Minolta Auto Winder D question. Must it be attached for the red light to come on?

Im trying out the new Minolta XD-11 today. Camera seems to be working fine. Im trying to install the Auto Winder D and Im having trouble.

I put fresh batteries in. It takes 4 AA. I checked them 3 times on the multimeter and they come back normal 1.58v. I install it on the camera switch it to on and nothing happens. no red light no nothing. So I take the batteries out and notice there is a little tiny corrosion spot on one of the terminals of the removable battery holder.

I polish it up with a tiny wire bob and now its shiny metal. I put the batteries back in, snap it into the winder and attach the winder to the camera. I flip the on switch and it comes to life, the red light turns on and I hear the motor wind one frame. (there is no film in camera at this point.) Then light goes out. i start firing the camera and the winder does not come on. I took the winder off the camera, loaded the camera with test film, put the winder back on and still nothing.

So now Im trying to determine if its the camera or the winder. Does the winder need to be installed on the camera for the red light to come on? If no then the problem is with the winder. If yes, then the problem is with the camera, maybe at the port where the little gold pin inserts into the camera.

Please advise. Thanks.

while researching this I found an online manual for this winder if anybody now or in the future needs it.
http://www.massimoscottinelweb.com/...a Auto Winder D Owner's Manual WD 801E-C1.pdf
it didnt really help me but maybe it will benefit someone.

E ven though nobody cares Ill report what happend with the XD-11 winder. I ended up taking the auto winder D apart and found a corroded wire that had come off. This explains why it wound one time and then no more. Probably it was just barely still attached and when power surged through it and finished it off. It was the black wire that goes from the battery holder to I dont know where exactly it goes to. I was unable to reattach it because it is too short and the end was corroded and I had no way of stripping the end.

I got one with an XD11 recently that looks beautiful but didn't work at all. I cleaned all of the contacts and it began to work, but only intermittently. Now I just use it as a grip on the camera. Thanks for posting the link to the manual. Maybe that will help me.
Andy

you are welcome andy. I hope you get it working.

Thanks, me too!

We care. Maybe not just in real time! Thanks!

AndroclesC said:

I got one with an XD11 recently that looks beautiful but didn't work at all. I cleaned all of the contacts and it began to work, but only intermittently. Now I just use it as a grip on the camera. Thanks for posting the link to the manual. Maybe that will help me.
Andy

Click to expand...

How can one use the Winder D as a grip?

Chan Tran said:

How can one use the Winder D as a grip?

Click to expand...

It just adds more area to hold on to. Not a grip, per se, but a bigger unit to hold on to.

Shortly after I bought my XD-11, I bought a clean used Winder D. Fortunately mine has worked flawlessly. Regarding the LED pilot light, the way it seems to work is as a monitor, sort of. It lights when film is being advanced and it lights and stays lit once the end of the roll has been reached. It will also light if, for some reason, the camera or winder gets jammed up during mid-roll.

68degrees, if I had your winder, I would solder a short extension onto the existing wire. Better to replace the entire wire, but if this isn't possible, then I'd just solder on the extension so I could get the winder back into service.