Minolta Hi-Matic 7s Easy stuck shutter fix. and help with my light meter.

<p>Hey guys,<br>

I always wanted a Minolta Himatic 7S, but the workings ones cost a lot. so I decided to try my luck on the non-working ones off ebay.<br>

I have some rookie camera repair experience from my Argus C4 and my Fed Micron 2. I also got those cameras on the cheap by getting them non-working.<br>

The Fed Micron was my first repair camera and I learned a lot from it. The lens was misaligned and the shutter was also stuck. I later Found out the camera body was a bit deformed which made the viewfinder readings wrong, I had to bend it back into shape.<br>

The Argus C4 had a stuck shutter and one film advance spring was damaged. Thanks to a Member on this forum, I was able to get replacement parts.<br>

I read about the stuck shutter was common issues with the 7S. The stuck shutter on the C4 and micron was easy to fix, with lighter fluid. The lens of those cameras were very simple. But the lens of the S7 is so complex and I was a bit intimidated<br>

I'm not a professional so my methods may be a bit rough, but at least it works now! I'm not responsible for making things worse.<br>

I tried the lighter fluid method on the S7 and it worked until the fluid dried out. So I proceeded to take apart the lens. I looked at many guides online by none of them really helped.<br>

Reading how to take the lens apart was not very helpful without visual aid. And the guide in the link below was telling me to remove a lot of parts.<br>

http://pheugo.com/cameras/index.php?page=seikosha&WEBMGR=f4b1822371e822285be0d5e4d5bfdf2a<br>

But there's and easier way to do it.<br>

- Remove the front CLC part, then the shutter ring and the aperture ring.<br>

- Remove the front lens by twisting it with your lands.<br>

- Remove the Seiko band around the timer ring before removing the timer ring.<br>

- remove the plate that covers the len's guts<br>

- Then remove this weird gear thing.<br>

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e141/nycrayjai/IMG_6143.jpg<br>

- at last, remove the brass ring holding the shutter leaves.<br>

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e141/nycrayjai/IMG_6142.jpg<br>

and you will end up with this:<br>

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e141/nycrayjai/IMG_6141.jpg<br>

Put some art tape on the shutters to prevent them from coming apart. In the picture below I used a screw driver hold a lever open so I can open and close the shutters freely.<br>

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e141/nycrayjai/IMG_6144.jpg<br>

I then took a can of dust off and blew it into the hinges of the shutter leaves. I would then carefully remove the tape and then carefully open and close the shutters. I kept doing this till the shutter opened and closed smoothly. I would then put some lighter fluid to remove any finger oil.<br>

I put everything back and the shutter works again, but the light meter still won't work.<br>

I put in a fresh battery and the meter is still showing over exposed.<br>

I checked all the wire connections with my voltmeter and connections are fine. I also checked the needle for gunk and it's also fine. What else could be cause?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

 

<p>Ray, I am no expert but, I will try and help. If you put batteries in and check the wires and find that you have power at the meter and it still is not working, then chances are the meter itself is bad. If you have power to the metering cell but no power to the meter itself and, there is continuity between the metering cell and the meter itself, then chances are the cell is bad. I have ran into both scenarios on several different models of camera including Konica Auto S2 and different Canonettes but, have never worked on a Minolta RF. The basics should be the same. Hope this helps.</p>

<p>The Hi-matic 7s uses a 1.35v mercury battery. A 1.5v modern battery will show overexposure.<br>

Best regards,<br>

/Clay</p>