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Metz 58 AF1 "Zoom ERR", a repair now possible
Posted on October 21st 2014 by Massimiliano
EDIT 20 October 2014 : Thanks to the friend Christian who found a solution, the repair is possible, at the end of the article explanations and photos.
One day like many others insert my Metz 58 on the sled of the camera, I turn it on and after a strange noise the display indicates "zoom ERR", the motorization of the dish no longer works, I try to turn off and on, reset but nothing to do 'error persists and in fact the parable does not want to learn to move, without losing hope I am going to repair.
To reach the movement mechanism of the dish you have to open the moving head, the head should be set at 90 degrees to the body and the side caps slid back, towards the diplay to understand, are quite harsh and a screwdriver is an indispensable helper. the caps open the head immediately revealing the parabola with the xenon tube, a part of the circuit and the movement mechanism is located under the wide-angle diffuser that must be removed (it is a snap).
As shown in the picture, the axis of the electric motor mounts an endless screw that acts on a gear (white) that acts as a reducer to transmit the motion to the rack keyed to the mobile part that houses the dish. The problem is precisely the intermediate gear that rotates on a pin obtained from the molding of the plastic, the pin, too small (in my opinion) for the effort that must undergo has broken then the gear seizes between the worm and the rack, glueing the pin is impossible, it is made from the casting and the diameter is 2.5mm, so I thought to replace it with a metal by drilling a hole on the underlying base in order to give a minimum of body to the structure, keeping it in seat with a drop of glue. In theory it would have to work but there are problems: the base is about one millimeter thick, too little to provide adequate mechanical support, the wall opposite the pivot is the guide where the parabola flows so the pin should not protrude. The repair took the time to bring the dish twice back and forth then the system gave way, it was predictable. What to do ? the electronic part works perfectly, scraping such a beautiful device only for this is a pity. I decided to manually "power up" the dish, I removed the intermediate reducer, freeing the trolley that houses the dish, a hole on the front lens and a 40mm M3 screw connected to the cart allow me to move the dish from the outside. The solution is not comfortable but it works, it is clear that when the flash decides to move the dish in an autonomous way, the indication of error comes out, one thing to keep in mind is that the electronics when working in TTL if it does not determine the position of the parabola is not able to expose the subject correctly, in light of these fact the flash is unusable for use in the TTL machine, another thing with regard to manual setting, perhaps using a fixed lens, my choice was to relegate it to second flash for remote use, with radio trigger or CLS (nikon), here the parabola "by hand" is not a problem and instead allows you to adjust the zoom very quickly without having to go through the cumbersome menus. In conclusion, I saved a car still valid from scrapping, reinventing it for a second purpose but now I have to think about buying a new flash to use in the room ....
The repair proposed by Christian:
after 4 days of sleepless thoughts and nights I managed to repair the flash in question. the necessary material:
- a very strong clamp, medium-small size
- 1.5mm
tip - 2mm tip
- disc wheel
- a vise
- cotton bud and alcohol
- synthetic grease
- a screwdriver
open the flash until you find yourself free gear. clean the surfaces with alcohol and c.fioc. Now cut the lower part of the 2mm tip (the completely cylindrical one to be understood) to a length of 7mm using the grinding wheel. now with the 1.5 point you start making a hole as orthogonal as possible to the surface at the point of breaking the former gear pin RIGOROUSLY BY HAND by rotating the tip between index and thumb. this to start the hole in the precise point. once you have made a 0.5-0.8mm seat, mount the 1.5 point on the screwdriver and complete the hole, making it through. now the most delicate phase. with the 1.5 point you try to widen the hole up to a diameter that can hurry a coupling with good interference with your previously cut 7mm Ĝ2 tube. a piece of advice, make more delicate passages rather than risk to widen the hole too much. the insertion must be done with the utmost delicacy to avoid slipping the pliers and then breaking everything. the assembly direction must be from the bottom to the gear. once assembled, lubricate the pin and the surfaces where the gear will rotate, including the rack and reassemble everything. oh I forgot, once the drilling is finished, blow the residues because they could interfere with the movements of the gears, motor etc. another useful advice is to isolate the electrical contacts with an electrician's black tape because the burn on the hand is not pleasant ��
IMG-20141006-WA0001 IMG-20141011-WA0007 IMG-20141011-WA0015 IMG-20141012-WA0000
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6 THOUGHTS ON " METZ 58 AF1" ZOOM ERR ", A REPAIR NOW POSSIBLE "
pointman theSeptember 5, 2012 at 5:57 pm he writes:
maybe use it for studio work. I would dedicate it to the table where I have the lightbox for still life. In practice, the rule only once and small errors do not create repercussions. Just so you do not have to throw it away.
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Massimiliano theSeptember 7, 2012 at 2:55 am he writes:
for work in the studio that among other things I have not used the bowens gemini with travelpack, generally shooting outdoors and prove to be a viable solution, in fact the use recommended by you can be a viable alternative.
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francesco 71 theMay 10, 2013 at 17:42 he writes:
Hi,
I saw your work. I need clarification for the same problem.
I do not understand how to slide the side caps back when they are locked by the gray button. You mean maybe the top and back caps. I tried to insert screwdriver into the two side slits of the transparent diffuser but nothing happens. Could you be more clear about what to do?
Thank you
Reply ↓
Massimiliano
theMay 13, 2013 at 6:21 am he writes:
Hello, to open the flash head you have to bend to 90 degrees, the side caps of the head slide back from the head itself, first you have to remove the 'piece of plastic round on the side opposite the gray unlock button, if I remember correctly it is pressure or glued. Remove the round you help with a screwdriver and slide the plastic back, to the display to understand, on the opposite side do the same thing but the key that controls the block of the dish does not remove, you have to press and slide the cap always in the same direction as the previous one. Remove the caps dismantling is simple, I remind you to leave the flash off and without batteries for a few hours before putting your hands in, the capacitor could be charged and the voltage is around 400Vcc, the caps are still very hard to do slide.
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Mike theJanuary 19, 2015 at 11:12 am he writes:
Good morning to you, forgive me but I can not retract the caps,
should they be released by inserting some thickness from the diffuser side? Thank you
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Massimiliano
theJanuary 19, 2015 at 2:37 pm he writes:
hello, it's been a long time since I opened it and I have to say that I do not even have the flash, from what I remember you first remove the gray button to unlock the movement, the caps should slide forward, towards the glass.
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Originally posted by pentasonic49 
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