SB-600 turns off when I press the buttons

[RvdK]

Hello fellow Nikon addicts,

 

My SB-600 turns off sometimes when I try to use any of the buttons to change

mode, zoom or exposure. It comes back on a second later... sometimes. This is

really annoying to say the least. I tried to clean the battery contacts,

replace the batteries, search this forum.... nothing helps. Problem remains

when I take the flash off the camera.

 

As long as I don't touch it, it seems to work most of the time. It only missed

a few shots in the last assignments. But still it's darn irritating. I think

it's only two years old...

 

- anyone had the same problem?

- anyone knows what is wrong?

- anyone knows how to fix it?

 

Just found out the warranty is only one year, so I might as well take a

screwdriver and open the darn thing to see if there are any wires hanging

loose...

 

I just can't stand unreliable equipment!

[Ed_Ingold]

A flash unit can kill you if you make a mistake. The label that says "No User Serviceable Parts Inside" should be taken literally.

 

Send it to Nikon for repairs. I doubt it would be that expensive - it costs $35 to replace a broken foot, for example.

[tom_jenner1]

I've found that the Nikon flashes I've opened up do not use a bleeder resistor across the strobe's capacitor. That strobe capacitor does store enough energy to be lethal. If you're not an electronic technician or engineer then you really need to think twice before poking around.

 

It only takes one shock through the heart to die.

[robert_hooper1]

If you purchased the SB-600 with a major credit card you may have an additional year of

warranty coverage. All my credit cards have this perk. Check your credit card contract. If

you're not getting it, change your credit card.

[RvdK]

Oops, I never closed this thread. Sorry about that. I finally ordered another SB-600 for back up and as soon as it arrived I send the old one to Nikon for repairs. I paid almost the price of a new one to have it fixed. Six weeks later the flash bulb failed and I had to send it again; this time they fixed it for free as it was under the warranty of the previous repair.

 

Never had any problems since. Later on I bought an SB-800 to complete the set. Great trio of lights for strobist style shooting using CLS. Poor old SB-28's, now gathering dust together with those eBay triggers...