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Nikon D2x odd behaviour wirh ERR on first shot

d2x shutter err

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#1
paqman

paqman

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HI All, New to the forum!

I have been shooting Nikon for a few years now and i have multiple cameras at my disposal.

 

Was surfing eBay auctions recently and someone was selling a D2x with charger but no battery as is. Description said it was working but all pictures were blank. I thought shutter but thought i may be able to fix it so i bought it.
It was 100$ so i though that could be a good deal if i could fix it.

 

Here is what it does, which is sort of indicative of a bad shutter but not at the same time:

 

- Camera turns on, menu works, all buttons work, autofocus works, aperture works ETC. I can even format my CF cards using the menu.

- First shot, the shutter, mirror and aperture actuate, but the mirror stays up. No picture is taken (No file on card) ERR appears on the screen.

- Press the shutter again and the mirror returns to normal but the camera menu is no longer working, screen is just black. The small lower screen shows the default 200ISO settings and cannot be changed.

- Otherwise, the camera seems to still be working correctly with no problem, shutter, mirror and aperture works fine. but again, no menu or other settings work. Even continuous high works fine. 

- When i turn off the camera and turn it on again, the menu works again but again, first shot shows ERR and repeats the problem above.

 

Weirdly, Mirror up function works fine, aperture close function works fine and the Mirror lock up function in menu for cleaning the sensor works fine also.

 

So i took the camera apart, The mirror box and all 3 actuators work, nothing binds, nothing appears to be broken or missing, everything can be actuated manually. in fact, everything looks really clean.

The shutter also caulks fine and releases fine manually. I even tested both coils on the shutter for continuity and they are good.

 

What seems to happen is that the camera detects a problem with the shutter and freezes or goes into a failsafe state.

 

So, where do i go from here? I know, its an old camera and not worth the money but still, it would be nice to figure out what is happening and get it working :)

 

Anyone have experience with these cameras and what could be the problem?

 

Thank you!!!

 

 



#2
paqman

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Update!

Took it apart again, checked all ribbons and re-lubed some of the points on the shutter mech and it is doing something different now.

 

It shoots fine and works properly but all pictures are black.

Tried shooting at high iso and a really slow shutter, even on bulb mode and the image is still black. I do seem some image noise at high iso but thats is, no image, just black frames.

I sometimes get err on the display but it no longer freezes up the display menu and options like it did before.

 

One thing that no longer works is the Mirror lock-up function for sensor cleaning. When i select the option in the menu and press the shutter to activate it, it just takes a shot and freezes the menu like before. Weird.

 

Now more than ever, im thinking this shutter is defective... or the sensor is dead?

 

Anyone else seen this behavior before?

 

Thank!



#3
paqman

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Wow, Tough crowd!

 

Anyways, more updates: I think i figured it out, there is a DC to DC converter powering the CCD board that uses a white connector with multiple wires.

The board is connected to the main power board near the battery connector.

 

Tested it and it gets 12V in but nothing out on any of the pins. 

 

So i guess that makes sense, the initial problem was most likely caused my me somehow?

The black frames problem is most likely caused by the CCD board not getting any voltage at all therefore not capturing the image.



#4
paqman

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Probably my last post on this forum, there is little to no engagement here...

 

Anyways, problem has been resolved. I bought another used D2x that was in rough shape but worked and swapped the DC/DC converter and it did not work. All images were still black.

So i went for the next component, the CCD board and bingo! it works again.

The no voltage issue on the DC/DC is caused by a short on the CCD board causing the controller to go into Failsafe. It may be fixable but at least i have a working D2x now.

 

I processed some of the frames and, this body has 7356 shutter actuation so it was worth saving.

 

What am i going to use this camera for you ask? Well, perhaps an infrared camera?

 

Andre







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