mjhoy Posted January 18, 2019 Share #1 Posted January 18, 2019 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hello, My M10 is fairly new (from September) and last Saturday I was shooting it for the first time in ~20F for an afternoon. The following morning, the focusing mechanism began sticking — the patch would stop moving halfway in the focussing range, and then pop back into place when I focussed in and out again. Pressing lightly on the coupling arm does not feel smooth as my M6 does, as though there were no lubricant, and indeed the arm sticks when pressed back into the camera. The friendly staff at Leica Boston are having it sent out to New Jersey for repair under warranty. I'm curious if anyone else has come across this problem, and if so, is there is a better/quicker fix than sending it out? I've previously shot with an M240, and with my M6, and never have had issues in the cold, down to -15F! Thanks. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 18, 2019 Posted January 18, 2019 Hi mjhoy, Take a look here M10 sticky rangefinder coupling. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Hey You Posted January 18, 2019 Share #2 Posted January 18, 2019 My M10 had been problem-free since I received it in January 2017. Then, like yours, several weeks ago my focus coupling arm would jam and its motion seemed rough. I pressed it in and out gently several times and its movement became free again. Given how delicate and precise the mechanism is, I was gentle and careful. A Google search informed me that jamming of the coupling arm is not a rare experience. The problem has not recurred. If and when it does, I too will send it to Leica NJ for service. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Hill Posted January 4, 2020 Share #3 Posted January 4, 2020 Hey mjhoy, did you get the problem fixed ok? what did they say it was? I have the exact same problem with my Leica M8! It'll work fine for a while but then the patch will stop responding mid focusing... The coupling arm sits inward but sometimes I find if I pop it out and mount the lens it fixes the problem for a little while...is it supposed to stay in or out? Does it need lubricating? Any advice would be truly appreciated. Thanks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 4, 2020 Share #4 Posted January 4, 2020 Yes, it needs a bit of attention by one of the reputed Leica repair people.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjhoy Posted January 4, 2020 Author Share #5 Posted January 4, 2020 I sent it in to Leica NJ, and they fixed it — for free, it may have still been under warranty. I believe it needed lubrication, but I can't remember. It's been working fine for the year since then! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adan Posted January 4, 2020 Share #6 Posted January 4, 2020 (edited) 10 hours ago, Travis Hill said: is it supposed to stay in or out? It should stay OUT (the roller almost sticking out of the camera front), under pressure from an internal camera spring. The spring is what forces the roller to maintain contact with the lens' moving focus cam. In theory, that spring itself can fail - but gummed-up lubricants in the mechanism are far, far more likely to cause a jam or sticking than a broken spring. ****Uh-oh!**** In examining my own M10 to confirm exactly how the lever works - I just noticed that the tip of the RF arm is catching or rubbing intermittently on the lens mount ring as the spring forces it forward. The screw and brass washer on the top of the roller-cam axle (above the arm itself) just barely clear the mount even when normal, but mine has/had even less clearance. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Mostly it is just a brief contact that the spring overrides, but a couple of times it stuck hard for a moment (this would also cause the RF image to stop moving part-way through the normal range). I cleared this problem by applying a little downward pressure on the arm with a tiny screw-driver tip - but I don't recommend that as a procedure. There comes a point where uninformed or sloppy DIY work on the Leica RF just becomes a can of tangled worms that only Leica can untangle. I just happen to be a lucky risk-taker. Like the gospel song says, "The fingerbone's connected to the - handbone; the handbone's connected to the - wristbone; the wristbone's connected to the - arm bone....." This is a word of warning for those of us who have tried to adjust our own RF for infinity focus - be really careful not to apply ANY upward pressure on the roller and arm when inserting or turning the 2mm hex (Allen) wrench!! You can bend or introduce enough play in the arm's vertical location to cause such sticking. No doubt I made this mistake at some point. Edited January 4, 2020 by adan 2 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Mostly it is just a brief contact that the spring overrides, but a couple of times it stuck hard for a moment (this would also cause the RF image to stop moving part-way through the normal range). I cleared this problem by applying a little downward pressure on the arm with a tiny screw-driver tip - but I don't recommend that as a procedure. There comes a point where uninformed or sloppy DIY work on the Leica RF just becomes a can of tangled worms that only Leica can untangle. I just happen to be a lucky risk-taker. Like the gospel song says, "The fingerbone's connected to the - handbone; the handbone's connected to the - wristbone; the wristbone's connected to the - arm bone....." This is a word of warning for those of us who have tried to adjust our own RF for infinity focus - be really careful not to apply ANY upward pressure on the roller and arm when inserting or turning the 2mm hex (Allen) wrench!! You can bend or introduce enough play in the arm's vertical location to cause such sticking. No doubt I made this mistake at some point. ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/293403-m10-sticky-rangefinder-coupling/?do=findComment&comment=3885009'>More sharing options...
