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d2x water damage

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bnguon

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While taking pictures of a waterfall in Cambodia, I accidentally slipped and submerged my Nikon D2x with the 28-70mm AFS lens in the flowing water for approximately 5 seconds.

I immediate took out the main battery and tried to dry out the body and lens. Unfortunately it was rainy season and there was not a blow dryer in sight. I had to wait the following day before I could completely dry up the body. As far as the 28-70 lens, well it had evidence of water intrusion between the mirror elements and there was very little I could do.

I've since sent the lens and body to Nikon USA Service & Repair center for repair and they were able to repair the Nikkor 28-70mm AFS but they noted that the D2x body is "not economical to repair".

The peculiar thing is that the D2x body still works fine with my Nikkor 70-200mm lens however the body does not work with the 28-70mm or the Nikkor 18-35mm lenses. Only my 28-70mm got submerged. Initially it also worked with the 18-35mm but not anymore. I suspect that a part of the electronics may be water damaged. A changeover in a chip or circuit should fix the problem.
Questions:

When mounted with a 28-70mm or 18-35mm, I get an FEE error and a blinking CLOCK error. What is different between the 70-200mm compared with my two other lenses that allows it to function properly?

What part of the D2x camera or component is responsible for lens detection/recognition? I believe this is the only damage to the body as I am able to shoot with the 70-200mm lens with no problems. Even the LCD works.

Any suggestions on where else to get the camera serviced since the Nikon Service Center thinks it's too much to repair the body and noted that it is "beyond repair" and refuses to do so.

Thanks in advance for the help.
 
If I remember correctly FEE is a contact issue between the lens and camera.

I know in the old days as long as the water wasn't salt water and was fairly clean a submerged camera could actually be cooked in a oven on a fairly low temperature to get all the condensation out. Of course cameras weren't as complicated then. Not the same kind of computerization and electronics. The other thing I heard from pros at the time but never had to try thankfully was that if the water wasn't clean it was actually better to re-submerge the camera in clean water before the cooking.

I don't endorse any of these ideas but if I were desperate I would try them. The service department isn't likely to want to take that risk or give that advice.
--
Ed C.
 
bnguon said:
While taking pictures of a waterfall in Cambodia, I accidentally
slipped and submerged my Nikon D2x with the 28-70mm AFS lens in the
flowing water for approximately 5 seconds.
Click to expand...
Doh!
bnguon said:
I've since sent the lens and body to Nikon USA Service & Repair
center for repair and they were able to repair the Nikkor 28-70mm AFS
but they noted that the D2x body is "not economical to repair".
Click to expand...
My mom once forgot her mobile phone in her jacket, and she washed the phone in the laundry. We tried to dry it, but it didnt work, so we bought a new for her. I thought to myself, lets just lay the phone on the radiator for a few weeks and see what happens. The phone works jast as before the laundry incident, but the camera doesnt work. My point is: just give the camera time to dry up completely.
bnguon said:
The peculiar thing is that the D2x body still works fine with my
Nikkor 70-200mm lens however the body does not work with the 28-70mm
or the Nikkor 18-35mm lenses. Only my 28-70mm got submerged.
Initially it also worked with the 18-35mm but not anymore. I suspect
that a part of the electronics may be water damaged. A changeover in
a chip or circuit should fix the problem.
Click to expand...
I think it's got something to do with the weight of the 70-200 lens. I'd bet a small lens would fail, but a 400mm tele would work also. The weight of the lens pushes the contacts together, forceing them to work. (just my theory)
bnguon said:
Questions:

When mounted with a 28-70mm or 18-35mm, I get an FEE error and a
blinking CLOCK error. What is different between the 70-200mm compared
with my two other lenses that allows it to function properly?
Click to expand...
As above.
bnguon said:
What part of the D2x camera or component is responsible for lens
detection/recognition? I believe this is the only damage to the body
as I am able to shoot with the 70-200mm lens with no problems. Even
the LCD works.
Click to expand...
The small contacts on the lensmount.
bnguon said:
Thanks in advance for the help.
Click to expand...
I hope I could help.

--
Regards,
Thomas Schreiber
-
my photoblog - http://thsch.com
 
The 70-200VR is a G lens, no aperture ring. The other two lenses DO have aperture rings. You'll get an FEE error with any lens with an aperture ring, if the aperture ring isn't on minimum aperture. Just picked up my D2X, slid the aperture ring on my 105 macro off of F22, and watched the FEE appear.

So, it may be that the sensing ability is futzed up. Guess you've got a reason to go out and buy all those wonderful new Nikkors, none of which have aperture rings.

