Electro 35 CC light meter problem

[sohk]

Hi everyone,

I have just bought a Yashica Electro 35 CC and I was very excited about it. It is the my first RF and my first film camera too. It took me a bit of time to find the right battery, but I did find it today and then .......
I put it in the camera, but I think the light meter is not working. When I press the battery check button, the green light is up, but when I advance the leaver and half press the shutter, there are no arrows in the viewfinder and the camera is always shooting with the same speed. I tried dark places, and different settings for ASA but it's still the same 🙁
Is this fixable in some easy way, is it fixable at all?

 

[Skulls Road]

Unfortunately that sounds like an electrical issue that would be difficult to fix at home. Best bet, if it is in good cosmetic condition, is to send it off for repairs.

 

[sohk]

I was thinking of electrical problem as well, since I've read that the CC is not suffering from the infamous "Pad of Dead". I will try some local services to see if they can do something.

 

[pixelatedscraps]

I had a similar issue with one of my many CC and CCNs a few years ago, and sent it off to Mark Hama in the USA to get repaired. I don't remember how much it was but I remember it was close to the price I paid for the CC!

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=87169

 

[Greyscale]

I don't think the CC has the POD problems of the G series cameras.

 

[sohk]

I will try some local repairers first, and they are unable to fix it, then I will may be consider Mark Hama.

 

[Skulls Road]

Keep us updated. I'm looking to get a CC/CCN so it would be nice to know what happens if mine ends up with the same issue.

 

[Stdon]

You might consider this guy as a resource.

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

I got his battery converter and it works a treat for my early Electro 35.
He's got a lot of information on his site.

 

[nparsons13]

Contrary to what you may have read, the CC does have a shutter release pad (POD), and that could be the cause of your problem. Photos of the internals are posted at http://www.flickr.com/photos/29271559@N02/sets/72157618738188567/. I haven't worked on a CC/CCN myself, but it looks like the pad is somewhat easier to get to than in a G series.

 

[sohk]

Hi everyone,

Some updates on the current situation.
I have opend the top cover and find out that there has been a battery leak. I guess the battery chamber was cleaned because I didn't saw it in it. Two of the cables going from the "-" where badly corroded and after few attemts I was able to solder them. I was thinking that this was the reason for the not working lightmeter. Sadly, it was not. The problem was this there. I decided to go further and open the camera front by removing the lens unit. The PoD was in great condition so, it was not the reason for the problem as well. Since my knowledge for electronic elements is not that good I am waiting now for a friend working in the local Nikon service point to take a look at the electronics in the bottom part of the camera. They can be exposed after removing the lens unit.
To be honest I am not very optimistic about the the whole thing and that makes me very sad, because I really wanted that camera. 🙁
I will keep you updated when we proceed with the repair.

 

[sohk]

Unfortunately the camera was announced dead 🙁.

 

[pixelatedscraps]

Bad luck. Almost any 1970s camera has quite sensitive (and short-lived) electronic circuitry but don't let that put you off this camera, it's an awesome little thing if you get one with an accurate meter.

 

[sohk]

Yup, I know ... The best part about it is the aperture priority metering and the 35mm lens.
The bad part is that here in Bulgaria, this and the other japanese RFs are super rare. Well we have quite a lot of the old Soviet RFs but I dont really like them. I guess I will look if something pops up on ebay and hope that the shipping won't cost more then the cammera itself.

 

[btgc]

I guess I will look if something pops up on ebay and hope that the shipping won't cost more then the cammera itself.

Any reasonable 35CC I've seen on ebay costs more than shipping, which should be around eur15 from Europe or usd20 from USA (now probably rather 40, haven't watched prices lately).
eur30 for CC is a steal, normally price is around 70-100, not sure about States.

How about paying more on a proven working one? Man from RFF is selling them on ebay, but that should be safe bet.

Or just get 40mm lens FL RF which can be bought for much much less.