Polaroid Macro 5 SLR not ejecting darkslide

[centerweight]

Has anyone ever had this issue before or can offer me any advice? I bought mine recently on ebay and it worked great for the first five packs or so but now when I insert a new pack it won't eject the darkslide or reset the film counter. I don't think it's a battery issue because all the LEDs light up as normal and the strobes charge. I tried putting fresh AA batteries in too.

I have a hunch that the root of the issue is that something is stopping the film counter from resetting (it's stuck at zero). Any insight/advice would be most welcome!

 

[Roger Wade]

It still has batteries in the film pack that have to work. Check to see if the pack is ok by trying a new one or insert the old pack and see if it tries to throw out the slide.

Or it could be the contacts that touch the film batteries

Or the motor is bust.

Good luck.

 

[centerweight]

Yes I forgot to say I tried another pack and had the same issue: the battery seems to be fine because it lights up the LEDs and charges the flash but nothing happens mechanically. If the motor was broken, do you know whether the film counter would stay at zero or not? I’m not sure what the sequence of actions is when you put a new cartridge is, but if I knew this that would help narrow down the problem.

Can anyone tell me: when you put a new pack in, does the film counter reset before the dark slide ejects or afterwards? PS mine is a “count down” model so it sets itself at 10 when a new pack is inserted and then counts down every time a picture is taken.

Thanks again!

 

[Roger Wade]

I'll be putting a new film into an sx 70 today. I'll see if I can tell when the counter resets - never thought about the order .... It's a count-down version too.

 

[Roger Wade]

Ok. Just checked as you got me interested. As expected, the motor that ejects the slide SIMULTANEOUSLY moves the counter to 10. So if the motor doesn't move, the counter doesn't reset.

I guess that means that your motor is not moving. If you are certain of the battery and connections, it seems to be the motor, which would be a shame. Here's keeping my fingers crossed for you....