Help! No one can fix my Leica M6 TTL light meter (not even Leica)

[joshsmithphoto]

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Greetings everyone, I am hoping someone can assist me with a most distressing issue...

 

My light meter on my M6 TTL quit working one day.  I sent it in to Don Goldberg, who kindly took it apart and reported back that he felt the issue was a faulty circuit board and that only Leica technicians would be able to fix it.  

 

I finally got Leica on the phone, and they informed me that they no longer fix M6 TTL light meters with this problem!  I couldn't believe it - they were basically suggesting to me that no one on planet earth could fix my beloved camera.  

 

Ok, so no light meter, not the end of the world, I know my light pretty well by now.  The problem is that a flash will not fire in this scenario, and I use flash quite a lot.

 

Does anyone know of anyone who might be able to fix my light meter, or at least somehow rig it to where the hot shoe can be used?  I just can't believe that there is no solution to this problem.

 

Thanks in advance from a frustrated M6 user.

 

Best,

Josh

[Chuck Albertson]

Have you tried Sherry Krauter?

[gbealnz]

Leica where? USA, or CS in Germany.

I've not dealt with Leica USA, but have a few times with CS in Germany.

Try them. (Germany).

Gary

[mrckdavies]

Write to this lady by email, she is customer services best at Leica Wetzlar andrea.frankl@leica-camera.com.

 

Phoning doesn't work as you get rerouted to Leica UK.

 

If you google Andrea Frankl you will see that she has been solution for many.

 

Good luck,

 

Christopher

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[250swb]

 

 

I finally got Leica on the phone, and they informed me that they no longer fix M6 TTL light meters with this problem!  I couldn't believe it - they were basically suggesting to me that no one on planet earth could fix my beloved camera.  

 

 

 

You need to realise Leica 'technicians' are in fact 'fitters', just like modern car mechanics. They take one piece out and fit another in its place and repeat this until whatever the problem was appears to be fixed. If the piece they need isn't available off the shelf that is the point at which they no longer try to fix something. What you need is a true camera technician who has determination. There must be many around the world with for example an M6 or two that are beyond repair because of damage but still have a working circuit board, there may even be some who know someone who knows someone who can trace and fix faults on circuit boards. But there will also be some independent technicians who only want the easy jobs, at which point you buy yourself a hand held meter and rename your M6 an M4-P.

[wattsy]

at which point you buy yourself a hand held meter and rename your M6 an M4-P.

 

 

Except the OP has already pointed out that the flash, which is important to him, no longer fires in his M6TTL so it isn't a de facto M4-P. You are right though that a more willing technician should be able to do better than return the camera as something for "Leica technicians" to fix. It is certainly worthwhile asking Leica in Germany (Christopher has already provided the most reliable contact point there) for a definitive answer regarding spares. If they also shrug helplessly and say parts are no longer available then you need a technician who can rig the camera so that the TTL circuit board is bypassed completely and allow the flash to be fired without batteries and an active light meter. If that is impossible then it will be worth letting the forum know because it will be disappointing to learn that an essentially mechanical camera sold new less than 20 years ago (and the camera that introduced me to the M system) is no longer repairable in an important way.

[wes54]

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I have the same problem with my M6 TTL (almost).The left hand diode on my meter doesn't work although the meter does. Not a big problem, more of an inconvenience. I decided to send it back to Germany and after they inspected it I was told they no longer have the components to support the meter. A bit disappointing but understandable given the age of the camera.

[Budfox]

I just bought an M6 TTL and was hoping to keep it a long time. Interested therefore if anyone ultimately finds a solution to this problem.

[fsprow]

Try Quality Light Metric in Hollywood, California.  While not for an M6, they have repaired and recalibrated several Leica meters for me.

[Herr Barnack]

Have you tried Sherry Krauter?

 

Give Sherry a call at 845-496-8834

 

She is located at:

118 Purgatory Rd

Campbell Hall, NY, 10916-2616

 

Her website is http://www.sherrykrauter.com/

 

Sherry is not just a parts installer; she was trained by Leica in Wetzlar and was head of the Leica repair facility in Stockolm.  Sherry has been working on Leica cameras since 1973.

Edited March 19, 2017 by Carlos Danger

[Malvolio]

Does the same issue exist for the M6 classic?

