appears the battery level is fine; the manual says the higher the needle on the scale, the lower the battery level, so I'm assuming between 2.8 and 4 indicates a good amount of battery life left.<br>

I checked the ASA dial after posting the OP, and it appears that what I noticed was that it was stuck in a raised position used to change film sensitivity, so, right, perhaps it has been misaligned. <br>

When I get home, I'll try a new battery.</p>

<p>it is also possible the tungsten cable that runs from the shutter speed dial to the Light meter under the ASA dial has been broken.</p>

<p>I've tried a new battery, but the behaviour is exactly the same. I've also tried engaging the stop-down lever and disengaging again, but to no avail. <br>

Next question, does anyone know a place in Sydney that's familiar with the AE-1?</p>

<p>Depending on how much you payed for it, you might want to try opening the top of the camera yourself. It is quite straight forward really. The only things to take care are the following:<br>

1. The ASA should be set to the highest value and shutter speed to the lowest. So ISO=3200 and Tv="B". This reduces the tension of the tungsten cable attached to the speed dial to the lowest (otherwise when you remove the dial the cable spins under tension and breaks!).</p>

<p>2. When removing the speed dial, do not just lift up when you reach to the black dial with speed number on it. Lift it only a little first (1 or 2mm), and let it unwind. It will unwind for a quarter of a turn and then you may lift it off.<br>

3. The pin face screw (the round disk with two holes in it) on top of the winding lever needs to be unscrewed carefully by engaging a tool in those holes.</p>

<p>The first two points are the ones to be considered to so this without encountering the pit fall of breaking the tungsten cable that connects the speed dial to a sensitivity resistor on the other side of the camera body.</p>

<p>If your cable is intact, you are good. Probably reseating the speed dial will solve your problem.</p>

<p>I have done this myself and it is easier than it sound if one is careful. If you want, I can list detailed instructions on how to do this. Or just search google.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>Forgot to mention that in Step 2 of my post above, the speed dial unwinds clockwise. Usually it stops when "B" is pointing toward the front of the camera. In other words, just lifting the speed dial a little and letting it unwind (while holding it lightly of course) make the "B" go from 9'o clock position to 12'o clock position with respect to the front of the camera.</p>

<p>Now, in the worst case that the cable has snapped or broken, don't despair. It is fairly easy to replace. You probably won't get a tungsten cable easily anywhere, but modern technology has provided us with better and probably cheaper alternatives. People have used the following alternatives with success: Kevlar Line, guitar wire and a line made from Dyneema. So in the event that you have to replace the wire, just post here or PM me and I will list the instructions to do so.<br /></p>

<p>Good luck.<br>

<br /></p>

<p>Thanks for the instructions HS. I've already taken it to a shop for a quote. If the quote's too much, I'll give that a go.</p>

<p>You are welcome.<br>

Wish you all the best.<br>

Alas, it has no exposure lock (but can be done using the timer mode), but has a dedicated button for +1.5 exposure compensation for back light correction. One heck of a camera! :-)</p>

 

<p>Yeah, and it's a damn beauty. My girlfriend got it for my birthday and I love it.<br>

I also just got a Nikon F3HP, but it's an ugly mofo, big and heavy, but I love it too. It's got exposure lock, multiple exposure lever and manual exposure compensation from about -2 to +2. Also it fits all the glass I bought for my D50.</p>

<p>The repair is going to cost $130 AU. This is more than the cost of a fairly good AE-1 to be fair. I'll attempt your suggestion HS, but I'm not spending that much to fix it right now.</p>

<p>Yes, I understand. I was expecting such an exorbitant figure. Spending 10 times or more the cost of a camera for repairs just doesn't make any economical sense ..... other than for those who do not pay for such things from their own pockets but from some type of expense accounts.</p>

<p>Just let me know if you need any details before starting the procedure and I will post them here. If done carefully, it doesn't hurt at all at doing some basic checks and repairs yourself. If the camera is beyond these measures, then it is probably time to buy another one. :)</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Goodness! A bit of success.</p>

<p>I got the camera back unrepaired today (and paid 15 bucks for them to quote me - thieves) and I was just sitting down to try out taking it apart myself, as per your instructions, HS.</p>

<p>Anyway, I set the ASA to 3200 and the Tv dial to B and lo and behold, the light metre reads 11 when facing a bright light. Obviously this is grossly under what it should be, and indicates to me that indeed, the ASA dial has been shifted incorrectly and I'll just need to reset it as you point out.</p>

<p>SoHS, could you please <a href="../shared/comm-to-member?user_id=6184337">email me</a> the instructions on how I can get the speed dial off? I've looked around the web for a repair manual for the AE-1, but have found only rubbish being sold for ten bucks.</p>

<p>This is a free download of a repair manual:<br>

<a href="http://www.baytan.org/prak/pdf/serv/AE-1serv-rep.pdf">http://www.baytan.org/prak/pdf/serv/AE-1serv-rep.pdf</a></p>

<p>Richard already gave you a link to the AE-1's repair manual (I was preparing to send one to you via email). Removing the top cover is described on pages 12~14 (if it is the same PDF file that I have). Replacing the tungsten wire is described on page 15.<br>

Here are a few sites that I found very helpful:</p>

<ul>

<li>http://nelsonfoto.com/SMF/index.php?topic=22208.0</li>

<li>http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-157.html (has a diagram, describes squeak problem solution)</li>

<li>http://ghaint.no-ip.org/~sahambi/photography/Canon_AE-1/remove_top.html (instructions with photos)</li>

