FE shutter problem

[vincent_sebastiano]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm back with the same problem and I wonder if it's related to loading the

film. I purchased another FE with new foam seals and mirror bumper. Prior to

loading the film I ran through the shutter speeds and everthing worked fine. I

then loaded the camera, advanced one frame to ensure it was engaged with the

sprocket, took any slack out of the film and closed the back. I then began to

advance the film to reach O on the film counter but on the second advance the

shutter locked, mirror wouldn't come down and the film wouldn't advance. Iv'e

owned many SLR's and never had to advance more than one frame with the camera

door opened but I just read the manual and it suggests three film advances

before the door is closed. Could this be jamming my shutter or is it a

coincidence? I can't believe this has happened on 2 FE's but my FM hasn't

given any problem at all.

 

By the way, I also tried Eric's suggestion to remove the base plate of my

other FE. However, my son and I could not identify the lever jamming the cog

on the base of the film advance. Eric, if you have a picture or diagram of

what we should be looking for I would appreciate it. Thanks for any help you

guys ( or girls ) can provide. I reaching the point of buying a N2000 to avoid

this problem!

 

Vince

[User_276104]

I don't have the right small screwdriver to open up my FE2 and post a photo right now.

 

I've been trying to find a diagram of this style body on the net but haven't come up with anything useful.

 

I'll be running some errands today and will try to find a tiny Phillips screwdriver and post or send you a photo.

[Michael R Freeman]

Whether or not the film back is open or closed should have no bearing whatsoever on a shutter/mirror/film advance lockup, as the only thing that will affect is the film counter.

 

I presume you have tried the M90 setting to see if that will release the mirror and shutter? Probably not, because this doesn't sound like a battery issue, but rather a mechanical jam.

 

Good luck. Sounds like you could use a little where FE's are concerned! :-)

[richard_beisigl]

Sebastiano,

I bought both an FE and a FM new. While they were under warranty, the FE did the same thing your FE is doing now. I sent to Nikon repair three times, and they could never find anything wron; that is, until after getting it back the third time, I was advancing the film and it locked up. My wife said STOP! "send it back to them just as it is now."

This was in 1987. They had to replace a diode, transister 1c, and the mirror box switch.

I still have the paper work, and I am looking at it as I type this.

After I got it back, it worked just fine, until a few years ago when it started doing the same thing.

I have had no problems with the FM, and both cameras were bought at the same time.

I hope this may be of some help to you.

Also, I called Nikon to ask if it could be repaired, and was told to send it to them to find out what the problem was, and if parts were still available, they would repair it.

Richard B. Southern California

[ted_kahn]

I used to own an FE. If I remember correctly, the light meter is active on this camera even before the frame counter reaches 1. This means that when you are loading film, if the camera is in auto-exposure mode and if you have the lens cap on (or if you are in a dark place) you will get extremely long exposure times that can make it seem as if the camera has locked up. The solution is to take the lens cap off and point the camera at a bright light source, or manually choose a fast shutter speed until the counter gets to 1.

 

The FE2 solved this problem by inactivating the light meter before the counter reaches 1.

 

Ted Kahn

[User_276104]

Here are photos of the basis for the film advance lever locking up:<div></div>

[User_276104]

After firing, you can see that small arm is no longer engaging the base of the winding mechanism.

 

For some reason, this arm can move into the "locked" position when the shutter is not cocked.

 

All that needs to be done is move the arm away and cock the shutter (preferably while set to M90/FE or M250/FE2).<div></div>