HELP! Canon AE-1 P lever seems broken! PICS TO SHOW.

Bailee · Jul 14, 2017

Hey guys!! A little help. I recently got the Canon Ae-1 Program and everything works fine but while rewinding the film I did something to the lever and it won't go back down??!!

The metal seems bent and I honestly don't know what I did or how I did it.

Sos.

shutterfinger · Jul 15, 2017

user manual: http://www.cameramanuals.org/canon_pdf/canon_ae-1_program.pdf
service manual: https://www.manualslib.com/manual/704000/Canon-Ae-1.html
Anything out of position will be at the hinge pin of the lever to center of the rewind knob. Have you opened then closed the back and pushed the shaft down as far as it will go?

AgX · Jul 15, 2017

Welcome to Apug!

Sounds very strange. The mechanism should be most simple (Still have not got an AE-P, but most other A's).

A wild guess, based just on that photo, would be that the free end of the spring got bent over and now (bent by 90°) is on the wrong side. And I got no idea how such could have happened...
(If someone had assembled the knob wrongly (with this effect) the lever would have stood off already when you acquired that camera.)

Theo Sulphate · Jul 15, 2017

The bend is normal (see photos of mine below). If the lever won't fold down, something else is wrong.

Bailee · Jul 15, 2017

Yeah the knob got untwisted and when I twisted it back on this is what I got. It's like the metal is upside down.

when I take it apart I can't see any noticeable changes, but I'm afraid to break it f I screw around with it too much.

Theo Sulphate said:
The bend is normal (see photos of mine below). If the lever won't fold down, something else is wrong.

Bailee · Jul 15, 2017

The shaft and everything is working good, it's just the lever part won't fold down all the way anymore.

I untwisted the knob and once I twisted it back, something wrong happened. I can't seem to figure out what it is. It's like the metal is upside down or something.

shutterfinger said:
user manual: http://www.cameramanuals.org/canon_pdf/canon_ae-1_program.pdf
service manual: https://www.manualslib.com/manual/704000/Canon-Ae-1.html
Anything out of position will be at the hinge pin of the lever to center of the rewind knob. Have you opened then closed the back and pushed the shaft down as far as it will go?

Bailee · Jul 15, 2017

Yeah I think I might have rescrewed the knob on the wrong way. I just don't know how or what I did so I'm afraid to touch it again to ruin it even more lol.

AgX said:
Welcome to Apug!

Sounds very strange. The mechanism should be most simple (Still have not got an AE-P, but most other A's).

A wild guess, based just on that photo, would be that the free end of the spring got bent over and now (bent by 90°) is on the wrong side. And I got no idea how such could have happened...
(If someone had assembled the knob wrongly (with this effect) the lever would have stood off already when you acquired that camera.)

E. von Hoegh · Jul 15, 2017

Bailee said:
Yeah I think I might have rescrewed the knob on the wrong way. I just don't know how or what I did so I'm afraid to touch it again to ruin it even more lol.

It appears that the spring is upside down. This is obvious in your last picture.
Take it apart, flip the spring, put it back together.

Bailee · Jul 15, 2017

I will do that as soon as I'm home. Thanks guys!!!

E. von Hoegh said:
It appears that the spring is upside down. This is obvious in your last picture.
Take it apart, flip the spring, put it back together.

HELP! Canon AE-1 P lever seems broken! PICS TO SHOW.

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