Pop-up flash stuck on Canon 20D

Hello all:

Below find an excerpt from old posting by Todd Frederick on fixing a stuck pop-

up flash on a Canon A2. I used this advice years ago on one of my A2s, and it

worked like a charm. I'm having the same problem now on one of my 20Ds

(clicking noise followed by err 05 indicator) and am wondering if the same

procedure will work. Anyone out there tried this on a 20D?

 

 

Canon EOS A2/A2E/5...How To Fix Pop-up Flash...InformationalTodd Frederick -

San Francisco Bay Area , jul 16, 2000; 01:24 p.m.

One complaint about the A2/A2E/5 EOS cameras is the occasionaly the pop-up

flash will get stuck...the camera system is fooled into thinking there is an

external flash in the hot shoe and the pop-up will not pop-up.

The problem on the pop-up flash is with two tiny micro switches that get stuck

in the tiny holes they move up and down in. One or both gets stuck down, closes

with switch, and the camera is fooled into thinking that there is a flash in

the hot shoe.

Use a sharp thin pin or tiny flat head jeweler's screwdriver, and insert the

point under the thin metal plate, pointing the pin toward the lens at the tiny

hole which locks your Canon flash to the hot shoe. Lift this plate up. It will

come up easily. Lifting it up will release the cover plate and you can slide it

back and off the hot shoe. You will then see a couple of screws. These hold the

hot shoe mechanism on the camera. You will NOT need to take off the hot shoe

assembly...don't do that! Simply loosen the screws slightly with a jeweler's

screwdrive, so the hot shoe mechanism can be moved slightly. Look under the

flash shoe guides and you will see very tiny plunger like switches. These must

move up and down in the holes freely. The holes are very tiny and these plunger

micro switches will get stuck in time. Just move the hot shoe around a bit

until they pop back up. Then, with the pin or screwdriver, be sure they move up

and down freely...use good light and look closely at them. Retighten the screws

and put the metal cover back on, and your flash should work again.

The clicking is the camera attempting to deploy the flash, indicating that it is not being fooled by your little microswitches- it should not try to deploy if it thinks there is an external flsh mounted. i had this problem with my 20d a while ago and i'd have to apply gentle pressure on the flash toward the shutter button and release as it clicked, and then my flash would pop up. Lately, though I don't reall use the on-camera flash much, it seems to have resolved by itself. I'm still going to send my camera in for repair before the warranty expires, though...

My RebXT did the same thing once after a hard whack to the popup flash. I gently assisted the flash up when the camera tried to release it, then took a look at how the hook and catch engaged, adjusted the hook, and haven't had any problems since.

 

steve

My boss had the same problem with his 20D.

 

I pushed the top of the flash towards the back and it popped up.

 

There was a bit of dirt on the little switch inside.

 

Once I wiped that off, it worked fine...

 

-Mario

<p>This is very late as a response but I thought I should comment since the quotation from Todd Frederick has resurrected my flash after 5 years. I have always been very careful with my 20D and the flash quit just as the warranty ran out. I normally avoid using flash as much as possible, but not having it working hinders some creative possibilities...<br>

The comment on the hot shoe switches of the A2 led me to check on the 20D for the same switch. I had assumed that a camera of this sophistication would sense the presence of an external flash electronically rather than with and easily fouled mechanical switch. In trying to keep the hot shoe clean, I added a hot shoe protector tab. Yep, that protector engaged the pin switch and killed the flash. Add the 'Error 5' mechanical problems of the balky flash lid release and I left it alone. So without the protector, back to Error5, and a bit of wiggling unstuck the door and convinced the flash to pop up again. Now it works just fine!<br>

The camera, of course has become mostly obsolete in the interval and is worth maybe 10% of the original cost, so it will be a grandson gift in a year or two.<br>

Thanks!</p><div></div>

<p>This is very late as a response but I thought I should comment since the quotation from Todd Frederick has resurrected my flash after 5 years. I have always been very careful with my 20D and the flash quit just as the warranty ran out. I normally avoid using flash as much as possible, but not having it working hinders some creative possibilities...<br>

The comment on the hot shoe switches of the A2 led me to check on the 20D for the same switch. I had assumed that a camera of this sophistication would sense the presence of an external flash electronically rather than with and easily fouled mechanical switch. In trying to keep the hot shoe clean, I added a hot shoe protector tab. Yep, that protector engaged the pin switch and killed the flash. Add the 'Error 5' mechanical problems of the balky flash lid release and I left it alone. So without the protector, back to Error5, and a bit of wiggling unstuck the door and convinced the flash to pop up again. Now it works just fine!<br>

The camera, of course has become mostly obsolete in the interval and is worth maybe 10% of the original cost, so it will be a grandson gift in a year or two.<br>

Thanks!</p><div></div>

<p>This is very late as a response but I thought I should comment since the quotation from Todd Frederick has resurrected my flash after 5 years. I have always been very careful with my 20D and the flash quit just as the warranty ran out. I normally avoid using flash as much as possible, but not having it working hinders some creative possibilities...<br>

The comment on the hot shoe switches of the A2 led me to check on the 20D for the same switch. I had assumed that a camera of this sophistication would sense the presence of an external flash electronically rather than with and easily fouled mechanical switch. In trying to keep the hot shoe clean, I added a hot shoe protector tab. Yep, that protector engaged the pin switch and killed the flash. Add the 'Error 5' mechanical problems of the balky flash lid release and I left it alone. So without the protector, back to Error5, and a bit of wiggling unstuck the door and convinced the flash to pop up again. Now it works just fine!<br>

The camera, of course has become mostly obsolete in the interval and is worth maybe 10% of the original cost, so it will be a grandson gift in a year or two.<br>

Thanks!</p><div></div>