fishintheocean Posted October 16, 2022 Share Posted October 16, 2022 Hi, I recently bought Nikon FM from eBay, everything works fine except the meter is on as soon as I put the battery in, even with the advance lever pushed all the way in. This will definitely drain the battery quickly. When I switch the advance lever to stand-off position, meter works fine and give accurate reading. I tried to measure the resistance between post it I’ve terminal in the battery compartment and the camera body, it’s not infinity when advance lever is pushed all the way in, seems the circuit disconnect function at the advance lever is broken? Thanks for reading hope anyone with more experience can point me at the right direction. To fix this. Thanks a lot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandy Vongries Posted October 16, 2022 Share Posted October 16, 2022 You can probably find an independent repair service, but it is an old camera. Can't recall what battery it takes, but if it is a relatively common one, I'd stock up and take the battery out when the camera isn't in use. Replace as needed when in use, just let it run. Best of luck with it, a nice camera. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niels - NHSN Posted October 16, 2022 Share Posted October 16, 2022 Return it if it doesn’t work as intended/promised. Niels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericphelps Posted October 16, 2022 Share Posted October 16, 2022 There's several batteries listed for the FM, you might first check and clean the battery compartment, then get a new assortment of batteries to see if one works. Or, as NHSN said contact the owner and do a return. Why do I say things... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishintheocean Posted October 16, 2022 Author Share Posted October 16, 2022 Thanks guys for the advice! Since the camera sold as is, I am going to return it. Will probably try camera repair shop but likely not worth the repair cost. As Sandy mentioned, I can still use it just need to remember to take out the battery, otherwise it's really a great camera! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hjoseph7 Posted October 16, 2022 Share Posted October 16, 2022 Usually when something sells as "As Is " it means you can't return it. If you are nifty with tools you can download an Operators manual for the Nikon FM and try to fix it yourself. I spent about $175(full CLA) on my Nikon FE2 to get the meter fixed that was draining the battery. It was painful, but it doesn't hurt that bad anymore... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandy Vongries Posted October 16, 2022 Share Posted October 16, 2022 We used to have a member here who repaired a couple of old Nikons for me. He relocated, but may still be in the business. I'll get back with his name if I have it in file. Dinner pending at the moment! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zootman Posted October 17, 2022 Share Posted October 17, 2022 I had an FM repaired by http://www.garryscamera.com/index.html and was happy with the results. He is extremely reasonable. It would be about $65 to have him repair and cla it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niels - NHSN Posted October 17, 2022 Share Posted October 17, 2022 (edited) 5 hours ago, Zootman said: I had an FM repaired by http://www.garryscamera.com/index.html and was happy with the results. He is extremely reasonable. It would be about $65 to have him repair and cla it. Just followed the link. They have the weirdest pricing I have seen in a while: sensor cleaning for $60 and repair and clean of classic cameras also for $60! Don't really understand how that computes. I can clean the sensor on my camera in less time than it takes just to remove the top plate on my Nikon FE. Anyway. If they do a good job, the repair is definitely a fair price - although I don't understand how they make a living - unless they do mostly sensor cleaning. Edited October 17, 2022 by NHSN Niels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeBu Lamar Posted October 17, 2022 Share Posted October 17, 2022 (edited) Quote Don't really understand how that computes. I bet you they won't fix the OP camera for $60. You can't make a living fixing a camera like the OP camera for any less than the price of a fully working camera. Edited October 17, 2022 by BeBu Lamar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niels - NHSN Posted October 17, 2022 Share Posted October 17, 2022 6 minutes ago, BeBu Lamar said: I bet you they won't fix the OP camera for $60. You can't make a living fixing a camera like the OP camera for any less than the price of a fully working camera. That is what they explicitly write on their price list. Well, the fixed price for an FM overhaul is $65+$8 SH, I was looking at the FE - but still!? It looks too good to be true, but @Zootman seems to be happy. Niels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodeo_joe1 Posted October 17, 2022 Share Posted October 17, 2022 IIRC, the switch contacts for the meter are quite readily seen as soon as the base is taken off the camera, which requires undoing only two small screws. Maybe the contacts have got bent or bridged by corrosion - a fairly easy fix I suspect. Or the cam on the end of the winder arm has broken off - more problematic. Whatever, since removing the baseplate takes a matter of seconds, it's an easy thing to check. And it might be a quick DIY repair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishintheocean Posted October 17, 2022 Author Share Posted October 17, 2022 @rodeo_joe1if you could point out where at the base I should check for the switch contact, here is the picture of the camera base with cover off. Thanks a lot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Seaman Posted October 17, 2022 Share Posted October 17, 2022 The meter switch on Nikkormats is under the top of the camera blow the advance lever. Perhaps they changed it on the FM but I can't see anything resembling switch contacts around the film advance in the picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishintheocean Posted October 17, 2022 Author Share Posted October 17, 2022 This is what I saw at the top below the advance lever when I opened it last night, multimeter showed between the contacts are not infinity, which tells me there is short somewhere, but it's beyond my capability to fix this, will try to see if Garry's camera place can fix it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidperin Posted October 17, 2022 Share Posted October 17, 2022 Another positive for Gary's, he has repaired two for me, a Spotmatic II and a Canon FT QL, both work as they should. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandy Vongries Posted October 17, 2022 Share Posted October 17, 2022 Took a bit to find in my messy filing system, the member is Rick Riggins, and it appears he is still in business. https://www.discountcamerarepair.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishintheocean Posted October 17, 2022 Author Share Posted October 17, 2022 Thanks so much for sharing the experience and contacts! Much appreciate, you guys are the best! I will probably reach out to both to find out the cost for the repair. BTW, I love the metallic sound of the FM shutter, some people don't like it (too loud), but I like the crisp confirmation 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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