</ul>

<p>Don't hesitate to ask if you need further help or to contact me with a pm. It is better to consult to remove doubts than to be in an unfixable position :-)</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Another thing, in the AE-1, the meter works only for speeds 1s and faster for ISO 100 and higher settings. Outside this range, the needle jumps to the bottom. If you are getting a reading at B, it is possible that the coupling between the speed dial and the functional resistor has been disturbed. You need to check for this by removing the top and setting the speed to 1/60 s and ISO to 100 and looking at the index mark and the functional resistor contact brush -- they are supposed to align. The links I posted before show how to do this.</p>

 

<p>Correction: In the AE-1, the meter works only for speeds 1s and faster for ISO 100. For 100 < ISO <= 200, it is 1/2s to 1/1000s,... and so on.</p>

<p>I've just realised that... if I need to set the ASA to 3200 and the Tv to B in order to unscrew the Tv dial without snapping the tungsten wire, then this causes a problem. If my suspicions are correct and the ASA dial/TV dial are out of alignment, then the tungsten wire would likely be under tension with those settings. </p>

<p>I'm also having trouble getting the right tools. It looks as though I'll need a pin-face wrench - they're available on Ebay it appears, but the pin face screw on the canon is smaller in dimensions than those available - and some snap ring pliers, since I definitely do not want to damage this camera. I took a closer look the other day and I can't see a single bit of scuff, a scratch, or any damages whatsoever. This camera is mint.</p>

<p>Thanks for the link Richard, but the scan quality is very poor and it's difficult to make out the diagrams. HS, could you post your link as well? It might be better quality. While I'm on the topic, does anyone have a repair manual for the Nikon F3?</p>

<p>When you remove the second pin face screw while removing the speed dial, just hold the dial with the other hand and don't let it go free. Lift it a tiny bit (you will feel it try to unwind as it rises), and then let it unwind under your control (it unwinds clockwise). Doesn't matter how much it unwinds, it should eventually come to rest. The remaining winding will become undone only when you lift off the white nylon washer under it, which can't unwind on its own, so don't worry too much about that.</p>

<p>The snap ring pliers can be used to do both the tasks, to open the pin face screw and to remove the snap rings (or the circlip). I bought a clirclip plier from a hardware store. It had detachable heads. The pins on it were thicker than my needs. I just filed them off to make them thinner. The following linked photo shows it in action:<br>

<a title="Using snap rings pliers on Canon AE-1 Program. by hs.sam, on Flickr" href=" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2590/4192227336_704159dc7c.jpg" alt="Using snap rings pliers on Canon AE-1 Program." width="500" height="375" /></a></p>

<p>If your camera was relatively recently serviced, you can try to open the pin face screw by pressing is down with your thumb and rotating it counter clockwise.</p>

<p>I checked Richard's link, the PDF document is the one I have too. In fact, I am yet to see a service manual for AE-1 in better quality!</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I got the pin face screw off with a finely crafted keyring clipped to size, and a pair of flat-nosed pliers holding it in the right position. When I got down to removing the Tv ring, I hesitated a bit, concerned about the tungsten as mentioned above, but went for it. I heard a rapid unwinding sound, probably took a quarter of a second. I presume that was the tungsten.</p>

<p>I'm not quite sure what to do now; I still can't get the snap ring off, but do I need to? The issue is likely to be underneath the Tv dial, right? Or do I have to realign the 'functional resistor' which is underneath the film rewinder?</p>

<p>Here's the mechanism underneath the Tv ring; never having seen it in a diagram or anything, I can't tell if anything is awry.<br>

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4126/4950320284_1b50564f93_b.jpg</p>

<p>Yes, you still need to take off the top to get to the root of the problem.</p>

<p>The second pin face screw, the one that holds the speed dial down in place, is to be unscrewed and removed while holding the dial down with the other hand. If the dial has unwound without even removing the second pin face screw, it was perhaps not seated properly.</p>

<p>Go ahead, follow through with the instructions but with care. Even if you sensed some unwinding, proceed with caution. Once you unscrew the second pin face screw, remove that and the washer underneath it, *while* holding the dial down. If you try to turn the dial with only a tiny force, it won't move yet (it can move if you want to rotate it as if you were doing it normally). Just lift it a little, 1mm or so, as you try to let it rotate clockwise. It will unwind further (or perhaps it won't in your case), but it should rotate clockwise if it was seated properly. Once it can rotate clockwise no more ("B" should point roughly to the front), you are done and you may lift off the dial. Proceed with the rewind crank and the screws and rest of the procedure to remove the top.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Just saw your post with the linked image. There is supposed to be a white nylon ring above the black ring in your photo. The white nylon ring washer is shown in one of the links I cited earlier.</p>

<p>Edit:<br>

In other words, the assembly is the following (after removing the washers and the screws):<br>

1. the speed dial (must be removed before removing the top)<br>

2. white nylon washer with the tungsten wire engaged in it (cannot be remove before removing the top)<br>

3. The black plastic ring with detents for the different speeds.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>The link that shows the white nylon washer is the following:<br>

http://ghaint.no-ip.org/~sahambi/photography/Canon_AE-1/remove_install_tungsten_cable.html</p>

<p>Ahm I see. You freaked me out for a minute there, because the washer in mine is black. Here's what I could manage as an exploded image of the assembly:<br>

<a href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4118/4949760735_05e571bb0c_b.jpg">http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4118/4949760735_05e571bb0c_b.jpg</a><br>

But the washer came out without any resistance, without removing the top. See in another photo, in fact, go to this page to see all three:<br>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/aidhoss/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/aidhoss/</a><br>

I'm trying to see what might have kept the washer in place that would require the removal of the top cover, but I can't figure it out. Unless the tungsten wire originally went over the washer.</p>