Problems with E-3 housing and battery pack

It looks like my woes with this setup (E-3) are far from over. I have three problems.

1. I set up the rig topside with the two strobes for the first time, and I have a problem having the strobes to fire. I've read about the experiences of some with a hotshoe connection being loose, and I've tried using rubber band to hold it in place.

Here's the thing. As soon as the camera is pushed inside the housing, the strobes refuse to fire. I checked the TTL connector inside and it seemed to be in place because of the rubber band. I remove the housing back again and click the shutter outside the housing, and it fires okay. I put the housing back again in place very slowly -- I try not to push it fully -- and the strobes fire. But once I push it again and lock the housing, the strobes refuse to fire (I have checked the hotshoe connector and it looks fine with the rubber band.

2. Another problem that this housing has is that it is impossible to operate the Function and Focus Point buttons short of using a hammer to force the button inside the housing to respond.

3. I bought another DS-125 late last year to complete my dual strobe setup. The other day, I inspected the strobe, which I have yet to use (and which I had hoped to use for a dive trip 10 days from now) to recharge the battery pack. Before charging, I reattached the battery to the strobe body to check the remaining charge. I then detached it, and I heard a loud crack. Upon checking, I noticed that the black stem connecting the pack to the strobe body is broken.

I have yet to use the strobe and it's already broken? Now, I am not new to strobes, having used a DS-125 since 2004. I certainly did not force the pack out of the body, just did what one normally does to remove the battery pack. I've heard about the "Toggle Pawl Replacement kit" (part #9457.62), which Ikelite reportedly offers to customers who have had this unfortunate problem. Has anybody availed himself of this kit?

Right now, I have an expensive housing that is only good without strobes. And I have expensive dual strobes that appear not to have any use at the moment. Yes, both my strobes have serial numbers that according to the Ikelite Web site comply with their TTL implementation.

I bought the housing in Singapore in August 2008 and the strobe in November 2008 in New York. I live in the Philippines, so it won't be cheap to send the housing and battery pack back to Ikelite for "repair."

I've spent an hour trying to figure out what's wrong with the housing and I'm stumped. I didn't realize this Ikelite rig would give me such terrible headache. Any simple DIY ideas? Thank you.

Regards,
Norman
Mirror with memory
Flickr: landscapist's Photostream

The kit fix should not be a big deal, you shold be able to handle that.

It is pretty clear to me that the issue with the housing is the hotshoe connection. Somehow when you get it in that last little bit, the connection is moved just enough to casue the malfunction. Maybe you can get someone to assist you in putting it together. Use a light to see exactly what is happening. Hopefully you can see that last bit of movement. Look for some other control moving the cord at the last second. Try moving the cord in different positions as you put it in the housing. Others have made it work, I am sure you will find a way. Try making sure the camera is screwed all the way down in the housing and that nothing is underneath the camera base that would cause the body to be higher than it should be.

You should use a light and look inside the housing at exactly where the button is contacting the camera controls that don't work well. You may have to shave off some parts/rotate/rig the housing knobs to make it work better. Fortunately Ikelite includes extra knobs in their housings when bought new.

I know you are frustrated, but you will get it worked out.

Thank you for the suggestions and encouragement. Taking a cue from your pointers, I found out that the top of the housing depresses the top of the hotshoe connector when the housing back is pushed forward and locked.

Taking the housing back out again, I press the shutter and the strobe fires again. I depress the hotshoe connector using my finger and the strobe refuses to fire.

So, I know what the problem is, but I don't know how to solve it. I figured one way around it is to trim the top of the plastic hotshoe, but I'm not sure if that's enough and if that will fix the problem. And if it doesn't, Ikelite might take it against me for "damaging" what I feel is clearly a manufacturing defect.

About the Function and Focus point buttons being unusable, I noticed that the top of the camera is not flushed enough against the housing back since only one screw holds the camera body through the tripod hole. In the Ikelite 5050z housing, there is a black rubber inside the housing that pushes the camera body against the housing back. I think Ikelite should have used a similar design.


