[Peter Marsland]

If you know any person with who can measure the impedance for you and it the white one measures alright then put that one in.
If one wire is on the side-pin instead of the top-pin and it then works it will be fine.

I realised that I have a multimeter I've never used, so I'll have a look at the instructions.

Unfortunately, both the side pin and the top pin have disappeared from the damaged side of my white solenoid. I'll see if I can get an impedance reading from the metal around where they were, or from the end of the copper wire if I can locate it, then try soldering to that point.

[Peter Marsland]

I realised that I have a multimeter I've never used, so I'll have a look at the instructions.

Unfortunately, both the side pin and the top pin have disappeared from the damaged side of my white solenoid. I'll see if I can get an impedance reading from the metal around where they were, or from the end of the copper wire if I can locate it, then try soldering to that point.

I've tried using the multimeter I have. It shows 10.0 when the terminals are not touching anything. When I touch one terminal to the tip on one side of my damaged white solenoid, and then touch the area near where the other tip was with the other terminal, the reading tends to stay at 10.0 but from time to time briefly moves to 30.0 or even 50. When I do the same with the faulty green solenoid the same thing happens, and occasionally the reading counts up from 0.1 to 0.3.

I'm not sure what this reveals. Maybe the multimeter is faulty. Maybe both solenoids are damaged.

I'm going to try to post a better picture of the damaged white solenoid. I suspect it is beyond usefulness.

[photogem]

Get another Japan-Solenoid and practice soldering.
The K-S2 is worth it.

[Peter Marsland]

Get another Japan-Solenoid and practice soldering.
The K-S2 is worth it.

I may look for another white solenoid and if one comes up on ebay at a reasonable price, buy it. While I look I'll practise my soldering, and put my K70 parts in a box to protect them from dust. Does it sound and look as if the one in the photo is beyond recovery?

[photogem]

I may look for another white solenoid and if one comes up on ebay at a reasonable price, buy it. While I look I'll practise my soldering, and put my K70 parts in a box to protect them from dust. Does it sound and look as if the one in the photo is beyond recovery?

It looks pretty damaged. I would not use it anymore.

[Peter Marsland]

I bought another white solenoid. I realised that it was soldering with the solenoid in situ that I was struggling with. The ebay seller from whom I bought the solenoids soldered short wires to the second, so all I had to do was solder wires together and protect the connections with insulation tape. I now have the camera back together and exposing correctly. Thanks for this tutorial and guidance, which was very helpful.

[photogem]

I bought another white solenoid. I realised that it was soldering with the solenoid in situ that I was struggling with. The ebay seller from whom I bought the solenoids soldered short wires to the second, so all I had to do was solder wires together and protect the connections with insulation tape. I now have the camera back together and exposing correctly. Thanks for this tutorial and guidance, which was very helpful.

I congraculate you for this extra step!
Well done to take the risk after it went wrong the first time.
I think also that the ebay seller did a good job.

Good idea to offer this solution!

[Loyalbutwhy]

Step 3 identifies 3 screws to remove, hidden by the rubber grip. Could you give a little more detail on how to do this - e.g. guess the location from the image shown and cut holes? Or can the grip itself be removed?
Many thanks for the excellent advice on the solenoid replacement. My new solenoid from Potmanu has arrived in New Zealand and I hope to get it and do the job next week.

[Not a Number]

The rubber on the grip is held on with adhesive or two-sided tape so it can be peeled off.

[photogem]

- For Step 2 (2 hidden screws under the smaller left rubber grip) you best take of that rubber grip completly

- For Step 3: Here you just lift the rubber at that side so you can reach the screws (I use a tiny slotted screwdriver to get under the rubber)

Depending on how the person who originally assembled your Pentax attached the tape and rubber grip you might find that the adhesive tape still covers the screws.

You can't just poke a hole into the adhesive tape.

So you have 2 options:

a) carefully lift the adhesive tape as well, it will stick but you have to be careful that it doesn't fold/creases i.e. parts stick to each other
b) carefully turn the screws through the tape

[Ronald Oakes]

I now have repaired one K30 , and just today my third K-S2.
Two were mine and two belonged to other people.
Photogem deserves all the THANKS on making all of this possible.
Brings new hope to people with one of these camera models that developed ABF and got a bum deal from Pentax.

[Tracar]

I just have subscribed to the forum because I really enjoy it but mostly because I want to say THANK YOU PHOTOGEM! and thanks to all the members who provided additional info, too. I finally took courage and repaired succesfully my old K-S2 (2015) that developed the solenoid problem a couple of years ago.
The info in this thread are so accurate that I managed to overcome the difficulties (my last operation with an iron solder was probably some 30 years ago...).
I had only a problem when reassembling; during this operation a little unknown piece came out and I did not have any idea from where... panic! It took me some (terrible) time to figure out that its position was just under the shutter button. An additional problem was that it is a 3-pieces item, composed of a round piece of metal, a thin plastic (mylar?) and a metal cap. No idea how to reassemble it! However after some reasoning and some trials with the camera partially reassembled (as Photogem suggested!) I had success. Now the camera works again.
So take care of this little piece when disassembling/reassembling.

[swanlefitte]

a little unknown piece came out and I did not have any idea from where... panic! .

I instantly thought the mic jack washer. Glad you got it back together and thanks for posting the photo. I had a different problem with a ribbon chord. Photogem helped me out there as well.

[photogem]

First of all congratulations that you managed to get your Pentax back to work!

Well done and particular in solving this problem I never myself came across nor know of anybody else ever.
There is always a first time, as I recently had to discover with a K-S1 and a tiny switch.

I had only a problem when reassembling; during this operation a little unknown piece came out and I did not have any idea from where... panic! It took me some (terrible) time to figure out that its position was just under the shutter button.

It is of course the very important inner part of the "shutter-button" (page 46 in the manual) with 2 functions (plus another one in playback mode)
Half pressed it actuates AF, fully pressed it releases the shutter (and all that is connected to it simultaniously)

An additional problem was that it is a 3-pieces item, composed of a round piece of metal, a thin plastic (mylar?) and a metal cap. No idea how to reassemble it! However after some reasoning and some trials with the camera partially reassembled (as Photogem suggested!) I had success. Now the camera works again.
So take care of this little piece when disassembling/reassembling.

I have no idea how it could fall off, possibly faulty right from the beginning but held in place as it is now.

[photogem]

As I cannot alter the original post anymore but can do so in the DIY section,
a few changes/last refinements:
Tutorial/Repair Pentax K-S2 with aperture-problem: Exchange solenoid - PentaxForums.com