Leaf Afi-II / Aptus-II 12 problems

I have been using my Leaf back without a few existing annoyances : dead internal battery meaning date and time have to be set each time the back is powered on; long time to boot up when CF card is inserted, with workaround to boot up the back without card and insert the card once the back is in "ready" mode.
Then suddenly, after fewer than 5000 exposures:
- the screen stopped working. It stays black and does not react to touch / stylus.
- worse, any picture taken with it is completely messed up, as if one color plane (R, G, B?) were upright and the others flipped 180 degrees, and one only sees the upper half of that upright one (too hard to say for the others) stretched to the whole picture height.

The back was never dropped, mishandled, etc. This happened in the interval of a day: it worked in the morning and failed in the evening. I tried another CF card (new) but this did not solve the problem.

Unfortunately, even if those things when new are the cost of a small car, Phase One does not provide anymore support for them. They even refused to replace the internal battery "in case something were broken while doing it, as we do not have anymore parts".

Does anyone have an idea of the cause of these problems?

Do you know a camera service shop that has been known to do good work on these backs once PhaseOne refuses to help ?

To me that sounds like the problem is when writing to the card, could conceivably be a power issue so try some simple steps before sending anywhere. If it's an internal board that's died, likely the only way to repair is to find a donor that hasn't died the same way.

The basic trouble-shooting steps I would take:
- Take the battery out and take the CF card out, leave them out at least overnight with the camera turned on
- Then, If the body can be run from an adapter, try that
- Try a different (preferably new) fully charged battery, or if that's not practical then charge and re-charge your battery a few times before trying again

You also should check the CF Cards - eg format in a PC, check for errors, try in the camera again.

If you have any older CF cards you used in that camera which have images on, see if the pictures will display in the back.

One issue with those coin cells inside digital cameras that die and people just leave them (as many of us do...) is that they will eventually leak, and that could cause damage to traces, solder joints etc. It's been seen in other appliances.

Thanks for the tips.

I had checked the card in the PC, and no errors were found on it.

I did let the back sit overnight without attached battery nor without battery in the body, and charged the back battery during that time. Somehow the back and its screen came back to life, using the CF card I had tried the previous day. Probably a power issue, as you said, but how could I find what triggered it? (maybe heat and humidity?)

Regarding the coin cell, is there any trusted shop that could replace it, without breaking anything and turning the back into a brick?

It depends on where you’re located and how willing you are to risk the device. It could end up working, or at least limping, for a long time with no further intervention, or it could be actively disintegrating from the electrolyte leaking out of the battery.

If it’s disintegrating it could be an unsalvageable brick very soon, or at least it could cost as much to replace as it does to repair very soon.