LX shutter not working when winder is turned on?

alan_smithee_photos · 03-09-2011, 04:14 PM

I'm thinking there's something stupid I'm doing wrong here, but I recently got an LX and winder. I put a sample roll of film in the body just to shake things down and subsequently (after the film was loaded) attached the winder. When I turn the winder on (to either C or S setting) the shutter button won't depress. If I turn the winder off the shutter button depresses and fires normally. (There are fresh batteries in the winder.)

What am I doing wrong here? (That's me, someone who hasn't shot film in 8+ yrs.)

And yes, I know I shouldn't remove the winder with film in the camera (to keep light from leaking in the winder holes), but I'm considering this roll wholly disposable.

BillM · 03-09-2011, 05:07 PM

Never had a winder with mine Alan,not sure how things are supposed to work.
Do recall when using ME winder with ME super's,had to have 'coins' in body and
'AA's in winder for operation.Have encountered a couple of instances were film
allegedlly/apparently jumped out sprocket registration,noticed by frame counter
mis-alignment.Fixed by depressing multi expo/rewind button on body bottom
turned rewind crank-lever and was able to re-engage film to sprockets and wind/shoot.

If in auto mode,with lens cap on,meter could be calling for long/slow shutter speed
and if batteries for meter are low,shutter will not time out,fire(quickly).Again,not familiar
with LX/winder combo,cant find ME winder to replicate.Not real sure about it
with the winder being used.

Out of curiousity,do you have meter display without coins in body and winder mounted?
No display with winder mounted indicates need for coins.

might check body without winder at shutter speed slower than or at X-sync
To confirm viability of meter batteries.

Might check/clean all electrical contacts,extremely small amount of alcohol on Q-tip
or swiping 2-3 times lightly with clean pencil eraser do the trick.

alan_smithee_photos · 03-09-2011, 05:23 PM

The contacts looked clean but I can check them again.

The meter seems to work fine regardless of whether the winder is on or off. It's just that when it's set to on the shutter can't be depressed.

I put new batteries in both the body and the winder, for what it's worth.

alan_smithee_photos · 03-14-2011, 11:20 AM

Nothing on this? Any ideas here or should I assume it's a bum winder?

BillM · 03-14-2011, 01:28 PM

Sorry to hear that Alan.Short of tear down/rebuild at bench cant offer anything
here.Never used a winder with LX,thumbs always kinda 'pointed' direction what to
do.Might have a look and clean battery chamber in winder if required,beyond that
sounds like winder needs serious service.

Delgado · 03-26-2011, 08:10 PM

For whatever this comment is worth, I have just looked at an LX I have with a Motor Drive and a dead NiCad battery pack. When it is set to C or S (or even R), the shutter will not release even within the mechanical shutter speed range (the shutter speeds that don't need battery power). The shutter release only depresses about half-way before hitting something solid. When I switch it off at the rear of the Motor Drive, the shutter releases properly. The problem you have described with your winder suggests to me that there is something wrong with it. The LX appears to stop working if it is not sensing power from a connected external drive. If your winder power cells are good and inserted with the correct polarity, then it implies that the power is not being fed through in a way that the camera can read, or in a way that can power the motor. I have checked the top plate of the motor drive (removed from the camera) when the unit is switched to C or S, and nothing raises from it to provide an additional connection. Any communication must be via the normal electrical contacts. Switching to C or S appears to allow the body to divert some of its own power into the drive to establish whether or not power is available. I checked this by removing the button cells from the LX body, and then re-connecting it to the Motor Drive again. Without any power to the body, the LX shutter was OK throughout its mechanical speed range even with the dead NiCad.

The only quick way to verify you have a faulty drive would be to test it on another LX body, which I'm assuming isn't practical for you. Have you seen any indication from the winder that it is powered at all? I am not familliar with the winder layout, but the Motor Drive had a red light that indicated when power was available if switched to C or S. Also, the rewind lever triggered the motor even when the unit was removed from a body. If you are not seeing any life from the winder at all, I would guess it is faulty.

