Bronica SQ-A locked up

[one90guy]

Check the contacts in the battery compartment. Make sure they are clean and that they are making solid contact.

Thanks but I have ruled out the battery, wish that was it. But keep the suggestions coming.

David

[Chris G]

Thanks for the help, but lens has just a tiny bit of wiggle room. Every time I walk by I pick it up and will keep trying. Please keep suggestion's coming.

Yes, there is a tiny amount of play. Just force it back and forth between the stops and it should finish the cycle. I have had the same problem before, I twisted it fairly hard, but want to be careful about putting that advise out there!

The cause was the pins on the lens side were sticking for the first part of their rotation. Lens dis-assembly, cleaning and light lubrication was required.

[lxdude]

Yes, there is a tiny amount of play. Just force it back and forth between the stops and it should finish the cycle. I have had the same problem before, I twisted it fairly hard, but want to be careful about putting that advise out there!

The cause was the pins on the lens side were sticking for the first part of their rotation. Lens dis-assembly, cleaning and light lubrication was required.

Yes! I forgot about that. That is likely to be the problem. It is due to old lubricant which has thickened. As Chris says, move the lens rapidly clockwise/counterclockwise and it should complete the cycle. If not, warm it up. A sunny window might be enough, or putting it in an oven which is not above 120 actual degrees F, or a hair dryer blowing on the lens (being careful not to overheat any spot). Jiggle it periodically until you get it to release.


Once the lens is off, it is not difficult to get into the lens through the back to clean and relube it.
In this thread over on P.nut I explain how to do it:

http://photo.net/medium-format-photography-forum/00bG13

One thing I said in that thread was Koh's is always an option for repair. I was wrong about that, obviously. They have stopped doing repairs.

[one90guy]

Yes, there is a tiny amount of play. Just force it back and forth between the stops and it should finish the cycle. I have had the same problem before, I twisted it fairly hard, but want to be careful about putting that advise out there!

The cause was the pins on the lens side were sticking for the first part of their rotation. Lens dis-assembly, cleaning and light lubrication was required.

Thank you for the link, will keep working on it.

David

[one90guy]

Yes! I forgot about that. That is likely to be the problem. It is due to old lubricant which has thickened. As Chris says, move the lens rapidly clockwise/counterclockwise and it should complete the cycle. If not, warm it up. A sunny window might be enough, or putting it in an oven which is not above 120 actual degrees F, or a hair dryer blowing on the lens (being careful not to overheat any spot). Jiggle it periodically until you get it to release.


Once the lens is off, it is not difficult to get into the lens through the back to clean and relube it.
In this thread over on P.nut I explain how to do it:

http://photo.net/medium-format-photography-forum/00bG13

One thing I said in that thread was Koh's is always an option for repair. I was wrong about that, obviously. They have stopped doing repairs.

Great idea to warm it up, thanks. Light at the end of the tunnel hopefully.

[one90guy]

Opps link provided by lxdude, sorry about that.

[DWThomas]

More thoughts from an aging brain!

My first SQ-A body developed a hang-up in the shutter release; initially the button would work, but not a cable release. After tormenting myself further it seemed to get worse. I recall that with the back off and multi-exposure on, I could prod a link up near the lens mount and at least coax something to work. This was around the time I was attempting to use the body with a pinhole body cap and no lens.

I believe the link is related to the coupling to the cocking pins on the lens, and protrudes more to the right under some states of operation. The link appears just to the left of the wooden skewer here:


(Excuse the dust!)

In this view, on the right (next to the silly skewer) is a bifurcated tab that appears to transfer motion from winding the crank to cock the lens. (The view disappears as the mirror descends!)



Also on that lower right, at the back mounting surface, is a hole with a pin in the center that works magic in interlocking film winding. I would be tempted to gently poke each of those items a bit and see if anything changes. (The views are as seen from the back with ground glass up, crank on right.)

Some day I hope to take my screwed up (camera!) body apart and learn what's in there, but I'm afraid I don't see it in my near future.

(FWIW)

[one90guy]

More thoughts from an aging brain!

My first SQ-A body developed a hang-up in the shutter release; initially the button would work, but not a cable release. After tormenting myself further it seemed to get worse. I recall that with the back off and multi-exposure on, I could prod a link up near the lens mount and at least coax something to work. This was around the time I was attempting to use the body with a pinhole body cap and no lens.

I believe the link is related to the coupling to the cocking pins on the lens, and protrudes more to the right under some states of operation. The link appears just to the left of the wooden skewer here:


(Excuse the dust!)

In this view, on the right (next to the silly skewer) is a bifurcated tab that appears to transfer motion from winding the crank to cock the lens. (The view disappears as the mirror descends!)



Also on that lower right, at the back mounting surface, is a hole with a pin in the center that works magic in interlocking film winding. I would be tempted to gently poke each of those items a bit and see if anything changes. (The views are as seen from the back with ground glass up, crank on right.)

Some day I hope to take my screwed up (camera!) body apart and learn what's in there, but I'm afraid I don't see it in my near future.

(FWIW)

So far not able to move anything in the photos. Had to put it way had daughter and grandsons for a visit Monday I will return to the camera but replace or send out for repair seems next.

David