Pentax MX severe battery drain

mollyclare · 02-11-2018, 12:02 PM

Hi,
I recently purchased a pentax MX from eBay. I am very new to film photography and this is my first 35mm camera (or camera in general). The camera is obviously quite old and does not function 100% (self timer leaver is broken, some minor dents or rust). The seller also mentioned that he suspected there was a short since the batteries drain quickly. He sent two lithium batteries with the camera that were not new but when i tried them they did not work so i brought some brand new. They worked and I take them out whenever the camera is not in use to prevent unnecessary battery drainage, so overall they have probably been used between 30 mins-an hour but today while I was taking a photo they seem to have died as the LED lights are very dim and it is stuck on the bottom light. Does anyone know what would cause battery loss so quickly and if there's any way I can fix this myself? Thank you!

MarkJerling · 02-11-2018, 02:25 PM

Welcome to the forum Molly. There are a few potential causes:

Wrong battery. Don't use lithium, try silver oxide.
Check the shutter button. If light meter stays on, battery will drain quickly. I think the MX has a lock - not sure.
There's always the possibility of a fault, internally, a bad capacitor or something, but try the other two (potential) causes first.

**pentaxus** · 02-11-2018, 11:58 PM

Pushing the wind lever all the way in or locking the shutter release button should turn off the meter. If the meter stays on an adjustment is needed or possibly something is wrong with the switch.

**PPPPPP42** · 02-14-2018, 09:08 PM

Unscrew the bottom cover and I believe you can actually see the mechanism that moves and makes contact to essentially turn the camera on and off in the way mentioned above. As I recall the thin parts slowly flex over time and get bent out of shape. You should hopefully be able to figure out what its supposed to be doing by looking at it.
I had that sort of problem with my MX when I first got it used but it had some other issues so I ended up sending it off to Eric for refurbishment anyways. Very nice camera once its sorted out though you have to have strong fingers for the shutter speed dial due to its design.

02-11-2018, 12:02 PM	#1
mollyclare New Member Join Date: Feb 2018 Posts: 2	Pentax MX severe battery drain Hi, I recently purchased a pentax MX from eBay. I am very new to film photography and this is my first 35mm camera (or camera in general). The camera is obviously quite old and does not function 100% (self timer leaver is broken, some minor dents or rust). The seller also mentioned that he suspected there was a short since the batteries drain quickly. He sent two lithium batteries with the camera that were not new but when i tried them they did not work so i brought some brand new. They worked and I take them out whenever the camera is not in use to prevent unnecessary battery drainage, so overall they have probably been used between 30 mins-an hour but today while I was taking a photo they seem to have died as the LED lights are very dim and it is stuck on the bottom light. Does anyone know what would cause battery loss so quickly and if there's any way I can fix this myself? Thank you!

02-11-2018, 02:25 PM	#2
MarkJerling Moderator Site Supporter Join Date: May 2012 Location: Wairarapa, New Zealand Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 20,406	Welcome to the forum Molly. There are a few potential causes: Wrong battery. Don't use lithium, try silver oxide. Check the shutter button. If light meter stays on, battery will drain quickly. I think the MX has a lock - not sure. There's always the possibility of a fault, internally, a bad capacitor or something, but try the other two (potential) causes first.

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02-11-2018, 11:58 PM	#3
pentaxus Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Central Coast, CA Posts: 1,313	Pushing the wind lever all the way in or locking the shutter release button should turn off the meter. If the meter stays on an adjustment is needed or possibly something is wrong with the switch.

02-14-2018, 09:08 PM	#4
PPPPPP42 Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Wisconsin Photos: Albums Posts: 947	Unscrew the bottom cover and I believe you can actually see the mechanism that moves and makes contact to essentially turn the camera on and off in the way mentioned above. As I recall the thin parts slowly flex over time and get bent out of shape. You should hopefully be able to figure out what its supposed to be doing by looking at it. I had that sort of problem with my MX when I first got it used but it had some other issues so I ended up sending it off to Eric for refurbishment anyways. Very nice camera once its sorted out though you have to have strong fingers for the shutter speed dial due to its design.