Reforming the Capacitor
Good morning, Darin;
The process is called "Reforming the capacitor."
If you have the Vivitar SB-4 AC power line adapter for the Vivitar 285HV, use it for this job; it will save many AA batteries. Otherwise, you will need to sacrifice 4 or 8 AA batteries to get the job done. In any case, the 285HV does like to have batteries in the holder even when it is recharging the capacitor off the SB-4.
Plug in and/or turn on the 285HV, set it for Full Power, and let it charge for 30 minutes to one hour. Fire the open flash button, and let the 285HV recharge for another 30 minutes. Fire it again, and let it recharge another 30 minutes. Do this from 5 to 10 times, and see if that does not make it feel better.
If there is no real improvement after doing this for 10 times, it probably is not going to come back, and the main flash capacitor will need to be replaced. Checking the flash output with one of the electronic flash metering light meters is probably the fastest way to check it. You can also use color transparency film and take a series of bracketed exposures to see if the output is in the region where it should be.
Once it is reformed, or you have had the capacitor replaced, regular use of the flash every week or two will keep it happy. If it is not used, but is stored in the bag for a while, routinely once per month repeat this charging and firing cycle about three times, just for routine maintenance to keep the capacitor happy. If you do this, you will have an electronic flash unit that will serve you for many years.
By the way, if you are going to store the flash unit (and other electronic equipment), take the batteries out of the holder. A leaking alkaline battery will eat away and destroy a battery holder and the equipment it is built into.
I have too many flash units around here. Once per month, on the same day that I rewind the living room clocks and do some other things, I get out the flash units, put the batteries in, and go through this process. It takes a while, but it does insure that I do not have a weak flash when I need some extra light for a photograph. Most of my smaller flash units do not have an AC power adapter. I usually buy my AA batteries in the 16 or 20 unit pack. The Mallory people really do appreciate my following this practice.
