Originally posted by kenyonp 
My pentax 645 medium format camera has stopped working all of a sudden. i've replaced both the standard AA batteries, as well as the lithium disc battery and it still isn't working. every once in a while the led display will show M1000, but i can't adjust it. as soon as i turn the camera on the led gets dimmer, and when i push the shutter release, it goes off completely, and won't turn back on. I've searched the internet for days on troubleshooting, but i've been unable to find anyone with the same problem. This being one of my favorite cameras to shoot with, I'm in desperate need of help! Please and thank you.
I just recently had a similar problem, where the camera would simply go dark when I pressed the shutter release. Problem was that the battery holder had been cracked and deformed (looked like it might have been accidentally stepped on while out of the camera) and bent back into shape. I believe I had an intermittent contact somewhere, either on a battery or where the battery holder contacts the camera body. The fix was to carefully align and bend back the cracked holder to it was fairly straight and correct and superglue things in place. I have since bought a new batt holder off of ebay (not cheap, 45 dollars) and the problem has never returned.
So, my guess is you've got a poor or dirty contact somewhere in the holder or camera. Clean off all the contacts, bend back the battery springs and then make sure the copper contacts in the body are doing what they are supposed to be doing. I'm feeling pretty good that will solve your problem.
Good luck.
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