Retina Reflex III: camera dropped, meter now unresponsive

[keenmaster486]

So I was walking home a few days ago from a productive shoot and the strap on my Retina Reflex III broke. The camera fell from waist level to the concrete. It was in a case so there are no dings or scratches, and everything still works the same as before...

EXCEPT now the meter is completely unresponsive! It moves when I change the aperture but it's completely unresponsive to changes in light. I can cover the light cell with my hand and there is zero change in the meter position.

It was working perfectly before the drop.

What could have gone wrong inside here? I really do NOT want to have to take the whole camera apart to fix this (I'm capable of doing that; I have the tools and I've done it before with similar cameras, but it doesn't give me a good feeling) and I don't have the money to have it CLA'd professionally.

Anyone have any insights?

 

[John Koehrer]

Something that comes to mind would be the needle being bumped out of it's pivot.

 

[shutterfinger]

It moves when I change the aperture but it's completely unresponsive to changes in light.

If it jiggles, moves the width of the needle or less then John is likely correct. The movements are very delicate and do not tolerate shock well. You can rap the camera body against the heel of your hand and it might cause the needle to pop back into place otherwise its a disassemble and try to get it functioning.
If it moves a 1/4 stop or more then goes back to the origonal position something in the meter system is broken or shorted, a disassembly is required to repair.

 

[keenmaster486]

Alright!

I bit the bullet and disassembled the meter movement.

Turns out y'all were exactly right! The needle was bumped out of its pivot. All that was required was to replace the armature properly and voila, the meter now works perfectly again. (Nota bene: it's a royal pain in the rear to put this thing back together.)

Also, it's a good thing I took the top off since the entire viewfinder assembly was covered with what appeared to be down.

 

[shutterfinger]

Good job!

 

[guangong]

You have my complete admiration. Anybody that can disassemble a Retina reflex camera and put it back together has a skill and talent given only to the few.