SB600 flashgun problem

pixbyjohn

My SB600 stopped working today, has anyone ever repaired one before or knows where I could have it repaired.
Cheers, John:mad:

melekalikimaka

how has it stopped?

pixbyjohn

Hi Melekalikimaka,
as I took it out of its pouch it dropped to the floor, and the battery door opened When I put the batteries back in it worked ok so I took about 20 photos of a lunchtime gig in college with it.After that it stopped working so I took it off camera and it felt quite warm. Have another SB600 and tried the batteries from that but its not a battery problem.Nothing lights up on it now.Any ideas, Please

melekalikimaka

eek, doesnt sound, good, i'll check with a mate tomorrow, he took apart a sn800 a while back and replaced something in it himself...so i'll see if light can be shed on it(yes i know wonderful pun)

pixbyjohn

melekalikimaka wrote: »

eek, doesnt sound, good, i'll check with a mate tomorrow, he took apart a sn800 a while back and replaced something in it himself...so i'll see if light can be shed on it(yes i know wonderful pun)

Melekalikimaka,
Thank you and I would try open it with a bit of advice. Its not as if I have anything to lose at this stage. When it dropped to the floor its fall was broken by a pile of cables so it wasn't a hard fall to solid ground.
Any help is appreciated. John

TJM

Bear in mind - flashes have massive capacitors, that hold a charge for quite a while (even with batteries removed) and discharge a lot of energy in a fraction of a second. DIY flash repair is a recipe for serious injury unless you're very careful / know exactly what you're doing.

King Eric

I was reminded about those capacitors when i took one of my 580's apart.

I managed to get a double shock, I touched a little bit of coiled wire, got a shock then my arm jumped back and I whacked my funny bone off the back of the chair i was sitting at.

Youve been warned!!

stcstc

there is enough energy in those capacitors to give some one with a weak or dickey heart a serious problem, so be very very careful

but have a google you might be lucky enough to find a nikon service manual, which will explain how to discharge the capacitors and dia assamble everything etc

pixbyjohn

Thank you for the warnings of the high voltages with capacitors. I am rather careful around those as I am also a radio amateur (ham) and have some high voltage caps and valve amplifiers etc which require the same respect when working on them. I hope somehow that I can get the SB600 working again, wishful thinking maybe.

stcstc

heres a link to what looks like the nikon service manual

http://www.nodevice.com/manual/newmans/nikon/SB600_rmpdf/get32957.html

you have to register to get it but havent tried, but that will have the real details about the kit

mehfesto2

Hey OP, if you find anything out about where you can get repairs done, lemme know. Mine just kicked the bucket the other day too!

Buzz Lightyear

Hay John / Mehfesto

Have you rang the Nikon repair centre. They are at 046 95 57151. Ask them if it's worth your while. If it is and you want to sent it to them, I'm in town tomorrow evening at the Gurilla Lightening event and can meet up if you want. I'll pop it in to them on Friday morning if you like. If you do want to meet PM me and I'll give you my mobile.

pixbyjohn

Buzz Lightyear wrote: »

Hay John / Mehfesto

Have you rang the Nikon repair centre. They are at 046 95 57151. Ask them if it's worth your while. If it is and you want to sent it to them, I'm in town tomorrow evening at the Gurilla Lightening event and can meet up if you want. I'll pop it in to them on Friday morning if you like. If you do want to meet PM me and I'll give you my mobile.

Thanks a million Buzz, I rang the service centre and spoke with a girl called Jan. She informed me they will only accept items via courier or tru post. Procedure is that a technician will look at it and send an estimate, if I don't accept the price they will send item back and charge 20 euro for courier. She said they don't charge for the actual estimate.
So thanks again Buzz, I will post it off today.
John

pixbyjohn

mehfesto2 wrote: »

Hey OP, if you find anything out about where you can get repairs done, lemme know. Mine just kicked the bucket the other day too!

Posted it today to SLR SERVICE CENTRE, Rathmolyon, Co. Meath.
Phone no. 046 9557151, Jan is the name of the girl who took call.

I will post as to final outcome.

pixbyjohn

I got my SB600 back today and its repaired. Cost was 160 euro which included vat and cost of courier delivery to my place of work.
Thank you Buzz Lightyear for your offer of help, much appreciated.