PT-059 leaking

[jlyle]

After more than sixty dives with the PT-059, the housing began to fog and then started to leak. After very carefully cleaning the gasket, I took the empty housing for a dive and manipulated all of the buttons and levers - it leaked. I've not isolated which button/lever is the problem but I suspect it's one of the more frequently used - OK, shutter, zoom...

I need to experiment more. BTW, the housing is warrantied for one-year.

Should you start to see fogging where there wasn't any before, you may want to proceed with caution.

Jim

 

[Ardy]

Hi Jim, I had a similar problem with my EP08 for my EM5, there are just too many buttons that could be guilty. I chose to upgrade after buying a new EM5mk2 with 9 exposures and housing that had done (claimed and looked it) 6 dives.
The EP08 had done about 100 dives. Don't think this is enough to give them a 5* rating but others might have had a better run than I did. I suspect the newer o'rings are to blame. I dived with an Aquatica and Nikon for 15 years until early 2000's and apart from greasing main o'rings never had a problem and never replaced an o'ring.

The cost of an overhaul is just not worth it and I am guessing almost impossible to do yourself, without a lot of skill and the risk you could make it worse!

 

[Chris Ross]

If it is under warranty make it some else's problem and return it! Of course it would be good to know which button. Try taping some paper against the buttons and submerge in a bucket - o-rings are actually more likely to leak at low pressure. You can get water detection paper which changes colour when wet if you want to get fancy. Do one test with the housing facing down and another top up so any water getting in drips onto your paper.

 

[Ardy]

Thanks Chris, good advice there and might use it to test my old EP08 housing to see if it is still leaking as I did some work on it but didn't test it as I found those bargains.

 

[jlyle]

The Olympus housing for the C5050 was fairly easy to maintain, as long as you didn't lose a circlip.

The ones on the PT-059 are tiny.

 

[Ardy]

Are you going to have a 'go' at it Jim or dump it?

 

[jlyle]

Are you going to have a 'go' at it Jim or dump it?

I'll decide what to do when we get home from Cozumel. My options:

Contact Olympus re possible warranty repair.

Try and better isolate where the leak is and give it a go.

Buy another housing.

 

[jlyle]

An update.

I sent the leaking housing to Olympus. At first they said the housing was no longer under warranty. I protested and they have now agreed to do a warranty repair.

I'll get back the "repaired" housing in a week or two. I'll take it diving and see if the "repair" is successful.

Jim

 

[Ardy]

Good luck Jim. I have a housing sitting in the cupboard, weighing up to dump or do more work on it!!!

 

[jlyle]

Good luck Jim. I have a housing sitting in the cupboard, weighing up to dump or do more work on it!!!

Flip a coin?