Repairing Sunpak 1600a flash

[Rob]

Since this flash fits so well on rangefinder cameras I thought I would put this
here. I got one yesterday and it was not powering up in manual mode and
was powering up erraticly in its automode. I opened it up. There is one screw
near the flash shoe and a hidden screw behind a cover at the bounce head.
A razor knife will remove the covers and a small snap ring at the bounce head.
Flash will pop open then. I cleaned the battery contacts and put more tension
on them. I removed the circuit board and found the problem. There was
corrosion on the contact on the circuit board where the mode switch rubs.
I cleaned the switch contacts and the circuit board contacts with alcohol and
reassembled it. Works fine now. BTW these flashes have a capacitor in them
that can give you a big shock so drain it by firing the flash and turning it off
and removing the batteries for a while. Since I was going to use it only on
my Himatic with the easy flash system, the flash has to be set in manual mode.
To make sure I did not accidently shoot it in automode, I used black electrical
tape over the sensor so it would shoot at full power even if I set the small
switch in the wrong position.
Rob

 

[payasam]

I just fixed my 1600A after I chanced on a link to your note during a search on Google. The fact that just one screw could be seen had had me flummoxed. Thank you.

This flash, and others like it, cannot last long. On opening mine, which has not been used much, I found some of the plastic ridges partly worn away. My Sunpak GX33, bought in 1975, shows no sign of giving up.

 

[wyk_penguin]

I would just short out the contacts of the capacitor to empty it. Pruducess quite some sparks!!
Anyone know if that is a good way or will it damage the flash??