 

 

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[adan]

In terms of the metering diodes > o < or > <, or the logic chip that drives them, I've heard rumors to that effect.

 

In terms of the internal hot shoe/flash-sync connections, the regular M6 just has wires, not a chip, so likely not a problem.

 

It is the difference between "electrical" and "electronic." As wattsy says, simply replacing a wire is not problem, but if there is any kind of integrated circuit involved, no matter how simple or primitive, there is no way to "repair" the silicon micro-circuit inside the "black box." It can only be replaced as a unit, and if no factory makes that exact same unit anymore....

 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Signetics_NE555N.JPG

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrated_circuit

 

The M5's meter wiring is likely easy to repair - but lots of luck trying to find a replacement cadmium sulfide metering cell of the right size, resistance, etc. Outside of a "parts" body that is damaged and unrepairable  in some other way, but still has a functioning meter sensor.

Edited April 19, 2017 by adan

[earleygallery]

I would have thought a camera tech. could at least make a fix so that the flash is triggered (maybe bypassing the TTL circuitry).

 

Worth trying some of the independents.

[2wk]

Steve's camera in LA fixed my electrical issues with my M6 ttl. It wasn't light meter problems but I had weird battery drain even when the camera was off. Give him a call.

[michaelwj]

I know this is an old thread, but the camera is not that old (2003), I'm a bit surprised that Leica no longer carry this part.

 

But eventually, any camera with an IC will be rendered useless once the chip dies, and buying a backup might not be a solution either, the chips don't die from wear and tear. Long live the M4!

[Anbaric]

Does the same issue exist for the M6 classic?

 

In another old (2007) thread over on photo.net, it's claimed that Sherry was replacing old M6 Classic circuit boards with MP boards:

 

https://www.photo.net/discuss/threads/m6-built-in-light-meter-dead.290963/

 

Since the MP is still current, I'd guess the relevant parts are still available (unless Leica is hoarding them for low-level MP production and warranty service).

 

Of course in the case of the TTL (because of the flash circuitry and perhaps even the opposite shutter speed dial direction) the MP board is presumably not a in drop-in replacement, but I wonder if a skilled technician could rig something up with both non-TTL flash (as suggested above) and a functioning available light meter, using MP parts?

[lincoln_m]

Does the flash still work if you switch to manual mode and use 1/50 or slower? I'd hope the hot shoe can still fire the flash when the shutter is released even if the ttl photo diode and meter are broken.

 

I assume you checked the obvious such as camera battery and flash battery?

Lincoln

[wlaidlaw]

I am always suspicious of "it needs a whole new circuit board" reports from camera manufacturers or their agents. As often or not, it will be simple non-chip component, like a capacitor or a soldered joint that has failed on the board and a good technician can often track down the fault (failed capacitors have often bulged or leaked). I was told by Johnsons Photopia, who were Contax UK's repair agents, that my dead Contax RX needed a whole new board and none were available. I did not believe them, stripped the camera down myself and found that no power was reaching the board. The ribbon cable from the battery compartment to the main board had failed, where it had a tight fold. Replacement was an easy fix. 

 

If you think that the M6TTL was made as recently as 2002 and on sale new considerably after that, not good news that no electronic spares are available. It makes me very glad I opted for an M7 rather than the unused and unsold stock "new" M6TTL I was going to buy. Often electronics that have not been powered up for a long time give problems. NAIM recommend that the Nait 5-2i amplifier that I have in my UK bedroom, is left switched on all the time. 

 

Wilson

[BurchSung]

Hi...i am a new user here. As per my knowledge they take one piece out and fit another in its place and repeat this until whatever the problem was appears to be fixed. If the piece they need isn't available off the shelf that is the point at which they no longer try to fix something. What you need is a true camera technician who has determination.

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[gregdear007]

Hi,

 

I would like to add one thing to also try which no one seems to mention anywhere on any searches of M6/M6 TTL meter issues. The meter requires the shutter to be in a cocked position and sometimes if wound too hard the meter will not work! 

That certainly was the case with my M6 and it was driving me crazy until it dawned on me and taking up the slack in the rewind crank and presto it worked! I can turn the meter "on" and "off" by applying a little pressure either to the wind on lever or the rewind crank.

 

I am not certain if this is standard with all M6s, and perhaps someone would like to try with theirs, however it is something definitely worth checking before sending away as it "fixed" my issue.