Nikon F2 Battery Compartment Won't Close

Salt&Light · Mar 21, 2020

Hello,

I recently purchased a Nikon F2. I am trying to install batteries into the Nikon F2. I have the manual, and it states to use two 1.5V silver-oxide batteries. I have tried using two 1.55V SR44 silver oxide batteries from Sony, and I have also tried installing a 3V 2L76 lithium battery from Energizer. When placing both into the compartment it always seemed like they were a little too high up, and I'm never able to close the battery compartment.

Currently, I have the 3V 2L76 battery in the compartment, and I am using packaging tape to hold it in place. View finder works great.

I'm losing my mind over trying to find the problem. Have I been installing the incorrect batteries? Am I trying to install the battery compartment cover on incorrectly??

peter k. · Mar 21, 2020

Welcome aboard:
try using two Duracell 303/357 instead

Salt&Light · Mar 21, 2020

Dear Peter,

I'll try this and let you know if it works.

BobD · Mar 21, 2020

That's weird. Maybe the battery cover is not original?

Salt&Light · Mar 22, 2020

I agree, Bob. That might be the problem. I'm about to scan some negatives, and while that happens I'll leave to pick up the Duracell batteries that Peter brought up though to will see how they fit.

Salt&Light · Mar 22, 2020

@peter k. The duracells 303/357 did not fit either. I bought it from a local store that refurbishes and repairs old cameras, so my thought is that he must've replaced the battery compartment with one that is not compatible with the viewfinder. It came with a waist-level finder that didn't have a light meter, so I had no use for batteries until I recently purchased a prism viewfinder.

I'm bummed out, but I'll take the camera to him to see what he can do.

BradS · Mar 22, 2020

Can you upload some photos illustrating the situation?

CMoore · Mar 22, 2020

ANVIL_OG said:
@peter k. The duracells 303/357 did not fit either. I bought it from a local store that refurbishes and repairs old cameras, so my thought is that he must've replaced the battery compartment with one that is not compatible with the viewfinder.
.

I am not a camera tech..... how "easy" would it be to do that.?

peter k. · Mar 22, 2020

ANVIL_OG said:
he must've replaced the battery compartment with one that is not compatible with the viewfinder.

Hmmm .. my F2 does not have battery compartment in viewfinder.
Here take a look at this video ...
.

Note at the very beginning he taps the top of the camera, with a right finger @ 12 about secs, .. that is where the camera is stamped .. "F2" with its serial number.
Note @ 6 minutes 30 seconds he points at the battery compartment on the base of the camera, not in the view finder.

mshchem · Mar 22, 2020

ANVIL_OG said:
@peter k. The duracells 303/357 did not fit either. I bought it from a local store that refurbishes and repairs old cameras, so my thought is that he must've replaced the battery compartment with one that is not compatible with the viewfinder. It came with a waist-level finder that didn't have a light meter, so I had no use for batteries until I recently purchased a prism viewfinder.

I'm bummed out, but I'll take the camera to him to see what he can do.

You may be correct. All the batteries you have tried should fit into a F2 body. Over the decades I've only had one issue with a F2 body, it was a failure to get current from the battery compartment to the top of the camera.
Your shop may have been tinkering and needs to have another look. This might be the reason it came with a "batteries not required " finder.

BradS · Mar 22, 2020

If indeed it is an F2 (not an F) then, I wonder if the little arms on the bottom of the battery cover, the hold the battery cover in place are bent or broken.

mshchem · Mar 22, 2020

It's impossible to confuse an F and F2 body. Somethings a miss with the battery compartment.

Kino · Mar 22, 2020

BradS said:
If indeed it is an F2 (not an F) then, I wonder if the little arms on the bottom of the battery cover, the hold the battery cover in place are bent or broken.

Could be. It could also be that the plastic has shrunken and deformed after all those years since being formed.

It's a very simple task to pull the bottom and look.

Kino · Mar 22, 2020

Here's what it should look like...

This is a great design... for 20 years; as for long term, it's horrible.

The contact passes through the plastic body and is screwed to the plastic chamber, sandwiching the terminal that leads to the battery by friction and is secured with a blob of glue.

Once the plastic gets brittle, the pressure exerted on the spring by the batteries will eventually cause stress fractures around the screw and the case will break.

eli griggs · Mar 23, 2020

This compartment case looks like an easy 3-D print job for entry level printers, however if New compartments exist, that might be faster, but cheaper...?

