Canon M100 - no turn on, BUT - green blinking light and clicking sound

Just to clarify that the camera is not switchin on, other than the green flashing light

Cosmos_camera wrote:

Hello all,

I got this Canon M100 from ebay sold as "not working / spare parts".

I have tried it with new battery and SD card but I get a weird behavior that I have not seen mentioned.

Whenever I press the ON/OFF button, OR the WIFI, OR the PLAYBACK button, I get the little green light (next to the power button) flasshing 5 times quickly and the last flash stays on for a split second more (total flashing time about 2 seconds), and at the same time I hear a very faint clicking sound (three faint fast clicks).

I have tried to tether with USB. Using EOS Utility, the PC recognises that a USB device has been connected when I power on the camera (I hear the usual beep in windows) but then it disconnects and the EOS utility states "Failed to communicate with camera. Check connections."

I have opened the back cover and from what I can tell the camera looks pristine inside (i.e. no evidence of water or cables being disconnected).

Is this a normal behavior for a bricked M100? Could it be something else which is repairable?

Best to all!!

I would suspect that the sequence of flashes is communicating an error code - for example 4 short, 1 long could be trying to tell you Error Code 41. But I can find no such thing documented.

Have you tried it with the lens removed (obviously it won't take photos this way, but does it power up at least)?

Thanks for the idea. I did not find anything either with an error code being defined by the flashing pattern. I did notice a different pattern though:
- Power Button (Or WIFI Or Playback) - 5 quick flashes (the last one slightly longer) & faint clicking sound (three very faint clicks)
-Jointyly pressed Power Button  AND (Shutter or Record) : 5 quick flashes a very short pause and a slightly longer 6th. No clicking sound
- Jointhly pressed (wifi or playback) AND (shutter or record): 4 quick flashes.
There is no indication of the camera switching ON and then switching OFF.
I do not have a lens - I got it to see if I can fix it in order to use it for astrophotography, so it is lensless at the moment.

jim mij wrote:

last time i had an odd start up issue it was either the sd card not seated correctly or the battery door not quite closed (sorry cant remember which)

take everything out and add in again ... and/ or try without the sd card

I have tried those. Actually, when the battery door or SD card door are not closed properly, the light does not even switch on. I have also tried with various SD cards and with new battery and AC battery and with 'take everything out and rest before putting everything back in again'.

My question is if anyone can recognise the green flashing light issue (maybe a canon technician) - e.g. if this is the sign of a bricked motherboard.

trungtran wrote:

When my Canon M3 died. It was the ribbon cable from the Tilt LCD screen.

As soon as I used the tilt, the camera would shut off. It worked intermittently until the cable finally broke apart.

It did a similiar thing of trying to power on and then shutting off.

If you are not getting anything on the display. Chances are the cable has broken apart around the bend on the LCD side.

Parts are sold on Ebay so it looks to be a common failure point.

M100 LCD Flex Cable

Many thanks for the suggestion. I have opened the back cover and I saw the ribbon cable but it seemed intact so I do not think it is this problem. TBH I am a bit hesitant to dig deeper into it (i..e to remove the inner back metal plate as well) as there are too many little screws and no youtube teardown video!

Have you asked the seller if there was an accident with the camera, or if the fault started slowly with few signs before, that showed that something is going on before completely shut down?

IoannisZ wrote:

Have you asked the seller if there was an accident with the camera, or if the fault started slowly with few signs before, that showed that something is going on before completely shut down?

Seller had no info (or was withholding info)

They told you already probably but check the microswitch at the battery compartment.

IoannisZ wrote:

They told you already probably but check the microswitch at the battery compartment.

Yes, I have checked that. If the microswitch is not on the camera does not do anything. So, since it is flashing up it means that the switch is not the problem.

Also, it is unlikely it is a screen issue as I cannot connect it with USB or with HDMI either.

Cosmos_camera wrote:

IoannisZ wrote:

They told you already probably but check the microswitch at the battery compartment.

Yes, I have checked that. If the microswitch is not on the camera does not do anything. So, since it is flashing up it means that the switch is not the problem.

Also, it is unlikely it is a screen issue as I cannot connect it with USB or with HDMI either.

I am not sure if I understood the logic of "functioning screen". On the youtube video I saw that quite a few had the problem with the flexible chord. I guess that you have proved every possible position of the main button and its not working also in playback position with a card that have photos.