Yashica electro 35 gsn - possible meter problems

Jon Buffington · Sep 30, 2014

Hey everyone,
First time asking for help here. I have an yashica electro 35 gsn that I shoot with quite frequently. It is in very good condition cosmetically and has worked flawlessly for the past 2 years or so. Last weekend, I noticed that it began to act up. Every shot, no matter the ISO or aperture selected results in the overexposure warning and fires as such(even in pitch black). The first battery lasted about 1 year. When it died, the camera died. This battery is long in the tooth and I am wondering if this could be a simple battery issue or if this is indicative of another issue?

Thanks in advance for any and all help.

snapguy · Sep 30, 2014

fresh

I think the place to start is with a fresh battery. These things can be tricky. You should probably have a spare battery anyway.

Jon Buffington · Sep 30, 2014

Thanks snapguy, and your right. Unfortunately I don't have a spare (have to order one). I always order 2 or 3 of anything however am on my last one Just thought it was weird due to the battery check light saying all is ok (I know this can't be right, the battery has been in there at least a year).

Cold · Oct 3, 2014

If the battery isn't the culprit, the next thing I'd check out is the "Pad of Death".

Jon Buffington · Oct 8, 2014

Cold said:
If the battery isn't the culprit, the next thing I'd check out is the "Pad of Death".

What is the "pad of death?"

I put a fresh battery in tonight and it is still metering overexposed and firing at 1/500 (I assume, sounds like it). This is at all apertures and ISO's in a dark kitchen.

Jon Buffington · Oct 8, 2014

Well, crazy as it sounds, I just played around with the focus ring, back and forth and now it works. Exposure seems to be working normally pointing at different light sources.

zanxion72 · Oct 9, 2014

It could bad battery contact. Are you using the camera in extreme cold? Sometimes batteries fail to provide adequate current when they get too cold.

Jon Buffington · Oct 9, 2014

zanxion72 said:
It could bad battery contact. Are you using the camera in extreme cold? Sometimes batteries fail to provide adequate current when they get too cold.

No, not at this time. Still early fall weather here.

elekm · Oct 14, 2014

You should retrofit the battery chamber so that it will take two CR2 lithium batteries. Finding the original cell is a real challenge. The voltage will be slightly higher (6 volts vs. 5.6 volts), and you can compensate by adjusting the film speed.

Regarding the "Pad of Death," it is simple to replace with a massive teardown of the camera. Here's my writeup on it.

elekm · Oct 14, 2014

You should retrofit the battery chamber so that it will take two CR2 lithium batteries. Finding the original cell is a real challenge. The voltage will be slightly higher (6 volts vs. 5.6 volts), and you can compensate by adjusting the film speed.

Regarding the "Pad of Death," it is simple to replace without a massive teardown of the camera. Here's my writeup on it.

Jon Buffington · Oct 14, 2014

Thanks for the tip. I ended up buying a battery and adapter from the yashica-guy. http://www.yashica-guy.com/

My old battery is still good as well.

Fast14riot · Nov 1, 2014

A tip on finding batteries for these, I manage a pet store and many of the radio collars we sell use 6v 4LR44 batteries. My store stocks them for $5.99 each. They last a good year or so even though they are a Chinese no name brand. Might be an option for you to pick up locally rather than ordering.

-Xander

Jon Buffington · Nov 1, 2014

Thanks or the tip, Xander. I will have to check that out.

Matsushime · Nov 4, 2014

In addition to the 4LR44 recommendation, if you can order from amazon you'll get 10 for $5.25. There are other options/brands there for affordable prices too. I've bought from there and I'm still working on my first 2-3 batteries from a purchase over a year ago. Good stuff!!

flavio81 · Nov 4, 2014

elekm said:
You should retrofit the battery chamber so that it will take two CR2 lithium batteries. Finding the original cell is a real challenge. The voltage will be slightly higher (6 volts vs. 5.6 volts), and you can compensate by adjusting the film speed.

The Electro 35 will work with 6.0 volts with no problem, no compensation needed.

An alternative to the batteries is one CR2 battery + two PX625A batteries. You can easily make them fit inside the battery compartment, and give the 6.0V healthy voltage.

Fast14riot · Nov 4, 2014

Ordering is a very cheap way to go, but sometimes having a local source is nice when you want to shoot and are out. I always like to find local sources for stuff like this, even if I order it most of the time.

-X

kiss-o-matic · Nov 7, 2014

Are those things supposed to die when the battery dies? I thought they shot at their max shutter speed across the board? I got a roll of turds back when my 35cc battery died. Bummer was the exposure light *never* worked.

AJP · Dec 21, 2014

I think if the battery dies then the shutter operates still but at one speed only (would need to check but memory tells me it's something like 1/50sec). I think you'd need to use an external light meter or sunny 16 rule to figure out the right aperture and then set this manually on the lens since with a dead battery you'll also have a dead camera light meter.

Mine died a couple of months ago and I read the horror stories of stripping the camera back to bare bones to get at the pad of death. In reality with a bit of patience and dexterity you can fix this quite easily with just a top plate removal. In the end it took me about 20 minutes.

b1bmsgt · Jan 9, 2015

Take a look at this link for a POD explanation

Russ

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66696

flavio81 · Jan 9, 2015

AJP said:
I think if the battery dies then the shutter operates still but at one speed only (would need to check but memory tells me it's something like 1/50sec). I think you'd need to use an external light meter or sunny 16 rule to figure out the right aperture and then set this manually on the lens since with a dead battery you'll also have a dead camera light meter.

Shutter speed with no battery is always 1/500 sec.

I've had a Electro 35GSN and replaced the Pad of Death. As long as you read all the instructions with patience, and are skilled in dissasembling things, you can do it.

Yashica electro 35 gsn - possible meter problems

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