Mamiya 6: Battery Drain From a Loose Metal Part
Originally posted on Instagram. Notes from the repair bench, kept here as a searchable archive. View the original on Instagram
This Mamiya 6 came into the shop with a complaint of a broken frame finder glass and problems with the battery not making connection. On initial examination I found the battery to be low so I installed two new batteries and the camera worked fine with a test roll. I notified my client and told him that I would replace the broken glass but found no problem with the battery and put the camera in the queue.
Two weeks later when I put the camera on the bench for repair, I noticed that the side grip of the camera seemed a bit warm. A thermal image of the camera side grip/battery box area (photo two) showed a large heat mass at the battery compartment. I figured that something was causing the battery to short to ground and after removing the bottom cover I could hear a slight rattle in the camera and some gentle shaking caused a small (2mm or so) piece of flat metal to come out of the camera! The battery drain stopped. Now, I always like to find out where loose parts go but in this case, after bottom and top removal I did not see where this loose part lived. A careful operation check of the camera showed all functions working fine. So, not too much I can do at this point other than replace the broken glass.
