How Did My Cl Meter Die?

[newspaperguy]

...OR IS IT SOMETHING I'M DOING?

Took the CL out yesterday for the first time in ages and the battery was dead - no big surprise,

I got it with a Wein cell in it and frankly, I was surprised it lasted this long.

Backed the film out, removed the dead Wein, installed one of my last 1.3v mercury

cells instead, and tried again - like NOTHING!

Ditto the above procedure, rechecked the replacement battery - good - cleaned all the contact

areas, reinstalled... and still nothin'.

Anybody got any ideas... and please don't say Sherry - not on my income....

and yes, I do have several good hand-held meters.

FWIW - Meter worked fine last time I used the camera and it has been sitting, unmoved,

in a climate controlled cabinet.

 

[sparrow6224]

I've had several CL's. The meters either don't work or are hinky: famously so. Have you shot the camera? In other words, I had one (still have, it's the one I have now) wehre the meter wouldn't work until after a pic had been shot. Leave it sit a while and this happens again. Means you estimate exposures quite a bit.... My other reaction is I'd put another Wein cell in.

 

[yossarian123]

Sorry to hear about the meter Rick. I had a similar problem with my M5, was all ready to send it to DAG but I called him on the phone before doing it. See below for details, but the short story is to wiggle/twist the battery to work free any corrosion that may have built up - I didn't see any corrosion from the outside but I suspect mine had some built up on the inside of the camera.

Also, I have had pretty good luck cleaning battery contacts with a mixture of baking soda and regular vinegar. It tears through corrosion gunk with a vengeance.

(I posted a separate thread that I'll quote from):
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/foru...d.php?t=110459

"I've been using the M5 without the meter, the whole time thinking I'd rather be shooting an m4 or m2. I decided to give DAG a call to see what his estimate would be (Golden Touch being a minimum of $300, probably pushing $400).

He basically talked me through a whole range of steps to check where the problem might be - I had already unsuccessfully tried most of them. He then said to try removing the battery cap, and hold in the battery with my thumb and twist the battery back and forth a few times. The whole time looking in the VF to see if the meter responded. As I did this the meter actually started moving, then I finally performed another battery check (moving the preview lever away from the lens mount) and it was like flipping a light switch, the meter worked perfectly. It's now been going strong for about 8 hours, I called DAG back to find out what's going on and he thinks there could be some corrosion inside of the battery housing. He recommended to keep using it until it stopped, then he'd take it in for a complete overhaul. I'm just extremely happy to get my meter back."

 

[SolaresLarrave]

The meter in one of my M5 bodies also died suddenly, without any apparent reason. Don Goldberg told me that the body could have taken a hit (it did hit very slowly the steering bar of my bicycle), but then, it could be just age.

In any event, I sent the body to Don and he fixed it. If you cannot live without a built-in meter, send the camera to him. Just be aware that parts for the CL may be scarce. Best of luck!

 

[newspaperguy]

Thanks guys... I'll try all the suggestions this afternoon.

Happy New Year to you all!

 

[newspaperguy]

HOW DUMB CAN YOU GET?

Or specifically, how dumb can I get?

Would you believe that you can put the button cell into a CL - UPSIDE DOWN?

Well, that's what I did... not once, but twice!

Re-checking this morning, I realized my blunder.

With the cell put in correctly the meter works fine!

PROBLEM SOLVED... sigh of relief.

 

[elmer3.5]

GReat, good news!

You shouldn´t leave the battery inside the camera, the rust danger is real also my technician told me sometimes rust will attack the inner cable made from poor quality copper therfore leaving visual everything fine but bad inside.

On a leicameter i used wein cells but often i had problems due to the lack of oxygen, do you have such a problem like this? That´s why i don´t want to use a wein cell on my m5.

Bye!

 

[newspaperguy]

Not had that problem...

I was replacing a dead Wein cell - about 3 months old - with one of my last remaining new 1.3v mercury batteries.

Couldn't believe it when it didn't work.

 

[River Dog]

Yeah! The Wein cell in my CL has lasted since June. The contacts also get a bit sticky and the advance lever needs a flick to get it going again, sometimes.

 

[Richard G]

Rick, did you put the old one back in? Maybe you'll get a couple of more years. I have a calculator and a light meter with batteries that just won't die after years and years. Glad to hear it ended happily.

 

[newspaperguy]

10-4

Checked it and it was fine for the misadventure - was afraid I might have shorted it out,

but my battery check meter says it's good-to-go!

You're right Richard, these old mercury cell do last forever -

guess that's why they are death to landfills, eh?

.

 

[m.d.santiago007]

Some info here is really helpful, thanks a lot !