Yashica Electro GS aperture blades broken?

I recently picked up a Yashica Electro GS in pretty good condition,

except that when you turn the aperture ring the blades don't move.

It's permanently stuck on f/16. Has anyone seen anything like this

before? I put a battery in it and it fires up OK. I haven't opened up

the lens, but will if it comes down to that...

I don't think that the blades are broken. It happens from time to time that the guide pins of one or several blades break. In this case you will see a 'not round' aperture opening when closing the aperture. In your case I think the link between the aperture ring and the aperture mechanism is off.

 

The Electro35 lens is not easy to disassemble due to a lot of wiring. Mind some tiny steel balls providing click stops for the mode and aperture rings.

Another possibility is that someone else disassembled the lens and didn't get the ring recoupled to the diaphragm. There's no way to be sure without taking it apart, however...

When you turn the aperture ring, are you looking at the lens from the outside front or from the inside of the film compartment?

I am looking at from inside the camera, you can can't see the aperture blades from the front...

Just thought I'd ask anyway. Sorry about that.