Nikon FG Shutter Stuck/LED Doesn't show

[dave_schaefer1]

I have recently bought a used FG. The shutter is getting stuck on all settings

except for M90 and Bulb. Also, I have bought new batteries for it and the LED

doesn't show inside the viewfinder.. any ideas of what could be wrong?

Everything else seems to be in working condition on it... but this shutter thing

is pissing me off. haha. Any help would be awesome.

[nick_evans1]

Try sticking a film in it.

 

Some cameras the meter will not work until you have a film in it and wound on, also it might be like the FA where you have to have the winder away fom the body (like you have your thumb behind it but not wound it on) again for the meter to work.

 

If that all fails then it sounds like a trip to the repair man

[alex_j]

Same on my FM2 and most Nikon manual SLR... you have to pull the film advance lever a little way - about 30 degree - to unlock the shutter and activate the meter. Then you should see the LED in viewfinder and be able to fire the shutter.

<p>

When the film advance lever is flush with the body you can't fire the shutter.

<p>

Link here is for Nikon FM2, but same principle applies:<br>

<a href="http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonfmseries/fm2n/fm2manual/index2.htm">http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonfmseries/fm2n/fm2manual/index2.htm</a>

<p>

[roland_larson]

In a nutshell, if your FG doesn't have any meter readout in the viewfinder at all even with new batteries, it is probably having a circuit problem.

 

It's an FG, so there's nothing to do with the locking position of the winding lever, because there is no such a lock in FG -- the shutter goes off regardless of the lever position as long as the shutter is cocked, and there is no way to lock a cocked FG.

 

On the other hand, an FG (also F3, FE2, FA, and probably FM3A ...) only goes off at X regardless of the shutter setting until the frame counter reaches "1", from which point the exposure meter switches on, and then it is ready to shoot. This is a courtesy feature by Nikon which allows the user to wind on a new roll fast, and this holds true with or without loading film. However, the exposure readout should blinks two LEDs (60 & 125) in the viewfinder before frame "1", which indicates the camera is not yet ready. This is why I think your FG is probably having a problem, which can be from simply a dirty battery contact, to a fried circuit ...

[fred aspen]

My FG's meter doesn't work properly until the frame counter advances to frame 1 or higher, but it does flash at 1 second intervals when the frame counter is on S. If you have no lights you may have a circuit failure. Film advances and fires at 1/90 manually until frame 1 is reached, then meter reads properly.

 

If you purchased off an infamous auction site, the quality of offerings has been getting progressively worse and worse. It is very difficult to get a decent, working item with all the estate recyclers and broken but not mentioned (the "I don't know much about cameras..., untested" line) gear showing up.

 

Also, when I got mine the mirror foam was sticky and the mirror would not return properly, it would only work on B and M90. Cleaned the mirror and replaced the foam and it does fine.

[fred aspen]

Also, Dave, you might have dirty contacts in the battery chamber. If a battery dies and deteriorates in place it sometimes leaves a hard insulating coating on the battery contact. Try a bit of 0000 steel wool on the contact inside and the inside of the chamber cap.

[dave_schaefer1]

Sweet. I actually figured it out on my own. But you were right Ron, it was the battery contacts. The person that I had bought the camera from had it professionally cleaned 2 years ago but then hadn't used to camera since. So under the batteries there was some crap that i scratched off with a pencil eraser... I put the batteries back in and the shutter is working perfectly as well as the LED. Thanks for your help.

[ram_c]

Hi guys, I hope I am not too late to this discussion on FG. I also recently bought an FG where the LEDs are dim and local repair shops wont touch it saying they dont have parts or that they might only misallign the LEDs during dis-assembly if they attempt to clean it. I wonder if anyone have a diagram of the innards of the FG as I plan to open it myself and see if I can clean the LED array. The metering and LED positions are still accurate; it is just the lights of the LEDs which are very dim and hard to see in daylight.

 

@Dave. One other thing I noticed with my FG is that the mirror had this tendency to to get stuck in the upper position. I opened the bottom plate of the camera and discovered by randomly probing parts that one of the gears didnt roll properly. I sprayed silicone lubricant to it and all is well again.

 

Thanks.