Pentax ME Super shutter problem

[jim_robinson4]

I just purchased a used Pentax ME Super on ebay. It came today. The

film advance lever will not move but about 1/3 of it's travel and the

shutter release does nothing. Also, I cannot see anything through the

viewfinder. It has a sticker inside from Pentax Corp. that reads: FSO

No. 477872 Date 6/19/82. I'm guessing this is a repair sticker.

 

Can anyone help me determine why the film advance lever will not move

much. Also, the button the bottom that you push to wind the film back

into the can is flush with the recess it is in. In other words, it is

not protruding so it can be pressed.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

[dean_jamieson]

You might find some help here:

 

http://www.kyphoto.com/classics/pentaxmeramblings.html

 

Cheers;

 

Dean

[minhnguyen9113]

Try a new battery and see if it work. It did happen to my ME super and after I change a new battery the camera works again.

[aadewar]

If you haven't already, turn the shutter control knob from Auto to M or 125. Sometimes,

especially with low batteries, the mirror locks up (why it's dark in the VF) and the shutter

hangs.

[aadewar]

If that doesn't work, here's an inexpensive but excellent place for repair. These cameras

are worth the effort regardless of how little you may have paid for it.

[gordon_ian_stalker]

It sounds very much like the mirror mechanism may be at fault. It almost certainly won't have anything to do with batteries, except co-incidentally. Only the closing shutter is controlled by the electronics, and that holds it open for the prescribed time after the opening shutter has opened. If the battery is flat, it will simply run at the maximum speed on auto, (in fact just above) and the sync, or bulb settings, which are mechanically controlled.

 

The problem is very likely related to the rubber 'bumpers' used to damp the mirror mechanism. These get soft and sticky with age, and can prevent the mirror mechanism from resetting, or in some cases they will jam the camera completely by preventing the mirror returning properly.

 

These faults often lead the photographer to treat the film advance quite roughly, sometimes breaking a tag on the film advance clutch, which must be replaced when this happens. (Dosen't sound like it in your case!) Another common result is that the mirror cocking lever in the bottom of the camera (A sort of scissor arrangement) gets bent, and no longer engages with the mirror mechanism, and thus locking the film advance lever.

 

For instructions on how to deal with these problems, go to www.mypentax.com, which has risen from the ashes in a brand new incarnation as a repair and service information site for pentax and other cameras. The site has photographic records of actual camera repair operations, in sequential order. Dealing with a range of problems.

 

I maintain the site myself, and it is being constantly updated with new repairs as I find time to create and upload new pages.

 

There are currently two pages dedicated to the ME Super, one on how to dismantle and re-assemble the camera to access the shutter and mirror mechanisms, and another on the details of the vertical run shutter used in this camera. (It is also used in the ME, MV etc, and also the Canon T-70 to my certain knowledge.)

 

Make sure that before attempting the repair that you have equipped yourself with a notebook! There are a number of changes in the details of the wiring in the Super, including revisions to the circuit boards, and you will need to unsolder some wires. I haven't had time to cover all the variations I have come accross, and there may be some I haven't yet seen, so you may need to write down any differnces that may be apparent with your particular camera.

 

Not all these variations are covered in Pentax's own service manuals, so the pages here take an approach which does not rely on these.

 

There is also a page with a list of tools you may need. Not all of these will be neccasary, and where possible alternative suggestions are made to the official 'special' sevice tools which have been found to work in practice!