Sorry I can't be of more help.

GerryL · 03-28-2011, 02:45 PM

Here is an answer I found on the internet while browsing.
It says that the manual (LX) states that the shutter stroke is really shorter if a motor drive is connected so not being able to fully depress the shutter is normal.
Here is the link (read the last comment pertaining to the "auxiliary meter switch": Pentax LX vs. Pentax PZ-1p - Photo.net Accessories - Filters, Bags, Tripods Forum
..as with regards to why the drive doesn't work is another story.
Hope this helps!

John Shriver · 03-31-2011, 05:15 PM

There's a peg that pokes out of the top of the Winder LX that goes into a hole in the bottom of the camera, which is directly under the shutter button. When you push the shutter button, a pluger pushes down in that hole, and should depress the peg on the winder. My LX/Winder has the same problem, when you take the winder off the camera, you can't make that peg budge. So I presume your winder is tied in knots like mine.

Eric does not consider the winders repairable, and notes that they don't stay repaired.

I just bought another Winder LX on eBay that's claimed to work, but missing battery tray. My broken winder has a battery tray, so we'll see.

account0 · 09-18-2017, 03:28 PM

Hi, anyone have any news on that topic? I have LX winder with the same issue: it does light up, but it's not possible to release shutter when winder is on. Any clue?

MarkJerling · 09-18-2017, 03:52 PM

Originally posted by account0

Hi, anyone have any news on that topic? I have LX winder with the same issue: it does light up, but it's not possible to release shutter when winder is on. Any clue?

Welcome to the forum.
You may wish to post a new thread seeking help rather than posting in such an old thread.

Kind regards,
Mark

03-09-2011, 04:14 PM	#1
alan_smithee_photos Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 844	LX shutter not working when winder is turned on? I'm thinking there's something stupid I'm doing wrong here, but I recently got an LX and winder. I put a sample roll of film in the body just to shake things down and subsequently (after the film was loaded) attached the winder. When I turn the winder on (to either C or S setting) the shutter button won't depress. If I turn the winder off the shutter button depresses and fires normally. (There are fresh batteries in the winder.) What am I doing wrong here? (That's me, someone who hasn't shot film in 8+ yrs.) And yes, I know I shouldn't remove the winder with film in the camera (to keep light from leaking in the winder holes), but I'm considering this roll wholly disposable.

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03-09-2011, 05:07 PM	#2
BillM Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Ferguson, Mo. Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,348	Never had a winder with mine Alan,not sure how things are supposed to work. Do recall when using ME winder with ME super's,had to have 'coins' in body and 'AA's in winder for operation.Have encountered a couple of instances were film allegedlly/apparently jumped out sprocket registration,noticed by frame counter mis-alignment.Fixed by depressing multi expo/rewind button on body bottom turned rewind crank-lever and was able to re-engage film to sprockets and wind/shoot. If in auto mode,with lens cap on,meter could be calling for long/slow shutter speed and if batteries for meter are low,shutter will not time out,fire(quickly).Again,not familiar with LX/winder combo,cant find ME winder to replicate.Not real sure about it with the winder being used. Out of curiousity,do you have meter display without coins in body and winder mounted? No display with winder mounted indicates need for coins. might check body without winder at shutter speed slower than or at X-sync To confirm viability of meter batteries. Might check/clean all electrical contacts,extremely small amount of alcohol on Q-tip or swiping 2-3 times lightly with clean pencil eraser do the trick.

03-09-2011, 05:23 PM	#3
alan_smithee_photos Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 844 Original Poster	The contacts looked clean but I can check them again. The meter seems to work fine regardless of whether the winder is on or off. It's just that when it's set to on the shutter can't be depressed. I put new batteries in both the body and the winder, for what it's worth.

