Pentax k1000 light meter problems

graceb10101 · 04-15-2020, 04:20 PM

I've been using this camera for about a month now and for some reason the dial in the light meter is stuck in the middle. It doesn't move at all, even when I take the battery out. I've tried replacing the battery and nothing changes. Is the battery compartment look corroded? If so, how do I clean it? Thanks

graceb10101 · 04-15-2020, 04:26 PM

Here is the battery chamber.

Astro-Baby · 04-15-2020, 11:32 PM - **1 Like**

The chamber looks clean but the cap looks like it has some mild corrosion on the photo. I would take a small screwdriver and gently scrape the cap and see if that is a salty like corrosion. If so a gentle rub and polish with a fine emery cloth. Be careful here as you could damage the insert with the plus symbol so you need to be cafeful. I would suggest soaking the cap in vinegar but I dont know if that plus symbol is a transfer which would be lost.

If its not the battery chamber or cap at fault it could be the meter is stuck. Decaying foam inside could have caused the meter to stick. The meter itself could have just failed of course. To check if the meter needle is just plain lld stuck you would have to get the top lid off and take the prism out. Thats not incredibly hard but there are some tricks to doing it.

I have read that sometimes the meter can be rebooted by rigging up a standard AA battery to provide power by soldering some leads to an AA and applying the leads to the camera terminals for a quick touch but I cant testify to that.

I would clean the cap and also clean the battery. A small bit of grease from your hands can sometime be enough to stop these working so give the battery a polish off with a soft cloth.

Wojciech · 04-16-2020, 12:51 AM - **1 Like**

Hi,

One of the common problems with K1000 light meter is the failure of the solder point on the battery compartment. Once you unscrew the bottom/base plate you can get easy access to the baterry harness and see if that is the problem indeed.

A similar threads were posted a couple of years ago:
K1000 Light Meter - PentaxForums.com
Pentax K-1000 build-in lightmeter trouble - PentaxForums.com

Hope that helps,
Wojciech

04-15-2020, 04:20 PM	#1
graceb10101 New Member Join Date: Apr 2020 Posts: 6	Pentax k1000 light meter problems I've been using this camera for about a month now and for some reason the dial in the light meter is stuck in the middle. It doesn't move at all, even when I take the battery out. I've tried replacing the battery and nothing changes. Is the battery compartment look corroded? If so, how do I clean it? Thanks

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04-15-2020, 11:32 PM - 1 Like	#3
Astro-Baby Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: Reigate, Surrey Posts: 764	The chamber looks clean but the cap looks like it has some mild corrosion on the photo. I would take a small screwdriver and gently scrape the cap and see if that is a salty like corrosion. If so a gentle rub and polish with a fine emery cloth. Be careful here as you could damage the insert with the plus symbol so you need to be cafeful. I would suggest soaking the cap in vinegar but I dont know if that plus symbol is a transfer which would be lost. If its not the battery chamber or cap at fault it could be the meter is stuck. Decaying foam inside could have caused the meter to stick. The meter itself could have just failed of course. To check if the meter needle is just plain lld stuck you would have to get the top lid off and take the prism out. Thats not incredibly hard but there are some tricks to doing it. I have read that sometimes the meter can be rebooted by rigging up a standard AA battery to provide power by soldering some leads to an AA and applying the leads to the camera terminals for a quick touch but I cant testify to that. I would clean the cap and also clean the battery. A small bit of grease from your hands can sometime be enough to stop these working so give the battery a polish off with a soft cloth.

04-16-2020, 12:51 AM - 1 Like	#4
Wojciech Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2018 Photos: Gallery Posts: 36	Hi, One of the common problems with K1000 light meter is the failure of the solder point on the battery compartment. Once you unscrew the bottom/base plate you can get easy access to the baterry harness and see if that is the problem indeed. A similar threads were posted a couple of years ago: K1000 Light Meter - PentaxForums.com Pentax K-1000 build-in lightmeter trouble - PentaxForums.com Hope that helps, Wojciech