Electro 35: asa dial does nothing, meters weird

[Penny Lane]

Hello all,

After lurking for a while, the time has now come to actively tap into this forum's collected wisdom. The matter is as follows:

I found an 'original' Yashica Electro 35. The camera however doesn't meter the way it should. The over/under lights respond just fine, shutter speed is also being adjusted, B and flash modes are OK, but the 'over' light only ever comes off just beyond f5.6 and the 'under' light only ever kicks in just before f11 regardless of film speed setting.

I've so far checked the PoD (neoprene, in good nick, probably replaced at some point), switch rod adjustment, (was way off, but is now correct), electrical contacts inside the lens barrel (all cleaned up even if everything looked pretty clean to start with).

I've so far not been able to find a similar case online. If anyone here has any ideas on what next to check, I'd be very thankful.

Derk

 

[Jack Conrad]

Just a thought but I'd be tempted to clean the shutter contacts inside the lens barrel.

 

[Penny Lane]

Inside the lens barrel everything is clean & working (re-cleaned everything just in case). Tested with a multimeter and simply through trying things out.

The whole thing is, the light meter doesn't care whether it's seeing pure darkness or the brightest of lights. It always gives the same results (as described above). I suspect the CdS-cell is dead or disconnected, but I can't find the correct values it should give. I can only tell that the cell does react to light by approximately doubling/halving its resistance; I could measure that much over the cell's own pins.

Thinking about it, this is also why the asa dial does nothing - it only opens or closes the meter iris but the meter apparently can't see.

 

[Mark A. Fisher]

I had some issues with a couple of my Yashicas - The Yashica Guy had the answers! Check him out, maybe he'll have a simple solution:

http://www.yashica-guy.com/

 

[Penny Lane]

Yes, the Yashica Guy's site is great. I've read it many times, but haven't (yet?) found a simple answer there. It does feel like something fairly simple has gone wrong though.

Anyway, the service manual might help. The diagrams and a good hard thinking session may get me somewhere...

Derk

 

[Penny Lane]

Well - he's dead, Jim...

After carefully studying the diagrams, checking what works & doesn't work, cleaning the main switches which were perfectly clean to start with, the diagnosis is towards a rare-ish failure - that of the CdS having run way out of its specification. Only option is to find another one of these cameras to pluck the CdS cell out of, but it's likely to be at least as easy to fix a replacement with bits from this one.

So, I proceeded to replace the dented filter ring on my working GS with the one from this Electro. Also, the GS lives in this one's case now. The remains have been stitched up for future use as parts donor or to fix up should I find the correct spares.

Not all is lost then, and I had a lot of fun trying to revive it, but another 'original' Electro 35 bit the dust.

Derk

 

[farlymac]

But it lives on in the others that have new parts now.:angel:

Besides, if you hang around long enough to accumulate a few cameras, sooner of later there will be a pile of parts. That's the nature of mechanical things.

PF