Need help assembling a Nikon FM.

[trythis]

Mine had a cracked battery compartment and would short on the body when the battery was inserted. I decided, as I do, to repair that which unfortunately means splitting the camera in half seperating the mirror box from shutter and body.

I need the instructions on getting the levers to interface. I can get it to fire, and wind but the little lever in the back of the timing mechanism doesnt seem to be engaging the mirror reset button.

A repair manual or instructions for the FM2 are not helping.

ANy idea? Anyone have an FM repair manual?
Thanks

 

[trythis]

I can now get the mirror to come back, but then cant wind it. I also found stress cracks in a steel linkage in the bottom that make me think this camera has seen a lot of use. Probably waiting for another camera.

 

[trythis]

After having success reassembling and fixing an F2 I decided to try again with this camera and got it working!
This was tough, the battery case was broken is 4 places, the linkages were very difficult to line up and I lost 8 screw that I pilaged from a dead FG. I also lost a spring that I had to reproduce.

I will say that if you have an FM with a bad meter that only reads [-] that it may be as easy to fix as cleaning a spot on the bottom of a glass plate resistor ring. This spot is a non moving contact so no matter how much you wiggle the shutter speed/ISO dial it will not wipe this spot clean. My meter now matches my F100, good enough.
I cant seem to uplaod images, so here is a link:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QQip9XjcfqI/Vuo_DRdIWNI/AAAAAAACRMY/3gVUlf5_-X4iHzYdu36vWpFAy_beM2zZgCCo/s512-Ic42/fm+reistor+plate-001.jpg

and a picture of where this little gem is:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5YNp9x_BKHE/Vuo_DxKlxoI/AAAAAAACRMY/mbzVWNXTJO4RJc6p1Tf80QTvGpNsxZlfwCCo/s640-Ic42/fm+resistor-2.jpg

 

[shutterfinger]

http://arcticwolfs.net/ no FM manual.

 

[macfred]

These Schematics Offer an Exploded View of Old Nikon SLR Cameras http://petapixel.com/2013/05/09/these-schematics-offer-an-exploded-view-of-old-nikon-slr-cameras/

 

[Ariston]

I will say that if you have an FM with a bad meter that only reads [-] that it may be as easy to fix as cleaning a spot on the bottom of a glass plate resistor ring. This spot is a non moving contact so no matter how much you wiggle the shutter speed/ISO dial it will not wipe this spot clean. My meter now matches my F100, good enough.
I cant seem to uplaod images, so here is a link:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QQip9XjcfqI/Vuo_DRdIWNI/AAAAAAACRMY/3gVUlf5_-X4iHzYdu36vWpFAy_beM2zZgCCo/s512-Ic42/fm+reistor+plate-001.jpg

and a picture of where this little gem is:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5YNp9x_BKHE/Vuo_DxKlxoI/AAAAAAACRMY/mbzVWNXTJO4RJc6p1Tf80QTvGpNsxZlfwCCo/s640-Ic42/fm+resistor-2.jpg

Hey Trythis, my meter is doing exactly this. If you are still around (this is an old thread), can you tell me if you had to take the top plate off to get to that resistor? I am not very brave with this kind of thing.

 

[neilt3]

Hey Trythis, my meter is doing exactly this. If you are still around (this is an old thread), can you tell me if you had to take the top plate off to get to that resistor? I am not very brave with this kind of thing.

He was last on here in 2017 so isn't likely to see your post .
Try sending him a P.M , if he still uses the same email address he should receive the notification that he has a message and might get in touch with you.
Good luck , sorry I can't help you .

 

[Ariston]

Thanks for the suggestion. I sent him a message.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Mine had a cracked battery compartment and would short on the body when the battery was inserted. I decided, as I do, to repair that which unfortunately means splitting the camera in half seperating the mirror box from shutter and body.

I need the instructions on getting the levers to interface. I can get it to fire, and wind but the little lever in the back of the timing mechanism doesnt seem to be engaging the mirror reset button.

A repair manual or instructions for the FM2 are not helping.

ANy idea? Anyone have an FM repair manual?
Thanks

get professional help before doing more deamage with the aid of a repair manual.

 

[__Brian]

get professional help before doing more deamage with the aid of a repair manual.

The sad part- Nikon FM bodies are going for ~$50 these days, in good working order. Getting a professional to repair a Nikon FM runs over $200. KEH wants $330 for their flat-rate repair.
At that point, instead of getting a repair: either try it yourself, find an amateur that has done it before, or get a camera in working order.
Trying it yourself: not going to cost you anything, you learn something about repairing cameras, and get the satisfaction of using a camera that you made work again.

 

[MFstooges]

Trying it yourself: not going to cost you anything, you learn something about repairing cameras, and get the satisfaction of using a camera that you made work again.

I did this twice because the 1st time I broke the wire and the 2nd times fixed the broken wire but broke the rewind shaft sleeve LOL
after one outing now I have slow speed problem. I may not need to fix this since I usually use it for shooting above tripod speed, but now my options is either to dispose it or buy a half dead donor