I think Nikon is trying to tell you something really important. Uneconomic doesn't just mean that a lot of stuff has to be fixed. It means that a lot of stuff may have to be fixed that isn't known right now. So you'd get it fixed - all the stuff that's obviously wrong - and then a month later some problem crops up and you'll be back complaining that the repair job was done wrong. For a lot of electronic and electromechanical things, the extent and impact of water damage only shows up over time. Even if you find someone to fix it, or at least fix what's wrong now, you're likely to be back in repair over and over again.

I wouldn't want to depend on a camera that has a high chance of developing fatal problems without warning.

You may want to try Mack camera repair, but there's a good chance you'll end up spending a lot of money, and then end up with an unreliable camera.
bnguon said:
When mounted with a 28-70mm or 18-35mm, I get an FEE error and a
blinking CLOCK error. What is different between the 70-200mm compared
with my two other lenses that allows it to function properly?

What part of the D2x camera or component is responsible for lens
detection/recognition? I believe this is the only damage to the body
as I am able to shoot with the 70-200mm lens with no problems. Even
the LCD works.

Any suggestions on where else to get the camera serviced since the
Nikon Service Center thinks it's too much to repair the body and
noted that it is "beyond repair" and refuses to do so.

Thanks in advance for the help.
Click to expand...
 
Sorry to hear about the problem. A hair dryer always worked on my other electronics if needed but I can't rec. anything for this one. I could only say there are insurance companies that will insure the equipment for around $1 per $100 value per year. This is cheap considering they insure against anything! Theft, fire, dropping off a cliff, dropping into water- anything. They will pay the repair, or pay for a brand new camera, lens, etc. I have all my equipment insured. Let us know if your camera heals. Only five seconds in water is a heavy price to pay!
 
Thanks for all the info.

Immersing electronics in water is fine as long as it is not powered and the circuit is not fried. When it is dried up, the contaminants or conductive residue may cause shorting and/or leaching over time if it is not removed. Salt water is an automatic death sentence for electronics; however given that it was fresh water, I feel that the risk of latent failure is very low. Mainly the camera is still good and functional. Rinsing with deionized water will likely help but given I was in a 3rd world country, that wasn't an option.

I've taken many shots with the 70-200 and there are no issues with performance or function. I certainly don't want to limit my lenses without an aperture ring. I think I may be able to fix it but don't know the parts to be replace or have the electrical schematic to pinpoint the problem. If it's a few hundred dollars to fix, then the risk is worth it as it doesn't make sense to spend $4000 for a new D2Xs or D3.

Does anyone know of a reputable repair shop or have an electrical schematic? I can probably get the part from Nikon's parts department if I know what to order. Any further suggestions? Many thanks!
 
Nikon is now VERY restrictive about selling parts. What I would suggest is that you try sending the camera back to Nikon repair with a statement that they will NOT be held liable for any future problems. I suspect that they are "covering" themsleves against the potential for further problems developing and getting blamed for it. So, if you blatently give them an "escape clause" they may be willing to fix what has failed at this point. I suspect that is the aperture sensing ring and some of associated components.

You should also remember that your camera wasn't dunked in clean water, it was dunked in water with some mineral content, algae, and who knows what microscopic criters. Basically, while it may work for a time, don't expect it to last forever. Nikon may well be correct in telling you that repairing this camera just isn't econimical. If I were in your position I would be placing an order for a D300 and shelving the D2x.
 
What is happening when you move the aperture simulator ring around the lens mouth? (without a lens) Is the aperture info on the top LCD changing from delta 0, delta 1…. to delta 8?

If not, I think you have to clean the f-fo base plate.

 
Thanks for all the info. and suggestions! When I moved the aperture ring, the aperture does not change on the LCD. Either the contacts need cleaning or the aperture sensing circuit is damaged. It is highly likely that the sensing circuit was damaged.

It sounds like Nikon will not sell parts to anyone except to an authorized repair house. It sucks that they won't service the part. I'm going to see if another place will repair it.

Corrosion over time may be an issue but then again, the body was minimally exposed to fresh water so I think the risk is minimal. Circuit boards and non-ferrous metals do not corrode easily and I did completely dry it up in a matter of hours, so it should be o.k. I've done some salt fog testing of metals to get a feel of corrosion. Given that Nikon designed the body to be used in humidity conditions, I doubt that a few hours of direct water contact will cause any issue aside from shorting out the circuit of course. Regarding microbes they'll only live in wet or humidity environments and I made sure to dry up the body by blow warm air over it for several hours.

