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D70 built in flash not working


aaron_lam

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Hi,

 

I have a D70 and the flash isn't firing anymore. It still pop's up

automatically but never fires. I have tried in auto modes and manual

modes (popping flash up manually). Is it broken or is there some

setting that turns flash off? I couldn't find anything in the manual.

 

Thanks so much!

 

 

aaron

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I had mine returned to the store for replacement after a similar problem. The way to diagnose my problem was by placing the camera into and Auto mode and half-way depressing the shutter in a situation where flash would be required. That should pop the flash head up. Release the shutter and after a while half-press it again. In my case the camera made a clicking sound as if it was trying to release the flash head. In other words, on my D-70 the sensor for the flash position was broken and the camera did not know that the flash was up. Without this indication, it did not fire the flash since it asssumed the light was down.

 

To think of it, I think I tested the camera by just pressing the button on the side of the view-finder box. This time, put the camera in A, S, or M mode and depress the flash button. That should release the flash head and pop it up. Press the button again. If the camera does not know the flash is up, you'll hear a clicking sound of the lever that releases the flash head.

 

Sounded like I was not the first one with the problem, because the Nikon rep I talked to knew what he was talking about.

 

Hope you're still under store exchange time limit. Sending it to Nikon may take a while.

 

All the best,

Haris

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  • 2 years later...

I just fixed mine

Just remove the 2 screws from the front of the popup flash

The rear plastic cover will the clip off.

 

Inside you will find a small switch on the right side of the flash unit when it pops up the switch should make, if it doesn't try shorting it with a small insulated item the try the camera in low light and see if if flashes.

 

To fix you need to remove the spring-screw from the other side then gently prise the bracket off, then just pull out the small white sleeve on the right hand side of the popup near the switch,

this sleeve moves in slightly and will not make the switch on the popup flash.

 

Gently put the flash bracket onto the camera, be very gentle as the wires are very thin. You will see the white plastic bearing has 2 small clips which need to be through the hole on the bracket the pin which activates the switch will then be in the correct position.

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  • 6 months later...

Thanks Tony,

 

My Nikon D70 had the same issue. The flash didn't work and it made a clicking noise when i tried to take a photo.

I followed the instructions that Tony gave and voila, now the camera's flash works again. Thanks for the great photo, it helped me see/visualize what I was doing.

 

I didn't have to remove the spring screw, I was able to pry the right side (carefully) enough to get a precision screwdriver in there to pull the white controller switch in place. All in all, it took me 10 minutes to fix.

 

Great post, probably saved me $100 or so shop rate.

 

Christopher Craib

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  • 7 months later...

<p>Tony,<br>

You don't by chance a pic of the spring on the opposite side do you? Once I took it apart, my flash will not pop up on it's own. The click still happens, but I have to manually lift it up and hold it up, the flash will fire now thanks to your tip, but I somhow screwed the pop up part in taking apart and putting together. Maybe I pu the spring on wrong? Help, anyone?</p>

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  • 3 weeks later...

<p>Tony<br>

What you will notice on the spring is that there is a small protrusion under the coil. You need to hook this bit right around under need the bracket for it to work. If you don't do this then you will have the exact problem you explained.<br>

Also, I have found that rather than taking the spring off you are better fashioning a very small 'hook'. I used a hair pin and bent the end around to a hook shape. Then you insert this in the centre of the white circular switch. You need to pull the white bit out until it clicks back into place. This hook method is much better than trying to pull the white thing out.<br>

Also, watch out for electric shocks. I gave myself about 5 by touching the exposed wires near the flash.<br>

Thanks for the fix Tony.<br>

Andrew</p>

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<p>Andrew,<br>

Do you have pics of the hair pin on the one side and spring on the opposite, I am a visual person, any would be great! It seems this would be perfect! Sorry for the inconvience, Thanks in advance. Jenn</p>

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  • 3 months later...

<p>Thanks Tony, picture helped immensely. Same issue with my D70s, followed your instructions, but was able to pull the little white switch out a little with a pair of pliers, so no need to undo the spring, but flash working again, so many thanks.<br>

As Andrew said, watch out for electric shocks .... ouch!</p>

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  • 3 months later...
  • 7 months later...

<p>Thanx Tony and all! My experience: no need to remove the spring. Although I was not able to reposition the white switch operator. It seemed deformed and would not fit back into the round hole. Nither hooks, nor precision tools worked.<br>

My solution was to cut about 4mm of a paper clip and fix it with Locktite to create a new switch operator.<br>

I encountered another issue: after the repair the switch tended to stay constantly on, i.e. the flash fired without opening the door. A little bending solved it.<br>

About twenty minutes and four electric shocks taken. Cheers from Prague! Jan</p>

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  • 2 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...

<p>Hey... thanks to everyone for the info on this post. I just fixed my girlfriend's camera and documented the whole thing in hopes I can help someone else. Made the fix with a toothpick. Went into some of the detail of what is going on with the camera. <br>

Here is my post: http://mckayhead.blogspot.com/2010/11/fix-flash-on-nikon-d70-dslr.html</p>

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  • 4 weeks later...

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