03-14-2011, 11:20 AM	#4
alan_smithee_photos Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 844 Original Poster	Nothing on this? Any ideas here or should I assume it's a bum winder?

03-14-2011, 01:28 PM	#5
BillM Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Ferguson, Mo. Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,348	Sorry to hear that Alan.Short of tear down/rebuild at bench cant offer anything here.Never used a winder with LX,thumbs always kinda 'pointed' direction what to do.Might have a look and clean battery chamber in winder if required,beyond that sounds like winder needs serious service.

03-26-2011, 08:10 PM	#6
Delgado Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: London Posts: 71	For whatever this comment is worth, I have just looked at an LX I have with a Motor Drive and a dead NiCad battery pack. When it is set to C or S (or even R), the shutter will not release even within the mechanical shutter speed range (the shutter speeds that don't need battery power). The shutter release only depresses about half-way before hitting something solid. When I switch it off at the rear of the Motor Drive, the shutter releases properly. The problem you have described with your winder suggests to me that there is something wrong with it. The LX appears to stop working if it is not sensing power from a connected external drive. If your winder power cells are good and inserted with the correct polarity, then it implies that the power is not being fed through in a way that the camera can read, or in a way that can power the motor. I have checked the top plate of the motor drive (removed from the camera) when the unit is switched to C or S, and nothing raises from it to provide an additional connection. Any communication must be via the normal electrical contacts. Switching to C or S appears to allow the body to divert some of its own power into the drive to establish whether or not power is available. I checked this by removing the button cells from the LX body, and then re-connecting it to the Motor Drive again. Without any power to the body, the LX shutter was OK throughout its mechanical speed range even with the dead NiCad. The only quick way to verify you have a faulty drive would be to test it on another LX body, which I'm assuming isn't practical for you. Have you seen any indication from the winder that it is powered at all? I am not familliar with the winder layout, but the Motor Drive had a red light that indicated when power was available if switched to C or S. Also, the rewind lever triggered the motor even when the unit was removed from a body. If you are not seeing any life from the winder at all, I would guess it is faulty. Sorry I can't be of more help.

03-28-2011, 02:45 PM	#7
GerryL Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: CA Posts: 2,731	Here is an answer I found on the internet while browsing. It says that the manual (LX) states that the shutter stroke is really shorter if a motor drive is connected so not being able to fully depress the shutter is normal. Here is the link (read the last comment pertaining to the "auxiliary meter switch": Pentax LX vs. Pentax PZ-1p - Photo.net Accessories - Filters, Bags, Tripods Forum ..as with regards to why the drive doesn't work is another story. Hope this helps!

03-31-2011, 05:15 PM	#8
John Shriver Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Arlington, MA Posts: 160	There's a peg that pokes out of the top of the Winder LX that goes into a hole in the bottom of the camera, which is directly under the shutter button. When you push the shutter button, a pluger pushes down in that hole, and should depress the peg on the winder. My LX/Winder has the same problem, when you take the winder off the camera, you can't make that peg budge. So I presume your winder is tied in knots like mine. Eric does not consider the winders repairable, and notes that they don't stay repaired. I just bought another Winder LX on eBay that's claimed to work, but missing battery tray. My broken winder has a battery tray, so we'll see.

09-18-2017, 03:28 PM	#9
account0 New Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Posts: 1	Hi, anyone have any news on that topic? I have LX winder with the same issue: it does light up, but it's not possible to release shutter when winder is on. Any clue?

09-18-2017, 03:52 PM	#10
MarkJerling Moderator Site Supporter Join Date: May 2012 Location: Wairarapa, New Zealand Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 20,406	Originally posted by account0 Hi, anyone have any news on that topic? I have LX winder with the same issue: it does light up, but it's not possible to release shutter when winder is on. Any clue? Welcome to the forum. You may wish to post a new thread seeking help rather than posting in such an old thread. Kind regards, Mark