Fujica GS645 Rangefinder advice please

I have a Fujica GS645 film rangefinder and I need some advice.

The camera's meter does not work. I replaced the batteries with SR44's.
The red + sign lights up and fades to out in a few seconds. Doesn't matter the lighting conditions.
The batteries are new.

Any experience with the GS645?

Or advice?

Thanks

The camera is completely mechanical except the metering, so it could be something repairable. I would send the camera to some good shop to check it.

Has the camera ever worked properly for you? Is this a new behavior?

If this is a new camera to you, have you read the owners manual?

My Fuji 645 folder was fixed by a friend after house fire but lacked equipment to adjust meter. Camera is fine. Not being fond of diodes, I just use camera as is, using handheld meter when needed.

I have my second GS645 (first stolen) and a GS645W. My recollection (cannot access mine now to check) is that the meter activates when you press the shutter release and automatically shuts off after 15 seconds or so to save the batteries. While on, the meter reads out whatever the viewfinder is pointed at, as it reads the light coming into the finder. I've never heard of this problem before in these cameras, but the symptom described suggests that some volatile component in the circuit, like a capacitor, as weakened or failed. It is probably simple to repair once the problem is identified. Camera Wiz in Virginia used to be the "go to" repair shop for GS645 cameras. You might send them an email or make a call. Quality Light Metric in LA is a great meter repair shop, but I do not know if they work on in-camera meters. Worth a call.

Thanks everyone for the tips. I use a hand held spot meter anyway, so i am not in a hurry to get the meter repaired.
We shall see.
Happy New Year and BE SAFE

My experience w/ your camera is probably something you won't want to hear. I bought one from the old KEH many years ago, and loved the quality of the optics. But the camera had to be sent back to them twice because the shutter sorta liked to fall apart. The third time I sent it back they fully refunded my money (again, this was the old and great KEH) because they couldn't find any parts for it anymore.

The camera was a clacker too. Something inside it made a fair amount of noise and it wasn't the shutter itself, which was just your basic leaf shutter, albeit a shutter w/ reliability issues.

I was thinking capacitor as well, but if that is it others will be reporting the same problem. That would probably be an easy fix -- for some someone familiar with the camera and the location of the capacitor(s). Minolta cameras are famous for this problem.

The idea of the meter shutter off due to a timer is legit, since other meters are designed to do that -- but that would be in the manual.