Dropped my D3 now I only get fEE code

I knocked my D3 off a table. Now it gives the fEE code for all my older aperture ring lenses. It works fine with a newer DX lens with no aperture ring. Is there anything I can try or is it time to send it in?

Is that D3 showing fEE with older AF, AF-D, and AF-S lenses with an aperture ring, as if the aperture rings were not set to their respective minimum aperture, e.g. f22 or perhaps f16? I would remove the lens and then check whether the aperture follower tab, which should be at the 1 o'clock position around the lens mount (when the front of the camera body is facing you). Make sure that tab is rotating smoothly. It sounds like that part maybe damaged, The internal mechanical linkage for the aperture follower tab is kind of complex.

 

Do you have any other G or E lenses besides that DX lens? (All Nikon DX lenses are either G or E, both without any aperture ring.) Since those lenses do not depend on the aperture follower tab, they are probably not affected if the follower tab is damaged.

 

I would check the entire camera thoroughly. Perhaps there are additional damages, unfortunately.

Edited September 29, 2017 by ShunCheung

I have various lenses with the aperture ring and none of them work on the D3 -- only the DX lens. All are set to minimum aperture and all work on my D200 body. If I put an extension tube on it without a lens it will fire, but when I attach a lens on it I get the fEE.

 

The tab is rotating freely.

The tab is rotating freely.

Does it spring back when moved away from its resting position and released?

As Dieter points out, that aperture follower tab is spring loaded. If you lightly push it counter-clockwise, you should feel a bit of resistance, and when you let go, it should bounce right back to the 1 o'clock position.

 

Since you also have a D200, it too has that aperture follower tab and should be spring loaded the same way. Please compare the two.

 

One way or another, most likely that mechanism is damaged. The D3 should still worth, perhaps $1500 or so? Let Nikon check it out thoroughly. Most likely it'll cost a few hundred dollars to fix. In case the repair cost is too high, I would rather use that money towards a newer body.

It looks like the D3 is below $1000 now, even at KEH: Nikon D3 Digital SLR Camera Body {12.1 M/P}

 

I definitely wouldn't spend a lot of money to fix it.

Try everything mentioned including a new CF card. Fee is usually related to the aperture ring or contacts.

If you can't resolve the problem yourself don't sink money into that body. The newer Nikon DSLR's blow it away.

he D3 should still worth, perhaps $1500 or so?

 

A local shop has one for $900 that's in nice cosmetic condition although I don't know the shutter count(they either know or would find out if I asked). It's been there a while.

As I said earlier, there can easily be other damages that are not obvious. Definitely check the entire camera thoroughly, including inserting CF cards into both slots, change the battery, press every button, test the flash hot shoe, verify that AF is still working properly .....

 

However, I don't think any bad CF card will cause the camera to display fEE with lenses with CPU lenses with an aperture ring. That is almost certainly an aperture follower tab issue. If that is the only damage, you always have the option to only use G and E lenses on that D3 or switch to using the aperture ring to control the aperture (assuming that capability is not damaged) and leave the damage unfixed.

Edited September 29, 2017 by ShunCheung

If indeed the mechanism to retract the tab to the "rest" position is damaged, I wonder if manually pushing the tab up against the step in the lens would at least make it function.

 

Of course, that would be a pain to do every time, and if there's nothing to keep it in place you may well find yourself having to do this every time you use the camera. Still, it would be something I would try.

One way or another, most likely that mechanism is damaged.

Here's an image of what's behind that Ai tab:

FG-20 Meter Coupling Lever

If indeed the mechanism to retract the tab to the "rest" position is damaged, I wonder if manually pushing the tab up against the step in the lens would at least make it function.

Unlikely as the travel away from the rest position is what counts - if the tab position is not communicated to the camera anymore then fEE will be the result. If the spring's no longer there to provide, then it can be assumed that the thread that communicates the travel has no tension either and the FRE/brush can't determine position.

Edited September 29, 2017 by Dieter Schaefer

I bought the D3 for just under $800.00 USD 1 1/2 to 2 years ago. I have had that much use out of it. It was a vast improvement over the D2X I sold at that same time. I will contact Repair for an estimate and take it from there.

 

BTW the reason it fell is that I am wheelchair bound and after I had put it on the table I turned my chair. The rear of my chair shoved a camera bag which then caused a tripod to pivot, which in turn pushed the camera off. If I didn't know better, I would say Rube Goldberg had a hand in it.

Unless it was really beaten up, I am a bit surprised that a used D3 was as inexpensive as $800 a year and half ago. If that follower tab mechanism is damaged, I would imagine that it'll cost at least a few hundred dollars to fix.

 

Since that mechanism is only necessary for older lenses with an aperture ring, perhaps you can sell that D3, with full disclosure, to those who no longer use lenses with an aperture ring. At this point I would probably pick up a D4 or D4s, or at least a D3s with better high-ISO results.

 

Once my D800E fell onto the floor from a chair because the strap got tangled up with something. All of us can be clumsy sometimes; I certainly can be.

 

Good luck.

I bought it at a local pawn shop. I have gotten some bargains there over the years.

 

This camera had been owner by a professional photographer. It was not cosmetically pleasing which influenced the price. It had been mechanically flawless until now.

I may also may just pick up a couple more newer lenses and hang on to it.