al-1 film advance lever won't advance

[daniel_broeckling]

I got a used, but not recently, Canon AL-1 camera from an auction...I

tried to get the camera to operate and it did immediately, so I put a

power winder onto it and it still worked...for a while...after a few

snaps It quit working...it could not wind the film anymore...I thought

it was the winder and took it off...then tried to use the manual lever

like it was designed to do, but no dice...I seen another column that

suggested maybe it was a fault that had occured, but the camera was

not even "cocked", I cocked the lever and hit the shutter button and

it fired, can anyone help me fix the film advance...I do not know all

of the technological lingo, so please bear with me...If I have to take

the assembly apart, I am willing to do that...The meter and the focus

assist work, so it is not the batteries. Any help welcomed, thanks in

advance...

 

Dan B.

[craig]

If you're good with schematics and want to risk messing up your camera futher, then check out the repair manual at http://www.canonfd.com/al1repairguide/al1servicerepairguide.pdf (it's a big .pfd file, so it may take a while to load). Go to page 62 or 63 and start with the section on Winding Adjustments. Personally, I'd take it to a good repair facility or would just get another used one and use the broken one for parts. Either way, good luck.

[awahlster]

Change the battiers just because they have enough juice to operate the meter and focus assist LEDs dosen't mean it has enough juice to trip the shutter magnets. They are the first thing to stop working with low batteries.

 

Have you ever repaired a Canon A series camera before?

 

Have you ever had an electronically controlled camera apart?

 

Have you the repair manual and since the repair manuals were writen for a repair person do you have the base knowledge of camera repair the manual assumes?

 

Are you willing after you take the camera apart to just toss it in the waste bin?

 

If new batteries do not solve your problem I strongly suggest you have someone who is qualified in camera repair do any work on your camera. Or if that is to expensive for you then look for another body on ebay and buy a working example.

 

If you let us know where in the world you are located a qualified repair person might be suggested.

[jim_j2]

At one time I had a Canon AT-1 which I think is very similiar to your AL-1. As Mark indicated - Put new batteries in and see what happens.

My guess is that it won't allow film advance because not enough juice to actuate the shutter which is required first.

Good luck

[gregory_nicholson]

Not a repair but a diagnosis of sorts .... drag a magnet across the bottom of the camera. If the shutter releases at least you know what it may need and a simple CLA will take of this problem. Then you should be able to wind the film advance lever if it does.

 

Sometimes you can take the bottom plate off and clean the electro-switch with alcohol. Don't go any further, camera repair is not based on whether you are willing to sacrifice a camera .... most likely you will. If you're still curious get a junk camera from a pawn shop and have at it. If you don't have the dexterity to deal with the very tiny jeweler screws then of course there is no hope for success.

[vet 57]

I agree entirely with Mark, Dan just change the battery, and if the camera still will not wind the film and the shutter won't fire send the camera to a competent repairer.