Canon LTM QL17 GIII - Back door pops open repeatedly

[reala_fan]

Okay Gang....found a nice little Canonet QL17 GIII that works fine with a 675 hearing aid battery in it.

Just one confounding problem. The back door just opens whenever it pleases. Can't get a roll shot without the back door popping open and ruining all.

What the hey? Latch seems okay when I check it out. Door seems okay when closed, does not fly open when I am paying attention to it, just opens when it wants to while being carried around and used.

Light seals need to be replaced, would that keep the back door from flying open?

Appreciate any insight...

 

[dmr]

I never had the problem of it popping open, but when I installed the new light seals (the Interslice kit) it most definitely had a firmer and more snug fit when it latched.

 

[reala_fan]

Yes, I just orderd the Interslice kit and am hoping that is the problem, that the old, worn seals are not allowing for a snug contact between the door and the latch.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Check that the latch has a nice action to it.

I could be gummed up from the old seals, and not latching properly. I've seen that happen on a couple of cameras. Dry some (a few drops) 99% Isopropyl Alchohol to see if that frees it up. Hold the camera upside down, and squrt a little in. Worked for me when I figured the latch was gummed up.

 

[reala_fan]

Update on my GIII:

Replaced the seals (Jon Goodman kit), started last night and finsished up tonight. Spent just a few minutes getting the crud cleaned off the VF/RF glass, on the front and back.

Cleaned up real nice. The 'back door popping open' problem appears to have been cured via the fresh seals.

Appears that it will be a real nice user, proof is in the pudding, of course, so went out and bought a 5 pack of Fuji X-Tra 400 to feed 'er...

We'll soon see if the lens is as sharp as some claim.

I had one of these decades ago. It was before the 'Net and when the seals went, I believe I was quoted a repair price I was unwilling to pay, and that GIII faded away, don't remember exactly what happened to it. Pretty sure this one will fare better. 😀

Cheers...

 

[paladin1420]

I have a QL17 and the door keeps popping open. My seals need work and that could be the problem, but until I get around to dealing with the seals, I fixed the door with a small piece of electrical tape over the joint on the outside. It's black so it really doesn't look bad and it does the job.
It's a great little camera and I've been having a ball with it - seals or no seals.

 

[kcscout]

Greetings all. This is my first post. I've lurked for a while. So, it's good to come out and say hello.

I have the same problem here where the film door just pops open. I've lost two rolls of film in the past week. This morning, I moved the camera from one table to another. About 3 minutes later, I looked at it and the film door was wide open. It happened last week while I was walking around taking pictures. <grrrr>

I don't think it's light seal related, as my seals are new. I'm going to try cleaning the latch as described above to see if that works. If not, this'll sit on my shelf as a nice camera to look at and hold - but not a regular shooter.

Reala_fan, Paladin1420 - did either of you get yours fixed? Any updates to share?

 

[Borghesia]

I had the same problem, I couldn't rely on my GIII anymore.
The problem is a spring that has become weak. It's the spring that pushes the two hooks downwards which keep the filmdoor locked.
It's an easy fix, just get the top of the camera and you can figure out how it works.
I replaced the spring from a spare broken Canonet.

 

[kcscout]

Thanks. I found a repair manual here. It's the spring on page 13 - yes? Looks simple enough. Of course, looking at page 3 - there's a lot of little pieces these clumsy hands can lose while I dig down to get to it. 🙄

 

[Borghesia]

Yeah that's the one part 97-5608.
Don't be afraid, it's very easy to repair. You only need a micro screwdriver.
A five minute job.

 

[Mudman]

I had it happen to mine, but some brute force fixed her, and no problems with sharpness either. For a camera I spent $2, I wasn't worried.

 

[ZeissFan]

I was going to say that the problem with the door might have been those gooey old seals getting into the latch mechanism.

 

[Bill58]

It might just be a simple adjustment of the 'hooks" that grab the door, IF everything is otherwise clean.

 

[kcscout]

Thanks all. I took it to a local camera shop (Gass Camera) and Mr. Gass did a great CLA. He fixed the backdoor by adjusting the hooks. All is good!

 

[Dwig]

I've see the "back pops open" problem on quite a number of G-III cameras, a couple of my own and quite a number that came across my counter when I ran camera stores. Almost all were caused by a bent camera back.

Pressing the center of the camera back (heavy thumb pressure over the years, ...) will cause the end to become splayed outward. This eventually gets to the point that the hook on the back barely snags the hook on the body. Slight pressure on the center of the back increases the spay and the back pops open.

The fix is to gently reshape the back. My method is to place a finger at the center of the body's length blocking the back from closing. I then press gently but firmly on the end of the back pinching my finger. You need to repeat for both the top and bottom of the opening and work slowly. Four or five pressing cycles will usually do the trick.