If anyone ever used a ME Super, I need help

[bdery]

I've been given an old but almost-new ME Super. Shutter works fine, mirror flips smoothly, everything looks perfect.

I opened the film door to see if there were any hidden flaws inside, and closed the door without putting any film in the camera. Then, the Bad Thing happened : I accidently hit the front lever that activates the mirror and shutter after a delay. The mirror went up, the shutter fired, and the mirror stayed up...

I can move the mirror with my hands (I know I shouldn't ut it will not come down. I tried removing the batteries, opening the door again, everything to no avail.

Any ideas? I don't plan on using this camera in the near future, but I'd still prefer to have it working...

--
bdery

Québec city, Canada
C A N O N S 2
C O O L P I X S Q
http://s108.photobucket.com/albums/n13/bdery/

 

[jeanphilippe Goube]

As far as I remember ME super behaves like this when batteries are out of order and you use it in Auto mode.

Try to put batteries in or switch to 125x which is the only 100% mechanical mode available when batteries are out of order.
--
jpgoube

 

[bdery]

As far as I remember ME super behaves like this when batteries are
out of order and you use it in Auto mode.

I believe it was in auto mode when it happened, right.

Try to put batteries in or switch to 125x which is the only 100%
mechanical mode available when batteries are out of order.
--

The batteries seemed to work fine before that happened. I tried 125x, pressing the shutte, opening the door again, to no avail. The lever that rolls the film between shots won't move more than 90 degrees, not enough to roll film if any was there.

jpgoube

--
bdery

Québec city, Canada
C A N O N S 2
C O O L P I X S Q
http://s108.photobucket.com/albums/n13/bdery/

 

[James O'Neill]

I've been given an old but almost-new ME Super. Shutter works fine,
mirror flips smoothly, everything looks perfect.

I opened the film door to see if there were any hidden flaws inside,
and closed the door without putting any film in the camera. Then, the
Bad Thing happened : I accidently hit the front lever that activates
the mirror and shutter after a delay. The mirror went up, the shutter
fired, and the mirror stayed up...

I can move the mirror with my hands (I know I shouldn't ut it will
not come down. I tried removing the batteries, opening the door
again, everything to no avail.

Any ideas? I don't plan on using this camera in the near future, but
I'd still prefer to have it working...

When these models jam, they tend to do so with the mirror up, and need a visit to a repair shop. Risk is much greater if the camera has been stored for a long time.

 

[Just1moreDave]

I would try two of the recommendations from this page:

http://www.kyphoto.com/classics/pentaxmeproblems.html

The page presents a lot of things but not in the order easiest to hardest. See what the shutter curtains look like and you might be able to "help" the curtain finish its travel. Or remove the bottom plate and reset the camera. I had a couple of MGs to get rid of and used both suggestions to fix them. Once the shutter cycle was complete, the cameras didn't get stuck again.

I don't like to take a camera apart much further than that, but the self-timer mechanism might require more disassembly. There are two other articles on that site about the ME Super and repairs. Good luck.

 

[bdery]

I would try two of the recommendations from this page:

http://www.kyphoto.com/classics/pentaxmeproblems.html

The page presents a lot of things but not in the order easiest to
hardest. See what the shutter curtains look like and you might be
able to "help" the curtain finish its travel. Or remove the bottom
plate and reset the camera. I had a couple of MGs to get rid of and
used both suggestions to fix them. Once the shutter cycle was
complete, the cameras didn't get stuck again.

I don't like to take a camera apart much further than that, but the
self-timer mechanism might require more disassembly. There are two
other articles on that site about the ME Super and repairs. Good luck.

Thanks for the link. My curtain looks fine. I didn't see any input on how to reset the camera, did I miss it?

--
bdery

Québec city, Canada
C A N O N S 2
C O O L P I X S Q
http://s108.photobucket.com/albums/n13/bdery/

 

[Just1moreDave]

Thanks for the link. My curtain looks fine. I didn't see any input on
how to reset the camera, did I miss it?

The third photo, showing the bottom of the camera with the bottom plate removed, and the text below it. It sounds like you can skip the bit about winding too hard (first 2 photos).

Removing the bottom plate is really easy, just three obvious screws. The parts for other M-type cameras vary a bit but are similar enough. K-types look a lot different.

The next three photos show the shutter curtain position in various parts of the cycle.