HELP-Nikon FE reoccurring shutter stuck

DevCC · Jun 23, 2021

Hi all, I just got minty Nikon FE from eBay. It all seemed ok when I receive the camera, but the shutter tends to stuck after a period of time (let's say 30 to 15 mins). When pressing the shutter, the mirror will flip up and the shutter stays closed (meter & battery check are normal). After releasing the mirror using the M90 or B, it goes normal and shutter fires at all speeds, but then the same thing will happen again if I stopped using the camera for awhile. I've replaced fresh batteries and tried cleaning the battery holder with alcohol etc, none of them resolve the problem.

Edit: It kinda feels like the battery will disconnect after certain time.

nicholasnicholas · Jul 8, 2023

DevCC said:
Hi all, I just got minty Nikon FE from eBay. It all seemed ok when I receive the camera, but the shutter tends to stuck after a period of time (let's say 30 to 15 mins). When pressing the shutter, the mirror will flip up and the shutter stays closed (meter & battery check are normal). After releasing the mirror using the M90 or B, it goes normal and shutter fires at all speeds, but then the same thing will happen again if I stopped using the camera for awhile. I've replaced fresh batteries and tried cleaning the battery holder with alcohol etc, none of them resolve the problem.

Edit: It kinda feels like the battery will disconnect after certain time.

The same is happening with mine! Any ideas? Did you find a fix?

250swb · Jul 9, 2023

There are a heck of a lot of instruction videos and articles about unjamming an FE so all I'd say is it should be easy, so find the instructions that cover both which lever under the baseplate you need to move to unjam the shutter and mirror but then also goes on and says which pivot points to lightly lube. With the baseplate off and the camera 'fixed' you can fire the shutter over and over trying to make it misbehave again, when you get bored you can assume it is fixed.

Nitroplait · Jul 9, 2023

It is a recurring problem with the FE that I have heard reported frequently over the years.
It is said to be electronically caused (possibly a bad contact).
Since few people are willing to throw more money at a professional repair than they would pay for another functioning sample, I have not noticed anyone report if it turned out to be fixable.

snusmumriken · Jul 9, 2023

Just a thought: I owned an FE years ago, and this issue used to happen when the battery was running down or too cold (sub-zero temps), or the battery contacts dirty or bent (you can gently bend the spring contact up again). If you have eliminated that source of trouble, I would suspect the on-off switch in the wind-on lever before suspecting anything more subtle.

nicholasnicholas · Jul 9, 2023

snusmumriken said:
Just a thought: I owned an FE years ago, and this issue used to happen when the battery was running down or too cold (sub-zero temps), or the battery contacts dirty or bent (you can gently bend the spring contact up again). If you have eliminated that source of trouble, I would suspect the on-off switch in the wind-on lever before suspecting anything more subtle.

I've bent the battery contact for good measure, see if that helps. Did you experience the same signs: mirror stays up @ random times and with no obvious trigger to repeat it?

snusmumriken · Jul 10, 2023

nicholasnicholas said:
I've bent the battery contact for good measure, see if that helps. Did you experience the same signs: mirror stays up @ random times and with no obvious trigger to repeat it?

No, in my case it was always something to do with the battery or its contacts. That randomness in your case is why I'm wondering if it\s the winder switch. If it was an electronic circuit fault like a failed component, it would surely be constant? But it could still be mechanical, of course.

HELP-Nikon FE reoccurring shutter stuck

DevCC

nicholasnicholas

250swb

Nitroplait

snusmumriken

nicholasnicholas

snusmumriken

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