Smiba's Electric Mess

I've recently acquired a Fuji GA645 medium format film camera, this camera is in great condition considering it came from around 1995!
It did however have one slightly annoying issue: The dial sometimes would skip turns or would move more turns then I instructed it to.

This meant that something like setting the correct aperture setting required a bit of moving around as it would often skip the exact value you had in mind.

This blog post shows you how I fixed the issue on my camera by cleaning the dial contacts.
Please keep in mind some care is required when preforming this repair.

0. What you need for this repair

- 15 to 30 minutes of your time
- Fuji GA645 camera, without film inserted
- A Philips screwdriver, I used size "0"
- 92%+ or pure Isopropyl alcohol
- A lens cleaning paper or something similar

1. Removing the batteries

This should be simple, on the bottom of the camera remove the batteries before starting this repair.
Failure to do so while taking it apart could result in the camera powering on and charging the flash with a dangerously high voltage if you were to touch it.



2. Removing the screws securing the top

There are 4 screws holding the top to the casing, to access the dial contacts these need to be removed.





Warning: When placing back these screws later on, don't over tighten them. The casing is very prone to cracking if you do so.

3. Lifting the top off (Slightly)

Once the 4 screws are removed, you can carefully start to wiggle the plastic top.
This is attached with multiple clicking mechanisms, that may be resilient to just let go.
Whatever you do, don't just forcefully pull the plastic top off! This won't work and you will damage the internals if you do so.

If you need to use prying tools you're not doing it right either and will damage the plastic.

The flash is still attached with cables, don't pull the entire top off and be careful once it becomes free



4. Cleaning the dial contacts



Once you have access to the dial, get something like a lens cleaning paper and put some isopropyl on there. The reason why I picked lens cleaning paper is because its quite thin and doesn't fall apart as easy. (Unlike paper tissues for example)

Any alcohol 92%+ is fine, anything lower may leave (too much) residue.
Obviously any chemicals which negatively affects plastic (such as acetone) should NOT be used.



Move the paper carefully around the dial.

As you're doing this keep in mind there are 2 pins pointing downwards at a slight angle (from the plastic of the dial to the contacts on the board).
If you feel like you're stuck or hooked onto something, this is because you're going into or against the pins, don't use any more force so you don't bend these and carefully get the paper out again.

I do think its important the pins themselves are clean though, as these will collect dust and gunk over time. Clean them by going in the correct direction.

Make sure the alcohol properly soaks the PCB underneath the dial and that your paper rubs over it. This may take 1 - 2 minutes of cleaning, take your time.

I also used a Q-tip at some point, you can do this by slightly plucking it so it ends up with only a small amount of cotton to insert (Pluck towards the front of the tip). I don't recommend this method unless necessary as its very easy to get stuck around the pins and bend them..

5. Putting it back together

Once you think the contacts are clean enough, its time to put it back together.
Do NOT insert the batteries yet, if you power it on it will cause the camera to think the flash is out and charge the exposed capacitor!



First let's see if the buttons has fallen out, they are not attached to anything really so they're likely to come out.
If they came out, carefully insert them back in and then adjust the alignment through the top.
They sit on the PCB.



(It does help if you align them as best as possible on the rubber pad before inserting them back in the camera)

Once you think you have them well aligned, try and close the top again.
Do NOT put the screws in yet, only allow the top to click together

Then check the following functions:
- The flash button, does the flash pop up without struggle?
- The shutter button, does it half-press and click?
- The dial, does it move as expected?

If all these functions work, only then insert the batteries.
(Still don't screw the casing back)

If some of these functions fail, try to slightly move the top around. It may just be slightly off position and giving the buttons some trouble.

When you have the batteries inserted proceed.
Move the camera to Aperture Priority mode and check:
- Does the viewfinder light up as expected?
- Does the camera NOT think the flash is enabled? (Its common the camera does not detect the flash being down if the top is not positioned correctly)
- If you enable the flash, does the camera detect this?
- Will the camera make pictures (Does the shutter button click)? (Another common assembly issue if the button is just not in the exact right position.
- Will the camera make pictures using flash (Does the flash work)?
- Do the AF and Exposure Compensation buttons work?

And most importantly:
- Does the dial work correctly?

If you answers yes to all these questions, you've done it! Congrats!

You can now screw the casing back together.

When putting the screws back in, make sure not to overtighten them. This happens very easily and doesn't look nice!


Ouch!

6. Done

Shoot photos, enjoy this awesome medium format camera