Rollei 35 film advance issues

Hi All,
the last two rolls I have put through my Rollei 35 (1st model), have been removed prematurely as the wind lever has stopped advancing/cocking after about 5 frames. what happens is that it just goes loose, as though the gears did not engage, and it were just attached to a spring.

Have you any ideas as to what might be the issue, and how to fix it? The camera was heavily used when I bought it, but I am proud to have one of the few 1966 models.

I also have persistent problems with the flash sync, which i assume is just an inherent problem with the contacts to the baseplate, though i am not sure where the grounding contact is.

Thanks,
Tobias

It has been oooh so many years since I've had a Rollei apart.
Easiest first. The ground is the chassis itself, if you take a look at the shoe on the flash, you'll see that there's a spring in the groove. That's the ground. If it doesn't make a solid contact with the side of the hot shoe it's not going to work properly.
The advance could be a couple of things. Under the top cover unfortunately.
First, there's also a clutch or ratchet under the wind lever, if it sticks it would prevent a claw from engaging.
Since it's not constant, it could indicate a worn or broken gear or pawl.

thanks john. it is odd, to me, how service manuals never describe the dismantling process itself, which I would have thought would be the first thing to describe. It does not, for example, tell me whether one must remove the "R" lever, to remove the top cover, though the diagram suggests that it does not directly engage, but rather just release the clutch... which had me wondering if there was something loose in the clutch or "R" lever, as when it jams, it feels as though the rewind were enabled (though this is impossible). Frustrating also that the whole base/back is riveted together, thus not allowing it to be dismantled for cleaning. Any suggestions?

Maybe I should just use my Singapore 35T for now, though its flash shoe needs cleaning too.

Thanks again,
Tobias

The mnuals were intended for someone who had some familiarity with the assy/disassy of the cameras.
I think if I were going to attack this now I'd pull everything that would hold the top cover on & see if the rw lever interfered with removal of the cover. At that pint the lever can be removed.
Would the back plate from the 35T fit the 35? I believe it will & perhaps you can isolate your intermittent flash problem like that.
There should be a wire from the hot shoe to the sync contact at the shutter, it's possible the synch switch is tarnished or burned/pitted.

Hi John,
Yes, i believe the baseplate/backs are interchangeable, yes, however one is chrome, and the other is black with "singapore" written on it, which is not a great match. The upper part of the cameras is pretty much identical, as far as I know, other than the fact that one is the original, and one was made in the far east.

t

I didn't mean to change the backs for use, just to determine if the fault is in the body or shoe.
If the flash worked reliably with the Asian back but not the German, you would isolate the problem to the back not the body.