Help!!! Lights not firing during photo shoot

[elaine marie]

Today while doing a shoot my lights would be working fine and than

just stop firing. My camera was still working not frozen up but

lights would just not flash. I took out the battery and messed with

the wires and sometimes it would start to fire again for a few

shoots than stop firing again. So frustrating finally got a

beautiful baby to sleep and no flash. I am shooting with alien bees.

Has anyone else had this happen? In the past few days I have shot

hundreds of test shots with no problem.

Thanks Elaine

[steve_b3]

How are you connecting your lights to your camera? if its with a sync cord, it might need replacement. I always carry a spare or 6 of them. What kind of camera is it? Could it be that the jack is startign to wear?

[elaine marie]

Hi I am shooting with a canon 20D attached with a sync cord and a hot shoe attachment. Thanks

Elaine

[mydarkroom]

Why aren't you using the pc port on the camera?

[elliot_n]

As Steve said. Sync leads fail reliably. The wire inside them snaps. Buy a few spares.

[elaine marie]

The pc port doesnt seem to be a very tight fit. It easily pulls out. Anyway I just tested the strobes with no syn cord just the on board flash and they fire every time so I will assume it is the cord. Why would the cord wear out like that? Can I get by with out one and just trip the strobes with my flash but cover the flash? Thanks Elaine

[elaine marie]

Thanks Elliot for the cord info.

[dennisprice]

<i>"...I took out the battery and messed with the wires and sometimes it would start to fire again for a few shoots than stop firing again." </i>

 

<p>More often than not, that type of problem is related to a faulty connection between sync cord and camera pc socket, sync cord and flash head, or flaky sync cord.</p>

 

<p>One proven way to test the sync cord is to remove it from the camera and short out the ring and tip with a house/car key or something else metallic. If you get a flash pop every time, the cord and flash connection are ok. ABs trigger at about 6 volts, so there is little danger of your being shocked.</p>

 

<p>As noted above, you should always have at least one spare cord. They are notorious for being the weakest link in any flash set up</p>

 

<p>Good luck!</p>

[elliot_n]

'The pc port doesnt seem to be a very tight fit'

 

Ok, that suggests that the problem is with the connector at the end of the sync lead. The

connector gets bent out of shape very easily. You can fix it by squeezing it with a pair of

pliers. Or there's a tool designed for the job - strangely, mine came attached to the zipper

of a Lastolite reflector. It's a simple bit of metal, with a pin and a hole, and you use it to

squash the connector back into shape. A short term solution is to use a small strip of

gaffer tape to hold the sync lead connector firmly in the PC socket - many photographers

do this as a matter of course. If this doesn't work, then it is like that cable is actually

broken, most likely near the connector, as this is where the cable experiences most stress.

And yes, in an emergency you can use an on camera flash to fire you main flash - but

make sure you have it turned down low and pointed away from your subject.

[mydarkroom]

Before I went wireless I would wrap my sync cord around my lens. It kept the cord in place which is great because I tend ro move ALOT. Also the PC repair tool is a good thing to keep around.

[medina photography cherry]

Same as last poster, before I went with Pocket wizards I would use a rubberband around the base of the grip to hold the pc cord in. I would loose my rubberband and then have to endure the stupid cord falling out.