Canon AE-1 meter bad?

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Duceman

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Buddy of mine gave me a (free) Canon AE-1 yesterday, along with a couple of lenses. I put in a fresh battery and checked it with the camera's battery check--GTG. However, with the aperture locked in "A", whenever I half-way push the shutter button down to take a reading, the needle goes all the way to the bottom, and the light at the bottom begins to blink, indicating improper exposure. Same thing happens when I move the aperture out of "A" at each aperture setting. This happens regardless the ISO setting (which I've tried between 50 and 400), as well as the set shutter speed (which I've tried from 1/1000th to 1/15th), even when I'm pointing the lens onto a brightly lit subject. When I push further on the shutter button, a shot is taken. Going through all the shutter speeds, the shutter seems to be in proper timing at each speed. Film advance lever operates smoothly.

I'm not all that familiar with the Canon AE-1, but I'm thinking that this may mean the light meter isn't working properly? If not, then what else could it be?
 
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Mamiya_Repair

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This can be caused by a number of things, but most common is a twisted or broken tungsten wire. This wire connects the shutter speed dial to the functional resistor and if it comes off its pulleys or breaks, you have a problem like you are experiencing. Requires the top cover to be removed to inspect the wire and its routing.
 
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Duceman

Duceman

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Ah, thanks. I'll probably just send it in to Garry for a CLA and fix.
 
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