Light Leak on AE-1

I'm hoping someone could give me some insight on this light leak. it's brighter at the top but that's where the seal is good. You can see the cutoff.

The seal around the door hinge can be a problem spot. Have you replaced the light seals? You can get them cheap on eBay and there are instructions online that show how to remove the old ones and install them.

but why arent the sprockets effected at the brighest smears? i see very little at the oposites sprockets. no frame lines either.

do the bright light test in a darkened room.

lens off, door closed... through the lens mount fired in T or B locked with the mirror up, check for light leaks?
also look through the viewfinder to see if the mirror seals are tight?
also look inside the lens mount with the eye tight on it as you go around the outside of the camera with the light.

drop the mirror n open the back door with the light shining through the lens mount to see the mirror and shutter seals are working. fire the shutter to be sure the curtains are working.

shine the light in the back open door as you look in the viewfinder, mirror down, it may be the prism or mirror seals leaking.

BAC1967 said:

The seal around the door hinge can be a problem spot. Have you replaced the light seals? You can get them cheap on eBay and there are instructions online that show how to remove the old ones and install them.

Click to expand...

Someone else mentioned the door hinge too. In that case I would be looking at two separate leaks. the minor one at the bottom, and a real bad one on the top part of the hinge seal. I may do the test again, and use electrical tape in a process of elimination.

but if you leak were from the rear, the sorockets, top and bottom, would be washed out as well. the light leak is in the mirror box from the front of the camera because the film on the rails are not effected. also no frame spaces between exposures says shutter is open, mirror seals leaking but still leak is from the front.

do the light tests.