Trying to press one end of the cable onto the mating contact with pliers and then fixing the connection with epoxy only worked for a short time on both EFs. So I'm crossing this method off my list.
Brilliant!
The electrical connection, fixed with epoxy, obviously didn't hold, so I'll continue. Thankfully it's only one connection on the battery holder that I need to fix.
More on that soon.
I have a non working EF with good battery holder. How do I send it to you?
Another fight with the battery compartment: attempt with copper foil
View attachment 382816
Since the power supply was no longer working, I checked the connection fixed with epoxy for continuity.
As expected, no current was flowing here.
View attachment 382810
Using the Dremel Stylo and my smallest milling head, I removed the epoxy.
View attachment 382814
View attachment 382815
Since I cannot solder on the contact, I attached two pieces of self-adhesive copper foil that conducts on both sides.
I linked both pieces with enameled copper wire that could be soldered onto the copper foil. This means the battery is connected again in the compartment.
The wire was actually not necessary, since the copper foil made a conductive connection with the contact. But since my multimeter showed no continuity between the two sides of the foil, I decided on this solution.
I later discovered that the foil does conduct on both sides, namely when it is soldered.
Learned something new again.
View attachment 382821
View attachment 382813
To stabilize the blue cable, I applied epoxy again.
The solution seemed stable and passed the continuity test with the multimeter.
View attachment 382820
The test after installing the battery holder showed that the voltage supply was not working.
The cause was a short circuit between the plus and minus of the battery induced by the surrounding contacts being pressed together.
In the EF's viewfinder, the measuring needle abruptly swung up and down when the shutter speed dial was turned.
When removing the battery holder, the blue cable came off.
So a more mechanically robust solution was needed.
All's well that ends well: Connecting the cable with eyelet, screw and nut
Following @Donald Qualls in
Post in thread 'Spare parts for photo equipment repairs: three options and a fourth'
https://www.photrio.com/forum/threa...hree-options-and-a-fourth.209949/post-2841295
I started looking for a suitable eyelet, screw and nut in my spare parts supply.
There are two holes in the battery contact that are actually intended for stabilization in the battery holder. I wanted to use the hole with the protruding connection to attach the cable.
View attachment 382817
New screws and nuts are available in abundance.
View attachment 382812
View attachment 382822
As if I had asked for it, a suitable cable with an eyelet was also findable.
The installation on the contact worked.
View attachment 382809
To avoid another short circuit, I added a piece of shrink tubing for insulation.
View attachment 382819
View attachment 382811
A new attempt …
View attachment 382823
… the battery compartment is mounted, all three cables are soldered onto the circuit board.
View attachment 382818
And now the power supply is working as the battery test LED indicates.
Very informative post as I have 3x EFs and only one of them works properly. They were purchased many years ago when digital was just starting and people were letting film cameras go for a song and a dance. None of them worked until I got home and replaced the batteries with 1.4v hearing aid batteries. One came back without any problems and with your detailed instructions I may attempt the other 2 as I have been looking for battery repair on these as finding information on this was virtually impossible. Your references to other sites like NatCam was extremely helpful to me.
In addition to a new shutter and auto exposure, the EF was loaded with many other useful features. It was positioned below the F-1, but above the FTb in Canon’s lineup. See the image to the left of a Sears catalog from 1976, which lists the F-1 with 50mm f/1.4 lens for $549.00. The EF and FTb with the same lens are listed at $459.00 and $299.00 respectively. When adjusted for inflation, those prices are $2350, $1965, and $1280 today. Like the F-1, the EF is only available in black, which was the preferred color for professional photographers. The lack of a silver model and the EF’s high price, confirms it was targeted primarily at the advanced amateur or professional photographer.
I bought my EF from a Canadian member on this forum about 10 - 12 years ago. I sent it off to my favourite tech who was trained by Canon in earlier days. He approved this mod to the battery chamber which consists of a spring wound inside the battery chamber to provide both electrical contact with the battery and to firmly locate the smaller silver oxide, 1.5V battery. It currently has an Everready 357 sized battery and is performing perfectly.
Well thanks to your photographs and NatCam repair PDF I have another EF SLR meter working correctly. The blue wire was giving me problems and resoldering it gave the right connection. The other camera had a dent in the bottom near the batteries and I found the capacitor C2 was smashed and needs replacing. Not a professional repair but I can follow photographs and not too sure that replacing the C2 is possible. I may go into the camera again and see about the battery test switch as the light does not come on in a test. If I have 2 out of 3 EF's working seems like a good place to be with older cameras.
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