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K5 Battery Depleted Problem

malvern_man
Posted 19/04/2015 - 20:58 Link
Hi all,

I was at my local stock car track today doing infield photos when my K5 suddenly stopped working.

When pressing the shutter release button nothing happened, the top screen went blank and the rear screen said 'Battery Depleted'.

I tried both my fully charged spare batteries ( both genuine Pentax ) but it still didn't work.

When I got home I removed the lens ( 50-135 DA* ) to see if anything was amiss inside the camera body, on replacing the lens the camera started working again normally.

Has anyone else had this problem and if so is there a fix?

Regards,

Chris.
StephenHampshire
Posted 19/04/2015 - 21:02 Link
Sounds like a problem with the mirror motor - happened to my K5 when it was 13 months old - starts with the odd occasion but gets more frequent, Luckily Pentax did repaired mine under warranty, took6 days from sending to receiving back mended!

Quite a few threads on this problem on Pentaxforums.com
davidwozhere
Posted 20/04/2015 - 02:12 Link
Could this occur as a result of the extra work it can be called upon to do when using 'live view'? The mirror can be slamming around much more frequently than during normal use.
Both the *istDS and the K5 are incurably addicted to old glass

My page on Photocrowd
johnriley
Posted 20/04/2015 - 07:43 Link
Maybe there was a malfunction because the connection between camera and lens was lost? You mention that removing and reseating the lens cleared it.

The lens and mount contacts could perhaps do with a with with a clean, dry, lint-free cloth.
Best regards, John
malvern_man
Posted 20/04/2015 - 11:10 Link
StephenHampshire wrote:
Sounds like a problem with the mirror motor - happened to my K5 when it was 13 months old - starts with the odd occasion but gets more frequent, Luckily Pentax did repaired mine under warranty, took6 days from sending to receiving back mended!

Quite a few threads on this problem on Pentaxforums.com

Thanks Stephen.

davidwozhere wrote:
Could this occur as a result of the extra work it can be called upon to do when using 'live view'? The mirror can be slamming around much more frequently than during normal use.

I wasn't using 'Live View' David.

johnriley wrote:
Maybe there was a malfunction because the connection between camera and lens was lost? You mention that removing and reseating the lens cleared it.

The lens and mount contacts could perhaps do with a with with a clean, dry, lint-free cloth.

Thanks John,

I'll give the contacts a good clean and see what happens. I'll take a spare body with me next time.

If it is the mirror motor does anyone know an approximate repair cost?

Thanks all for your replies,

Regards,

Chris.
malvern_man
Posted 03/05/2015 - 20:40 Link
Hi again,

Well it's happened again today ( at the same stock car track too ), camera locked and battery depleted message on the rear screen.

The strange thing is this....the first time it happened I had taken around 700 shots, today I had also taken around 700 shots too ( good job I took a spare camera with me today )

It's looking like I'm going to have to send it in for repair.

Regards,

Chris.
johnriley
Posted 03/05/2015 - 21:39 Link
You had taken 700 shots? Maybe the battery was depleted, just as the display said. What happened if you just put the spare battery in?
Best regards, John
spinno
Posted 04/05/2015 - 10:10 Link
Overheating?
David
malvern_man
Posted 04/05/2015 - 20:59 Link
johnriley wrote:
You had taken 700 shots? Maybe the battery was depleted, just as the display said. What happened if you just put the spare battery in?

Hi John,

I changed the battery half way through the meeting. I tried another fully charged battery and it's still the same.

spinno wrote:
Overheating?

Hi David,

It was around 700 shots over about 4 and a half hours. I have the camera in front of me right now and it's still not working.

Regards,

Chris.
StephenHampshire
Posted 04/05/2015 - 21:17 Link
I still think it's the mirror motor circuit - a well documented fault on the K5. Press the shutter, solenoid activates to flip mirror up, drawing current. Solenoid sticks, mirror stays up, effectively now have an open circuit across battery with no way of shutting off, hence get battery depleted warning and a blacked out viewfinder. When I had the problem, it occurred once, pulled the battery and sanity returned. 6 weeks ater, it happened two or three times in one morning' shoot (about 500 pictures) A week later it happened again within first 5 minutes of starting shooting. Pentax repaired under warranty as the first occurrence was when the camera was 10 months od. 6 days after I sent it off I got the camera back, no problem in the last 2.5 years!
malvern_man
Posted 09/05/2015 - 17:05 Link
StephenHampshire wrote:
I still think it's the mirror motor circuit - a well documented fault on the K5. Press the shutter, solenoid activates to flip mirror up, drawing current. Solenoid sticks, mirror stays up, effectively now have an open circuit across battery with no way of shutting off, hence get battery depleted warning and a blacked out viewfinder. When I had the problem, it occurred once, pulled the battery and sanity returned. 6 weeks ater, it happened two or three times in one morning' shoot (about 500 pictures) A week later it happened again within first 5 minutes of starting shooting. Pentax repaired under warranty as the first occurrence was when the camera was 10 months od. 6 days after I sent it off I got the camera back, no problem in the last 2.5 years!

My K5 is now all boxed up ready to send for repair first thing Monday morning.

Regards,

Chris.
malvern_man
Posted 20/05/2015 - 22:16 Link
** Update **

I have received my repair quote from Johnsons Photopia.

Replace mechanical assy
Repair shutter mechanism
Clean viewfinder assy and ccd
Repair mirror mechanism
Check and test

Total cost = £204.00

I have no idea if this is a reasonable price but I've authorised the repair.

Regards,

Chris.
richandfleur
Posted 20/05/2015 - 22:21 Link
That type of repair list suggests they're replacing much of the mechanical guts of the camera.

What's a new K-5 family camera worth in the UK these days?

That seems a decent chunk of a new camera is all?
johnriley
Posted 20/05/2015 - 23:11 Link
I'd have it repaired for that cost because you end up with a camera with known history, rather than a second hand one that could need the same repairs very soon.
Best regards, John
bigyinn
Posted 21/05/2015 - 10:01 Link
Well it would be cheaper to repair your K5 than buy a secondhand body of unknown history from e-bay. I take it your K5 is out of warranty?

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