IMO.

Kino · Mar 23, 2020

eli griggs said:
This compartment case looks like an easy 3-D print job for entry level printers, however if New compartments exist, that might be faster, but cheaper...?
IMO.

That's what I thought some time ago and after having several things printed out for me by Treatstock, I think its a very practical solution. The metal parts tend to not go bad or are easily made out of sheet metal and whatever appropriate screw you have laying about

Alas, I have no skills in CAD. Maybe some enterprising young person with good eyes, a quick mind and a 3D printer will buy a F2 with a broken battery compartment and do us all a favor.

The NOS compartments on Ebay are selling for still reasonable prices when you can find them. There is a good supply on there now, but you have to buy a minimum of 5. The seller once sold them per unit, but now only sells 5 for $25 + S&H.

Maybe we should get a group of 5 people together and buy a 5 set lot and split the cost. I would like a spare on hand, even if I never use it.

Of course, buying the part is the easy part, but if I can replace it, anyone can.

BradS · Mar 23, 2020

Is it simply a matter of removing the bottom plate? or is there more disassembly involved. Sober Wong’s description makes it sound like it’s far from trivial.

Salt&Light · Mar 24, 2020

peter k. said:
Hmmm .. my F2 does not have battery compartment in viewfinder.
Here take a look at this video ...

Note at the very beginning he taps the top of the camera, with a right finger @ 12 about secs, .. that is where the camera is stamped .. "F2" with its serial number.
Note @ 6 minutes 30 seconds he points at the battery compartment on the base of the camera, not in the view finder.

Hello, The battery compartment is in the BASE of the Nikon F2. I apologize if there was any confusion in my post. I'm not installing batteries into the viewfinder itself. I have been installing batteries into the base of the camera. I had a waist-level viewfinder on it before I replaced it with the DP-1 viewfinder. This viewfinder has a light meter, so I needed to place batteries into the base of the camera to make the light meter work.

@BradS I believe that this could be the problem- that something is either wrong with the battery compartment COVER or that the battery compartment has shrunken over time.

Thanks so much for your involvement in my thread. I've given up on it for now. I'll take it back to the guy I bought it from, he repairs cameras for a living.

Kino · Mar 24, 2020

BradS said:
Is it simply a matter of removing the bottom plate? or is there more disassembly involved. Sober Wong’s description makes it sound like it’s far from trivial.

No, it's under the mirror box; taking the bottom plate off will not allow you to replace the battery holder on a F2.

Oh it's very scaring looking, but not really all that hard if you take your time.

You have to peel back the front leather and remove the mirror box. Luckily, Nikon made it to be serviced, so its very robust, just scary looking...

BradS · Mar 24, 2020

Of course, taking it apart is easy....putting it back together is the tricky part.

I took apart a Nikkormat once. The shutter clockwork was jammed so there was nothing to loose by doing so. I figured I might as well learn something. Never could get the mirror box back in quite right. Saved some of the parts, junked the rest...

Kino · Mar 24, 2020

I have posted this before, but will post it again; there are two videos on "Working With Different Issues in Nikon F2" by Youtube user Mikeno62 that cover the disassembly of an F2 down to the slow speed escapement. This exposes the battery chamber and is what I used to both clean my slow speed escapement gear and replace my battery chamber.

If you ignore all parts where he takes anything off the top of the camera (other than removing the prism), it is a very good guide to get access to the battery chamber.

Go slow, use the right tools and you can re-watch segments again and again to get it right.

Otherwise, it is time to pay the repair man...

BradS · Mar 24, 2020

Kino said:
I have posted this before, but will post it again; there are two videos on "Working With Different Issues in Nikon F2" by Youtube user Mikeno62 that cover the disassembly of an F2 down to the slow speed escapement. This exposes the battery chamber and is what I used to both clean my slow speed escapement gear and replace my battery chamber.

If you ignore all parts where he takes anything off the top of the camera (other than removing the prism), it is a very good guide to get access to the battery chamber.

Go slow, use the right tools and you can re-watch segments again and again to get it right.

Otherwise, it is time to pay the repair man...

cool! Thanks. Both my F2 are in good working order so I am not gonna take ‘em apart but, always good to learn something new.

Nikon F2 Battery Compartment Won't Close

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency