Is this flash DOA????

xkaes · Mar 16, 2023

I've got a very nice Minolta Program 2500D flash. It has been working fine, but now it doesn't fire. It turns ON and the ready light turns RED, as it should. I've tried it on four cameras with no luck. It has TTL and ADI modes -- neither makes a difference. I've even changed batteries. The four iISO contacts on the flash shoe are clean. It does NOT have a test button on the flash -- just a READY light, and an exposure OK light. I would assume that if the condenser was dead, the READY light would not glow.

I have another Minolta Program 2500D which works fine.

Any idea what I can try before trashing it?

koraks · Mar 16, 2023

xkaes said:
I would assume that if the condenser was dead, the READY light would not glow.

You mean the capacitor. And yes, I'd assume this too, but it depends.

Sounds like your flash certainly isn't DOA. Perhaps it's D, but it appears you've used it successfully since it has A

Have you tried shorting the hot shoe's center contact to the edge contact? This should trigger the flash in "dumb" mode as if it's fitted on a camera with no TTL/ADI.

If that doesn't help, personally I'd take a peek inside, but the odds of finding a solution are proportional to your knowledge of electronics. YMMV, for sure!

xkaes · Mar 16, 2023

OK. I tried shorting the flash shoe, but it's an iISO shoe with FOUR contacts -- not the usual ONE on the bottom and one on the side..

So I put it on a iISO to ISO flash shoe adapter, but shorting the bottom contact and the side contact did nothing.

But then I did the same thing with another WORKING iISO flash on a iISO to ISO flash shoe adapter -- but shorting the bottom contact and the side contact did nothing either.

So I'll take a look at a diagram of an iISO shoe and see which contacts have to be connected.

BrianShaw · Mar 16, 2023

Can you put a OC cord on it and short that?

xkaes · Mar 16, 2023

I found an iISO flash shoe diagram at:

https://www.mhohner.de/sony-minolta/flashcomp_techref.php

I connect the G (ground) and the F1 pin with a copper wire and the fire does not flash -- but I tried the same thing with a working flash, and it didn't flash either.

xkaes · Mar 16, 2023

BrianShaw said:
Can you put a OC cord on it and short that?

I have an OC cord but it has the same shoe as my flash. I don't see how that will change anything.

BrianShaw · Mar 16, 2023

PC. Sorry, I typed wrong.

xkaes · Mar 16, 2023

I have a PC cord, but the 2500 does not have a PC socket.

I do have a slave shoe that I could try!!!!

Thanks for stirring my grey matter.

wiltw · Mar 16, 2023

I believe the suggestion was to use a hotshoe with connecting PC cord and place the flash in that, so you can then short the contacts in the end of the PC cable, rather than trying to connect the central trigger contact to the side of the flash's hotfoot. But in post 5 you already stated, "I connect the G (ground) and the F1 pin with a copper wire and the fire does not flash". If you Ready light says the power capacitor is charged, then we can only assume that its firing circuit got fried.

But then you go on and state, "-- but I tried the same thing with a working flash, and it didn't flash either.", so the hotshoe PC cable is suspect, and we cannot yet assume your flash is fried.

xkaes · Mar 17, 2023

I have an iISO shoe adapter with a PC plug on the side. I've tried three different flashes with a PC cable connected but cannot get any flash to fir the flash -- if I simply close the circuit on the PC cable or connect it to a camera and try to fire it.

So I'll try another PC cable and/or a different iISO shoe adapter.

This simple test gets messier every minute. I've got to start taking notes!

xkaes · Mar 17, 2023

I don't have another ISO to iISO adapter, so I've got to assume that my adapter is BAD since it won't work with any of my GOOD flashes.

I also can't think of a reason I can't get any of my GOOD flashes to fire when I connect the G (ground) and the F1 pins with a copper wire. Nothing happens. Maybe it is a "safety feature" of the flash -- so it will only fire on the camera?????.

The flash has two lights on the rear. The first turns RED when the capacitor is charged. That happens on all off my flashes -- good and bad.

The second LED turns GREEN when it is connected to a camera -- and also blinks AFTER the exposure, if it is good. This LED lights up on all of my flashes -- good and bad -- when they are connected to a camera.

But one flash will not fire. Still, the RED and GREEN LEDs tell me that most of the connections to the camera are OK.

One more thing. When I press the shutter button on the camera, the RED LED on the BAD flash BLINKS. That tells me SOMETHING happens. On the GOOD flashes, of course, it stays OFF until recharged.

wiltw · Mar 18, 2023

xkaes said:
One more thing. When I press the shutter button on the camera, the RED LED on the BAD flash BLINKS. That tells me SOMETHING happens. On the GOOD flashes, of course, it stays OFF until recharged.

The flash's circuit for firing does see the 'close circuit' signal on the firing pin! But the circuitry to turn that into a 'discharge capacitor into xenon tube' is apparently not able to respond to that input. From than description, 'flash is hosed' is my conclusionl Time ot make use of that other Minolta Program 2500D.

xkaes · Mar 18, 2023

Thanks. That was my thinking as well. Fortunately, the 2500D was the bottom of the MAXXUM flash line for Minolta -- even though it's a GREAT flash -- so I can get a replacement for a few bucks, because I'm in no rush.

Not only does it have TTL and ADI modes, but it automatically powers down after a couple of minutes -- to save the batteries. I wish my Vivitar 283s did that!!!

Is this flash DOA????

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