My Nikon F100 Is Dead!

Arthurwg

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Picked up my trusty Nikon F100 today, loaded new batteries and...NOTHING. Camera shows no signs of life whatsoever. True, the camera hasn't been used in years but is otherwise in top shape. Door latch is fine, body not sticky etc. Any suggestions? If I can't get it to work is it worth sending for repair?
 

Andreas Thaler

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You probably won't find anyone who will repair it, especially not Nikon, as it's an old product.
 

F4U

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Most likely corrosion has wicked along the wire from the battery, causing a failure of energy flow.
 

Willy T

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Just for giggles: first try swabbing all battery contacts with a Q-tip soaked in white vinegar to remove any invisible "haze' which can prevent full contact and flow. Long shot; has worked for me.
 

mshchem

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Gotta be corrosion somewhere. Might spray some contact cleaner on the switch and battery terminal???
 

F4U

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What commonly happens is that there may be no sign or clue in the battery compartment and its contacts. But on the backside of the compartment that you can't see, has corrosion where the wire(s) are soldered. Further, corrosion has been known to "wick" along the wire underneath the insulation and corrodes at the other end of the wire. Strange but true. There's something about copper that corrodes when everything else looks clean as a whistle. I'm not familiar with this camera, but if it has its meter switch as the "out" position of the wind lever, those contacts can be tarnished too. At this time I see no reason to believe that the electronics themselves are bad. Could be, but its is the most unlikely suspect. Remember, NEVER use a screwdriver on a Japanese camera that is not JIS.
 

Sharktooth

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mshchem said:
Gotta be corrosion somewhere. Might spray some contact cleaner on the switch and battery terminal???
Click to expand...

Don't spray any contact cleaner in your camera, since many of them will also dissolve some plastics. I learned that the hard way with a Pentax 645 battery holder. Just use isopropyl alcohol soaked on a Q-tip. Vinegar or lemon juice on your Q-tip will help to get rid of the corrosion from alkaline batteries. The isopropyl alcohol is used after that to clean up any leftover vinegar or lemon juice residue. The isopropyl alcohol will evaporate quickly.

Spray cleaners are also bad because the cleaner gets all over the place, and may get in places where the leftover residue can't be removed, and may cause problems later.
 

BrianShaw

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Isn’t xx% isopropyl alcohol 100 - xx% water? Drying carefully and thoroughly seems imperative.
 

Sharktooth

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I use 99% isopropyl alcohol. You can get it from the drug store. You can get 50% or 70%, which has more water content, and is cheaper (just diluted with water). It takes longer for the water to evaporate, so I prefer the highest % of isopropyl alcohol. It's also known as rubbing alcohol, but rubbing alcohol may not always be isopropyl alcohol, but some other alcohol variant. Check the label.
 

ic-racer

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One of the best Nikon AF film cameras out there. Certainly worth repairing.
 

beemermark

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Any auto parts store has electrical / electronic cleaner that won’t harm plastic. Just read the label. works great for me, esp. cleaning corroded battery terminals
 

Andreas Thaler

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Electronics cleaner won't remove leaked battery electrolyte, and this substance tends to climb up the cables and corrode metals. If only the external battery contacts are affected by oxidation, electronics cleaner is helpful.

I had one case (Canon EF) where the battery compartment was clean, but after disassembling it, battery electrolyte became visible behind it, which had already corroded solder joints.

If cleaning the outside doesn't help, I would open the F100 at the battery compartment and take a look.
 

F4U

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No, a spray can isn't the answer here. This is an easy problem. At the worst, it may be weak electrolytic capacitors. But since I am not familiar with this camera and it's manufacturing chain, I can't know if the Japanese transferred the manufacturing of it to the Chinese bloc, which is (or was) notorious for poor capacitor manufacturing technology. (witness: Bose wave radio) If this camera was made exclusively in Japan with Japanese-sourced electronic parts, then the electronic section of the camera is safely assumed still good. At some point in that era, Japan began out-sourcing manufacturing to the Chinese bloc. That is where things got sketchy. A set of Vessel JIS screwdrivers off ebay will soon reveal the problem in a Sunday afternoon at the work table. Yes the new batteries could be duds. But I'm betting on a simple corroded wire situation. I would be shocked to hear otherwise. Please report back to the board upon resolution. Regards
 

Andreas Thaler

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reddesert

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The wind lever of the F100 can be easily removed for inspection with a left-handed crescent wrench.

At this point, we do not know if the OP has inspected the battery compartment for corrosion, has cleaned the battery terminals of not only corrosion but also oxidation, or, if a battery grip is in use, whether the connectors of the grip to the body have been cleaned. Those are all perhaps obvious, but good places to start.
 

neilt3

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mshchem said:
You might try another set of batteries too. Could have some duds.
Click to expand...

The other thing with batteries is that most rechargeable batteries are only 1.2 volt when charged .
Some cameras see these as being flat .
Though usually the dead battery warning on the LCD would be flashing.

@ the OP , what batteries are you using ?

A fresh set of disposable batteries would rule this out .
 

250swb

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Removing the wind lever of an F100 would be worth a video all on it's own, not many people have found it never mind removed it.
 

Andreas Thaler

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Arthurwg said:
Three. fresh Duracell AAs. No sign of leakage or corrosion. Always stored w/o batteries.
Click to expand...

As suggested, you could clean the battery contacts with electronics cleaner, isopropyl alcohol, or a pencil eraser.

Oxidation often forms and is barely noticeable.
 

Sirius Glass

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ic-racer said:
One of the best Nikon AF film cameras out there. Certainly worth repairing.
Click to expand...

I agree. Call Nikon and talk to them about what they can do for you.
 
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