Mamiya 7II Shutter Issue

[polymerase]

I picked this Mamiya 7II up for a great price because it's in “broken” condition. The light curtain was jammed, the rangefinder was “off” and the lens shutter doesn't fire when the shutter button is pressed (the lens is known to work perfectly well on other bodies). I took it apart and fixed the jammed curtain (just had to WD40 the locking clamp), and adjusted the rangefinder, but can't quite figure out the shutter.. All mechanical parts on this camera work perfectly well (the interlocks work, the film advances the correct distance, the rangefinder interacts with the lens, etc.) Also, electronically, the shutter speed dial is able to communicate with the rangefinder indicator (the correct speed lights up in the viewfinder with a half pressed shutter). The issue here is that the attached lens does not seem to be recognized by the body. The indicator light blinks whenever the shutter button is pressed, meaning the camera thinks no lens is attached... The shutter will not fire, regardless of what I do.. (I’ve cleaned the contacts with no avail.)

I didn’t have enough time to dig further into the camera (I’m in the middle of my general surgery rotation, operating from ~4am-8pm..), so I haven’t fully examined the ribbon cable or the electronics. It could just be a short/missing ground/broken solder point.. I’m not familiar with the innards of this camera, which is why I’m consulting you. Hopefully it’s an easy fix.

Also, here are some quick shots I snapped of the inside with my terrible phone camera as I took things apart and mucked around:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/51777251@N04/sets/72157631624095326

 

[Klainmeister]

Holy smokes, that's a lot of work! Good on ya. I'll take a look at mine and try to work through the system and compare to your shots.

--side note: how the heck do you adjust the rangefinder?! mine is off vertically...

 

[MFstooges]

What's that long soldered board on 2nd or 3rd pic? Looks dirty and if those related to lens contact may be worth to clean them.

 

[ic-racer]

Do you have the service manual? Sometimes that helps (and sometimes is does not).

Use caution with the WD40, it can gum things up.

Have you tried DeOxit on the contacts?

I'd work hard get it fixed before starting residency, unless you are going into PM&R

 

[David Allen]

Hi there,

After all your detailed work here is a simple question that might round it off:

If you mean that you are seeing a red indicator light on the left-hand side of the viewfinder then this is not indicating a problem with the lens.

It is indicating that there is no film in the camera.

The shutter (well on my original 7 version - not the 7II) will not fire unless there is film (with frames left to be exposed) in the camera.

Hope this helps,

David
www.dsallen.de

 

[polymerase]

Hey Folks,

Sorry about the delayed reply, but when I'm interested in a thread, I like closure. The end of this story is that this camera is now being used for parts.
I ended up letting Mamiya in NY take a look at the thing, and they confirmed that the electronics of the camera were water-damaged beyond repair. Real shame too, because the mechanical bits were perfect.. C'est la vie.

When something is too good to be true.. it probably is. But that's never an excuse to skip an opportunity for something interesting.

To individual comments:
David, the II can "dry-fire" with the back open, lens on, shutter cocked, and "Multi" lever set. The I cannot.
K.S. you can adjust the finder pretty easily without dismantling things (but you do need to be careful because it's easy to throw off).
These two sites explain the steps pretty well:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1631
http://tomwestbrook.com/Photography/rangefinder_adj.html

Thanks again for you comments. Hopefully I can get my hands on another Mamiya 7 soon...