Notice the black rubber in the 5050z housing

Any other ideas about the hotshoe problem? Thank you.

Regards,
Norman

The housings should all be the same. Maybe look at the inside of the housing and see if some extra plastic is hanginging down?

From the sounds of it, the camera is somehow not fitting on the backplate correctly.

Also, check to see if anything else is pully the sync cord inside as you push the housing together. Sometimes an internal knob can catch the cord and pull it out.

This may sound dumb, but unscrew the tripod screw all the way down and then try to mount the camera even with the backplate and flush with the bottom.

Are the buttons for function and focus the standard buttons? Do you have a longer knob in the kit that came with the housing? Can you add something to the end of them just to see if they work properly?

I agree that Ikelite would not look kindly on you making adjustments and then sending it back.

Good luck and keep studying it. You will figure it out.

If all else fails you likely will have to send it to Ikelite with the camera for them to fix. Certainly a last resort for you.Their customer seervice is great, but you never know, you may have the only housing that is thicker on top or the only camera that is taller than the rest. Crazier things have happened.

check to see that the hot shoe pins push in a bit. they are spring loaded and should move up and down with out catching on the edge.

Electrical tape on top of the hot shoe/cord?

About the two buttons (Function and Focus points) not working, here's what I did: I put an eraser inside the housing and sure enough, the two buttons started working. What the eraser does is it pushes the camera body against the housing back, making sure that it is a tight fit inside.



About the hotshoe problem, maybe I didn't make myself clear enough. The problem is the housing's hotshoe connector must NOT be pushed to ensure contact. Since the E-3 has a big viewfinder hump, the topmost surface of the Ikelite housing tends to push the connector down. I think Ikelite should have made an allowance, or designed the hotshoe connector to be thin enough to avoid contact with the housing surface on top. I am really tempted to trim the connector but...


That should have read: "Leaving the hotshoe connection ALONE..." =B)

Apparently, the housing pushes down the entire surface inside the yellow oval, which somehow prevents contact between the camera hotshoe and the housing connector. I checked the the gold spring-loaded pins under the hotshoe connector and all five pins look okay.

To rule out a problem with the E-3's hotshoe, I connected the housing's hotshoe connector with my E-1 and it exhibits the same behavior (see color-coded photo above).

Okay, I went ahead and scraped the top of the hotshoe connector in the housing with a cutter. Guess what, it worked. Now, the top of the housing inside is no longer pressing the hotshoe and both strobes are firing now. I hope this lasts. Thank you to all those who tried to help.

Now, I'm still waiting for Ikelite to reply to my e-mail query about the "Toggle pawl replacement kit."

Regards,
Norman

Great news. I am glad it is working for you.

You are correct, when you said pushing on the hot shoe connetcor, I thought you meant pushing it out of the connetcor, not pushing down on it. Well, you learn something every day.

I'd like to know what you find out about the battery pack. I would like to add a spare to my kit if they will sell them.

Wow you guys have gotten a lot accomplished since we were away on Memorial Day holiday. Sorry for coming in so late in the game.

Your analysis of the hotshoe problem is exactly correct. The only additional solution I could suggest is adding additional solder to the top sides of the hotshoe. This should provide more resistance when placing it on the camera and give you a more firm connection.

As you've found, control problems sounds like something is causing the camera to tilt forward a bit. So you want to make sure that the camera is attached firmly do the tray using a coin or screwdriver. Remove any accessory eyepiece, LCD shade, etc that may be attached to the back of the camera. You may also try replacing the rubber tips on those controls with different ones from the spare tips assortment that's included with the housing.

Toggle replacement is not difficult with the #9457.62 kit. You can view the instructions here:
http://www.ikelite.com/downloads/instructions/Strobe_pdf/9457-62.pdf
You should be able to get a hold of this kit through your local Ikelite distributor. Within the US, these kits can be ordered through the office at 317.923.4523.

We try to get around to all e-mails and internet queries as soon as possible. Again, responses may be delayed today as we're busy catching up from a 3 day holiday.

Regards,
Jean / Ikelite
IKELITE Underwater Systems