Vivitar 285HV Flash - Answered Questions & Fixed issues

It is not a bulb unit, it is an electronic flashgun.

As far as I know, every Vivitar flash can be made to fire in manual full power mode. No exceptions. Even the modern full dedicated E-TTL units can fire manual full and fractional power levels.

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New flashtube.

According to the list at http://www.botzilla.com/photo/strobeVolts.html the 285 is "Your call."

There may be a short somewhere inside between the lead going to the pin and the one going to the camera body, such that when the capacitor has a full enough charge, the flash itself is firing (thinking that it has been triggered by the camera, just without the camera). Unscrew the foot - two small Philips screws, and check to see if any of the wires have damaged or melted insulation, and ensure they're not crossed. The ones to watch for primarily are the RED lead and the black lead. Repair any damaged insulation with electrical tape, and carefully reassemble and test.

It's your call. Take a look here.

My first impression is that you are using the flash at its maximum capacity and completely draining the charge each time. I'd also say that you are only going to get about a dozen flash burst before the batteries are exhausted. I use several Vivitar 283's 285's and a couple 285HV's in a portable studio set up I have and the 285 HV's have got to be tuned down about 1/3 before I can get them to match the other flash outputs. If I need all out brute power then the 285HV's are used on full inside a softbox. I generally work with a 16 batteries between the two 285HV, also they need good fresh batteries off the charger. On a photo shoot I'll get maybe 15 shots before the power is down enough that I change then, I'd say powering back up it'll take about 15 to 20 seconds before they come out.

Most common problem is having the batteries installed in the wrong sequence, look on the battery holder and it will show where the positive "+" is suppose to go. If the batteries are in correctly check for corrosion both in the holder and inside the flash unit. If there is any corrosion this must be cleaned out and it'll power up. Do not blow in the flash with your mouth the corrosive material may blow up into your face or eyes.

After that long without power, the main storage capacitor has likely failed. If you can find the correct model or an equivalent one, then you'll find that they're not overly expensive but you'll need good soldering skills to replace it without damaging the new one and to ensure that the new connections are sound.

if you have the expertise take the unit apart be careful the tube is fragile try not to touch the tube the parts inside are simple to find at radio shak more than likely their is a bad capacitor would wright down the numbers or take the item in their wile apart at look at their component section you can buy the parts their most likely for under 4 bucks get a solder iron and some rosen core solder as well and replace the components make note of the polarities of the capacitor the neg(-) side will have a black stripe if the case color is black then it will be white diodes are ether black with a white or silver stripe replace as they are on the circuit board wile you have it apart it might be best to replace all you can it is rare that the flash tube will be bad if you do touch it clean the tube with rubbing alchol and a q-tip try not to get any on any other parts.assemble and test. hope this helps.

Red wire (positive voltage) goes to center pin. Black is ground, goes to outside shield or shoe edge contact. If the wires are reversed, a simple test switch will still work, but a photo slave will not (because it is powered from the +voltage so it depends on the polarity to be correct). Of course, the small PC contacts and cables can be unreliable so it could also be a bad cable. For much more detail and photos see: photo.net/photography-lighting-equipment-techniques-forum/00Po9t

Below is a utube Video of exactly how to do what you want
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzb5-FUZzaE&feature=related

Capacitor might got dried up.
Try using fresh Duracell Alkaline and wait for 15 minutes.mostly light will come up.if not replace capacitor by professional service.

PC cord might get minor short circuit and got faulty.
You can confirm this by removing it.

TR 2000 gives two output ^ volt and 330 volts.
Whereas 285 HV uses 6 volt and 110 volt AC
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=details_accessories&A=kitInfo&Q=&sku=638035&is=REG
I am running my 285HV with external 6volt battery pack.sort of this type.
http://cgi.ebay.com/6V-1-3AH-SLA-Sealed-Lead-Acid-Rechargeable-Battery_W0QQitemZ390166216699QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5ad7b7fffb
I added 2 standard diodes in series (IN4001 type) and placed inside the dummy battery pack which reduces some voltage and safeguards against wrong polarity.
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Yes, you can use the flash if your camera has a PC connector.

Or, check the trigger voltage: under 7VDC = OK on hotshoe.


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You don't need a Manual.
In 285 HV there is only one Power on/off switch.
If that switch is on and batteries are new Alkaline (like duracell-no chepo )or fully charged and working rechargebles,and yet the ready light do not come the flash has defect inside.For sure.

If you know basic soldering, Open the old hot shoe from base
(4 screws).Note down the position of the wires.
Try to fire the flash with shorting two trigger wires,most ly it will fire.
If the springy contact is adjustable do it.If it is not repairable, you can get metal hot shoe from ebay easily.
Caution: metal hot shoe will short circuit 4 TTL contacts (on digital camera) ,so you need to put cello tape at bottom of hot shoe with only center hole.
Hope this solves.

Cheapest solution is insert accesory 28 mm Diffuser in its slot(in the front of Tube).
Or buy defected Flash from ebay for this part.

You can get this at below 8$

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vivitar-283-285-285HV-Flash-Metal-Replacement-Foot-NEW_W0QQitemZ160359960375QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCamera_Flash_Accessories?hash=item255632cf37