Light meter trouble on Pentax ESII

harryflook · 07-26-2018, 06:54 AM

Hi there,

New to this forum, so hello.

I just recently picked up a beautiful ESII in great condition, everything seems to work mechanically and the glass is all clean.

However I put some batteries and can't get the light meter to function properly. The pin moves to the middle when I hit the battery check, and when in automatic mode it goes from it's original position above above 1000th to below 8 seconds no matter what the light, when the shutter is half pressed. As far as I can tell, the shutter fires the same speed in automatic no matter what the lighting conditions and aperture settings, but in manual it does change as expected from 60th to 1000th.

Any suggestions? Is it possible to fix the meter?

Thank you!

**pentaxus** · 07-26-2018, 08:05 AM

If the needle goes all the way down it could indicate bad meter cells. If the needle does that the shutter should stay open for a long time. If it fires fast there is another problem. While it is possible there is a bad connection somewhere, the real issue is that parts haven't been available from Pentax for thirty or forty years. The manual speeds are mechanical and are reliable.

**seventhdr** · 07-26-2018, 01:05 PM

Originally posted by harryflook

Hi there,

New to this forum, so hello.

I just recently picked up a beautiful ESII in great condition, everything seems to work mechanically and the glass is all clean.

However I put some batteries and can't get the light meter to function properly. The pin moves to the middle when I hit the battery check, and when in automatic mode it goes from it's original position above above 1000th to below 8 seconds no matter what the light, when the shutter is half pressed. As far as I can tell, the shutter fires the same speed in automatic no matter what the lighting conditions and aperture settings, but in manual it does change as expected from 60th to 1000th.

Any suggestions? Is it possible to fix the meter?

Thank you!

What batteries are you using? The manual indicates using 1.5V silver oxide batteries (Eveready S76E or Mallory MS-76H).

Regards

Chris

hugoke · 08-29-2019, 12:32 PM

Are you sure you are using the right lens? It should have the coupling mechanisme for open-aperture metering. When you look in the body you should see two tabs, a small square one and a much bigger longer one. you can move these clockwise. When you screw the lens in, corresponding tabs on the lens take these along until the lens locks, You can actually feel that. That is the rather ingenious system for open-aperture metering. Improper use of wrong M42 type lenses can cause a malfunction: the big tab can be bent down so the whole system locks. Or the tabs on the lens don't connect with those on the body.

Another issue are the very unreliable electronics. They make the shutter go off without opening sometimes. Mine had that when it was new!

nibroc99 · 07-25-2023, 06:56 PM

Hey all! I have a Honeywell Pentax ESII with this exact issue. Has anyone determined a fix or at least the cause? Half-pressing the shutter pegs the needle all the way to 8 (all the way down) no matter what I do. Battery check button brings the needle to about 30-60 near the middle. I've got fresh Energizer 357 silver oxide cells in it, each rated for 1.55 volts, these are batteries that I've seen people use without issue. Any ideas? Would love to have automatic shutter speed capability so that I'm not just manually using my phone to meter every shot haha!

07-26-2018, 06:54 AM	#1
harryflook New Member Join Date: Jul 2018 Posts: 1	Light meter trouble on Pentax ESII Hi there, New to this forum, so hello. I just recently picked up a beautiful ESII in great condition, everything seems to work mechanically and the glass is all clean. However I put some batteries and can't get the light meter to function properly. The pin moves to the middle when I hit the battery check, and when in automatic mode it goes from it's original position above above 1000th to below 8 seconds no matter what the light, when the shutter is half pressed. As far as I can tell, the shutter fires the same speed in automatic no matter what the lighting conditions and aperture settings, but in manual it does change as expected from 60th to 1000th. Any suggestions? Is it possible to fix the meter? Thank you!

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07-26-2018, 08:05 AM	#2
pentaxus Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Central Coast, CA Posts: 1,320	If the needle goes all the way down it could indicate bad meter cells. If the needle does that the shutter should stay open for a long time. If it fires fast there is another problem. While it is possible there is a bad connection somewhere, the real issue is that parts haven't been available from Pentax for thirty or forty years. The manual speeds are mechanical and are reliable.

07-26-2018, 01:05 PM	#3
seventhdr Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Christchurch, New Zealand Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,453	Originally posted by harryflook Hi there, New to this forum, so hello. I just recently picked up a beautiful ESII in great condition, everything seems to work mechanically and the glass is all clean. However I put some batteries and can't get the light meter to function properly. The pin moves to the middle when I hit the battery check, and when in automatic mode it goes from it's original position above above 1000th to below 8 seconds no matter what the light, when the shutter is half pressed. As far as I can tell, the shutter fires the same speed in automatic no matter what the lighting conditions and aperture settings, but in manual it does change as expected from 60th to 1000th. Any suggestions? Is it possible to fix the meter? Thank you! What batteries are you using? The manual indicates using 1.5V silver oxide batteries (Eveready S76E or Mallory MS-76H). Regards Chris

08-29-2019, 12:32 PM	#4
hugoke New Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Posts: 10	Are you sure you are using the right lens? It should have the coupling mechanisme for open-aperture metering. When you look in the body you should see two tabs, a small square one and a much bigger longer one. you can move these clockwise. When you screw the lens in, corresponding tabs on the lens take these along until the lens locks, You can actually feel that. That is the rather ingenious system for open-aperture metering. Improper use of wrong M42 type lenses can cause a malfunction: the big tab can be bent down so the whole system locks. Or the tabs on the lens don't connect with those on the body. Another issue are the very unreliable electronics. They make the shutter go off without opening sometimes. Mine had that when it was new!

07-25-2023, 06:56 PM	#5
nibroc99 New Member Join Date: Jul 2023 Posts: 1	Hey all! I have a Honeywell Pentax ESII with this exact issue. Has anyone determined a fix or at least the cause? Half-pressing the shutter pegs the needle all the way to 8 (all the way down) no matter what I do. Battery check button brings the needle to about 30-60 near the middle. I've got fresh Energizer 357 silver oxide cells in it, each rated for 1.55 volts, these are batteries that I've seen people use without issue. Any ideas? Would love to have automatic shutter speed capability so that I'm not just manually using my phone to meter every shot haha!