It seems that the camera works o.k. with G-lenses. Worst case, I may have to by a G-lens to make use of it for another year or two until Nikon releases a full frame, close to medium format camera. The D3 sounds great but it doesn't justify changing my D2x when it still satisfies my work/volunteer work needs.

Thanks again for the help and useful suggestions.
 
Do not despair. I won't be of much help, I do feel for your pain, but I once knocked a 105 AF-DC lens, and the focusing ring bacame very stiff.

Went to Nikon Service, and was told after a few minutes examination that the lens was toast, helicoid out of shape, not economical to repair, "just get another one". Currently $925 at B&H.

Since I'm a curious person, I started opening up the lens, and soon realized this was waaaay above my skills. Reassembled the lens, and bingo! Good as new. Been using it ever since, 7 come years later.
--
Jean Bernier

All photographs are only more or less credible illusions
 
A Canon 5D with salt water damage sold for $700 a few months ago with the noted damage and as-is. I suggest you do the same.
bnguon said:
While taking pictures of a waterfall in Cambodia, I accidentally
slipped and submerged my Nikon D2x with the 28-70mm AFS lens in the
flowing water for approximately 5 seconds.

I immediate took out the main battery and tried to dry out the body
and lens. Unfortunately it was rainy season and there was not a blow
dryer in sight. I had to wait the following day before I could
completely dry up the body. As far as the 28-70 lens, well it had
evidence of water intrusion between the mirror elements and there was
very little I could do.

I've since sent the lens and body to Nikon USA Service & Repair
center for repair and they were able to repair the Nikkor 28-70mm AFS
but they noted that the D2x body is "not economical to repair".

The peculiar thing is that the D2x body still works fine with my
Nikkor 70-200mm lens however the body does not work with the 28-70mm
or the Nikkor 18-35mm lenses. Only my 28-70mm got submerged.
Initially it also worked with the 18-35mm but not anymore. I suspect
that a part of the electronics may be water damaged. A changeover in
a chip or circuit should fix the problem.
Questions:

When mounted with a 28-70mm or 18-35mm, I get an FEE error and a
blinking CLOCK error. What is different between the 70-200mm compared
with my two other lenses that allows it to function properly?

What part of the D2x camera or component is responsible for lens
detection/recognition? I believe this is the only damage to the body
as I am able to shoot with the 70-200mm lens with no problems. Even
the LCD works.

Any suggestions on where else to get the camera serviced since the
Nikon Service Center thinks it's too much to repair the body and
noted that it is "beyond repair" and refuses to do so.

Thanks in advance for the help.
Click to expand...
 
Hi there,

Every times that I had water or other liquid droped on a camera, I then placed the camera in a box full of dry rice, and let it for a few days.

The rice absorbe the humidity, and usually the camera is working just fine after that.
I haven't tried with a D2x yet, but it worked on a D100.
Good luck.
 
bnguon said:
Either the contacts need cleaning or the aperture sensing circuit is damaged. It is
highly likely that the sensing circuit was damaged.
Click to expand...
Maybe it’s worth a try to clean those contacts with demineralised water. I’m not sure if it is possible to disassemble just this sensing circuit from the body. If it would be possible – but maybe you don’t really feel comfortable with that idea – you could clean the circuit and dry as you suggested before.
bnguon said:
Corrosion over time may be an issue but then again, the body was
minimally exposed to fresh water so I think the risk is minimal.
Click to expand...
I agree, this should not be the issue. At least, so far the body wasn’t flooded completely.

Otoh, if it got flooded you’ll face more and more problems over time I guess. Then it would be necessary to disassemble the whole body, clean all the parts with demineralised water, dry them and assemble all parts again. But that’s not an easy job with a D2x (just think of all the seals…). Even more it should be done directly after the dunking…
bnguon said:
I doubt that a few hours of direct water contact will cause any issue
aside from shorting out the circuit of course.
Click to expand...
The risk comes in with the minerals the water is containing (circuit paths can get shortened). Hence a deliberately performed washing would be needed this case.
bnguon said:
and I made sure to dry up the body by blow warm air over it for several hours.
Click to expand...
Again, that’s ok insofar as your body didn’t get wet inside. But if water really got into the body you may not get all the water out of the cam. Hopefully you’re lucky due to all the sealing rings.
bnguon said:
The D3 sounds great but it doesn't justify changing my D2x when it still
satisfies my work/volunteer work needs.
Click to expand...
D2x bodies probably will sell cheap next year ;-)
--
regards, eric
 
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