Nikon battery indicator

Whomever · May 22, 2021

Hi all,
I have a Nikon FE(might be a parts camera at this point) the battery I am using brand miles tested known good the battery indicator on the back does not light up when the lever is pulled down, and also the the black needle will not move, since the battery indicator is a failr straight forward simple circuit. And when zi took the base plate off both terminal connections were connected, and didn't appear to be coldvjoints.is there much else zi can do other than call it a donor camera?

AnselMortensen · May 22, 2021

Some Nikons don't turn the power/meter on unless the winding lever is pulled slightly away from the body, exposing a red dot on the top cover....or if there's a motor drive attached.
Not sure if your camera is one of them, but it wouldn't cost anything to check.

BrianShaw · May 22, 2021

The battery indicator will work on a FE when motor is attached (off or on) and wind lever is pushed in. The meter doesn’t work until motor is turned on or wind lever pulled out. That I can assure you. Are you really, really sure that the battery is both good and correctly installed?

Whomever · May 22, 2021

AnselMortensen said:
Some Nikons don't turn the power/meter on unless the winding lever is pulled slightly away from the body, exposing a red dot on the top cover....or if there's a motor drive attached.
Not sure if your camera is one of them, but it wouldn't cost anything to check.

Thank you for the reply, the motor drive isn't attached and the red light is showind(indicating the advance lever is out).

shutterfinger · May 22, 2021

Battery testers are worthless. A Volt meter is better. A battery should read over its marked voltage by.1V to be good for use in a camera.
Nikon F4s will show both battery lights but stall during exposure until the batteries build back up. The camera battery check is only good for showing there is a battery with some power available in the camera.

Whomever · May 22, 2021

shutterfinger said:
Battery testers are worthless. A Volt meter is better. A battery should read over its marked voltage by.1V to be good for use in a camera.
Nikon F4s will show both battery lights but stall during exposure until the batteries build back up. The camera battery check is only good for showing there is a battery with some power available in the camera.

Thank you, I assumed the batter tester is basically an idiot light,, U guess my poor written question is really about the meter.
Its an FE us ut really worth fixing? Given the current supply if working bodies?

beemermark · May 22, 2021

shutterfinger said:
Battery testers are worthless. A Volt meter is better. A battery should read over its marked voltage by.1V to be good for use in a camera.
Nikon F4s will show both battery lights but stall during exposure until the batteries build back up. The camera battery check is only good for showing there is a battery with some power available in the camera.

A voltmeter is no good for testing a bettery. A battery tester puts a resistance load across the battery while measuring voltage.

Chan Tran · May 22, 2021

Whomever said:
Hi all,
I have a Nikon FE(might be a parts camera at this point) the battery I am using brand miles tested known good the battery indicator on the back does not light up when the lever is pulled down, and also the the black needle will not move, since the battery indicator is a failr straight forward simple circuit. And when zi took the base plate off both terminal connections were connected, and didn't appear to be coldvjoints.is there much else zi can do other than call it a donor camera?

With the camera only either the batteries are bad or the camera is bad. It acts like the batteries are dead. How do you test the batteries to know that they are known good?

CMoore · May 22, 2021

beemermark said:
A voltmeter is no good for testing a bettery. A battery tester puts a resistance load across the battery while measuring voltage.

If it is just the Meter/Shutter......
I would not think there is much of a load on the battery anyway, but maybe i am wrong.
How much current does the average film camera draw from a battery.?

shutterfinger · May 22, 2021

beemermark said:
A voltmeter is no good for testing a bettery. A battery tester puts a resistance load across the battery while measuring voltage.

Only a few battery testers put a load on the battery that is sufficient for camera use. I use a digital volt meter and if a battery reads marked voltage or less it will not operate most cameras correctly. For a meter only camera it might work at marked voltage but not at below marked voltage.

neilt3 · May 23, 2021

Even if the batteries you put in the camera were new , get some more , preferably another brand , and try them .
I've had some batteries in the past ( new and a long date on them ) and they wouldn't power up my camera .
The last camera was a Nikon F3 , so I borrowed the batteries out of my FE and it worked fine .
Just a thought .

Whomever · May 23, 2021

CMoore said:
If it is just the Meter/Shutter......
I would not think there is much of a load on the battery anyway, but maybe i am wrong.
How much current does the average film camera draw from a battery.?

You're right it can't be much if a load, the same battery can last a few years

Whomever · May 23, 2021

neilt3 said:
Even if the batteries you put in the camera were new , get some more , preferably another brand , and try them .
I've had some batteries in the past ( new and a long date on them ) and they wouldn't power up my camera .
The last camera was a Nikon F3 , so I borrowed the batteries out of my FE and it worked fine .
Just a thought .

Here's the kicker the same battery works I'm my other FE, FM and F3

BrianShaw · May 23, 2021

Whomever said:
Here's the kicker the same battery works I'm my other FE, FM and F3

Well that was a worthwhile experiment! Your FE might have an electrical fault.

so the meter and battery light are not working; does anything work (like the shutter) or is it completely kaput?

neilt3 · May 23, 2021

Whomever said:
Here's the kicker the same battery works I'm my other FE, FM and F3

If the batteries are good then , and there's no bad joints in the camera , but neither the battery check light comes on or there's any life with the meter , it sounds like a power supply issue ......have you cleaned the contact points in the battery compartment ?
It's possible the powers just not leaving the battery .

You said when you took the base plate off you checked the wires were connected , do you mean you just looked to see if they were connected , or did you test for a dry joint with a meter ?

Whomever · May 23, 2021

BrianShaw said:
Well that was a worthwhile experiment! Your FE might have an electrical fault.

so the meter and battery light are not working; does anything work (like the shutter) or is it completely kaput?

Well the only shutterspeeds that eork are bulb and auto.
Note zi don't remember the battery contact strip being split in the middle in other cameras.

shutterfinger · May 23, 2021

The battery cap is part of the power circuit. If the cap is slightly corroded or the seat for it corroded then the battery does not make proper contact.
The contact at the bottom of the battery chamber should be bright and shinny. The motor drive power socket has spring loaded brass pins that should be bright and shiny also.
The wire insulation should not be discolored either.

Whomever · May 23, 2021

Ok, odd, battery inductor works, meter does not , and with battery only m90 and bulb work. Shutter stays open on all other speeds
From.what U can tell the shutter jam is due to the cera sitting for a while and can be fixed by manual l y exercising the the shutter release under the base plate.

Nikon battery indicator

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