I recently bought a used D50 on ebay and have the flash won't fire problem. Wonderful private seller conveniently neglected to mention the flash didn't work and I didn't do sufficient homework to ask about it before purchase, oh well...
Based on suggestion from D70 form, I removed the outer shroud of the flash unit. There are 2 VERY small leaf switches. The upper one tells the cameras brain if the flash is up or not. The lower one powers the flash strobe and will give you a decent shock if you touch it :-0. There is also a small plastic post that sticks out along the axis but eccentric to the pop-up hinge. It looks like the upper switch is supposed to bear on this post which would push the switch leaf out of contact when the flash is down and allow the leaf to make contact when the flash is up.
It now looks like the plastic post is too short to bear on the upper switch leaf. Either the post has broken off, which is very possible since it is only about .75 mm in diameter. Or the metal switch assembly has shifted position away from the post. In either case, the upper switch leaf never makes contact, so the camera always thinks the flash is down. That is why you hear the click of the pop-up latch release every time you depress the shutter release in low light conditions even though the flash is always up. It is also why the flash won't fire, because it thnks the flash is still down.
I'm told sending the camera back to Nikon for repair is about $130, which is pretty close to the price of a decent external flash. So, unless somebody has some good advice on how to restore the fnction of the internal flash position switch, I expect I'm just going to pick up a mid-priced external flash.
Any additional info or opinions would be of great interest...
Well, I gave it a try, following these instructions precisely. But it did not appear that the "pivot" wanted to move back out to it's functional position. I think the small plastic stud that should be engaging the contact leaf is actually broken off as opposed to just being out of position.
In any case, I've procured an external flash, so the use of the onboard flash is kind of pointless now.
Thank you for the advice!Well, I gave it a try, following these instructions precisely. But it did not appear that the "pivot" wanted to move back out to it's functional position. I think the small plastic stud that should be engaging the contact leaf is actually broken off as opposed to just being out of position.
In any case, I've procured an external flash, so the use of the onboard flash is kind of pointless now.
Thank you for the advice!
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Your flash head pivot has come unclipped and has slid back into its hole too far. The problem can be repaired by using an L-shaped paperclip to pull the flash pivot back out to its proper position. First, remove the battery from the camera and bend a 1/8" section of the paperclip to make an L on the end and gently insert it into the hole and pull outward while moving the flash head up and down. It should pop back out and the pin will then be long enough to make the flash switch work. Be very careful you do not push the paperclip too far inside the camera so you don't damage anything inside the top.
If you do not feel comfortable doing this, we can do this repair for $68.50. We do quite a few D series Nikons with this same problem.
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Does the flash work? Could be flash circuit or day/night sensor.If you have another D40/D50 camera that flash works but has other problems,swap out the sensors.If not the sensor but the flash circuit then most likely one of the large charge capacitors which has to be soldered in.I use a digital multimeter with I/O capacitor test function..these caps should be about 250mfd.
Here's how to open an Item Significantlt as Described Case:
1. Go to your "My eBay" page. 2. Under "Account" (or "My Account"), select "Resolution Center." 3. Under "I bought an item," select "I received an item that does not match the seller's description." 4. Click "Continue." 5. Enter the item number or select from your recently won items using the "Find Item" button.
If you click "Find Item," you'll get a popup window. Simply select the item, then click "Continue."
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mcdevito75 here, Hello Deirdre, the first thing to do is to let the ebay seller you won these items from know your haveing a problem with any money owed due to a non-verify number, this way the seller who you won the items from knows you intend to pay for them. You can contact the seller whom you won the items from by clicking on my ebay at the top of any ebay page then with the drop down menu click on won, once at the page of items you won, next to the item you won click the option on the far right sde of the item title, in the drop down menu click on contact seller. Once you have contacted the seller with your problem, then call ebay at 1-800-701-3229 you can also call paypal at 1-877-672-9725 or 1-402-935-7733 or 1-888-221-1161 and see about fixing any problems with your account.
Contact Paypal. They have a claims resolution department. The bonus is that they are OWNED by ebay. You shouldn't have any problems receiving your refund.
Try pushing the flash forward just a tiny bit. this model of Nikon has a built in problem with the flash popping up too hard. You can also try to "soften" the pop-up action with your finger instead of just letting it snap up into position.
Auto mode only allows for "Auto Flash", "Auto Flash with red eye" or "Forced Flash Off". Forced, flash "ON" does not exist in Auto.
Put it into "P" for programmable mode. Then press the flash button on the left-face. The flash will pop-up. While holding the button, turn the selector dial to select what you want the flash to do - the little flash icons will display on the top panel as you do this.
Those Xenon flash tubes last for a long time. You likely need a new flash PCB (printed circuit board). Typically, the trigger coil is at fault when you get the ready light but no flash
I had the same issue. The flash is set to go off, the camera assumes it went off, (as the record metadata shows) but it doen't go off at all, and the piture is underexposed.
I bought the 100 page repair manual, which is ONLY a dissassemble/reassemble manual with NO diagnostics. (Got it on ebay) So I was atleast able to get to the capacitor and flash bulb. I saw 300V across the capacitor leads, and the same 300Volts across the flash bulb leads. SO I am assuming that there is a transistor or relay that drops to ground to fire the flash that isn't working, or the electronic signal to drive that isn't working.
It seems most people replace the entire flash circuit board(which is near the capacitor under the left hand side). But it seems Nikon only sells parts to it certified repair facilities.
Ugh.... Looks like I'm buying a SB-600, as this is the cheepest solution. Too bad, because the on-board flash is more than decent. I hope the SB-600 thrills me enough to change my mood. :)
Well, I gave it a try, following these instructions precisely. But it did not appear that the "pivot" wanted to move back out to it's functional position. I think the small plastic stud that should be engaging the contact leaf is actually broken off as opposed to just being out of position.
In any case, I've procured an external flash, so the use of the onboard flash is kind of pointless now.
Thank you for the advice!
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