Travis Hill Posted January 4, 2020 Share #7 Posted January 4, 2020 Advertisement (gone after registration) Thanks everyone. adan thanks for the detailed reply! I found this interesting thread https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/294044-m8-lost-rf-coupling-what-to-do/ a potential solution...I'll consider sending to Leica for a service as it's well overdue. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob L Posted January 12, 2020 Share #8 Posted January 12, 2020 I wouldn't assume that the sticking lever is necessarily a problem with the lever itself, as that lever actuates some very complex activities inside the rangefinder, such as rotating the prism and moving the frame lines for parallax compensation. To my mind the problem is more likely internal. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Hill Posted January 12, 2020 Share #9 Posted January 12, 2020 Thanks Rob. I actually decided to fix the coupling arm myself. It was surprisingly easy to do. All it took was a tiny bit of super lube to free it up (see links below). I've been away on holiday and my lens focuses perfectly, no focus issues whatsoever. The focusing issues had been pestering me for over a year so really happy to have it fixed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeisS81_HrI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTXPLaNPE9o Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikos Pandazaras Posted February 25, 2020 Share #10 Posted February 25, 2020 Unfortunately I got the same problem yesterday on 25th of February 2020. My brand new Leica M10 witch I own for about a month failed. The rangefinder focusing arm at first it was not performing well for a few minutes, then stuck and doesn't moving unless you detach the lens off. Today I visit my local Leica dealer here in Athens, Greece for inspection and service. They have to send it in Germany Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
01maciel Posted March 15, 2020 Share #11 Posted March 15, 2020 Same problem here. The rangefinder of my M10 got sticky and focussing doesn't work anymore. I guess I need to talk to Customer Care. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikos Pandazaras Posted March 19, 2020 Share #12 Posted March 19, 2020 (edited) On 3/15/2020 at 6:23 PM, 01maciel said: Same problem here. The rangefinder of my M10 got sticky and focussing doesn't work anymore. I guess I need to talk to Customer Care. Unfortunately you should send it to the authorised Leica service. I wish you good luck and positive energy! I am still waiting for mine patiently. After a contact with the customer service in Germany, they said usually takes about 2-3 weeks, and I will receive it by the end of the month. I am following the repair tracking, it seems to be in service order since 5/3. Edited March 19, 2020 by Nikos Pandazaras Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
01maciel Posted March 20, 2020 Share #13 Posted March 20, 2020 I sent the camera "home" to Leica. The M10 is currently being serviced. Hope the best that they all stay healthy. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmourilyan Posted May 17, 2020 Share #14 Posted May 17, 2020 While out shooting a few weeks ago my M10-P suffered a similar fate - the focus arm suddenly stuck when I was out shooting. With the current 'lockdown' restrictions in place I wasn't going to get anything sorted out with Leica in Wetzlar. So I got in touch with Alan at camerworks-uk (www.cameraworks-uk.com). All I can say is that he did a brilliant job. We had a chat about possible causes/diagnosis and reached the conclusion that it needed further investigation. Apparently it was an issue with the focus arm assembly - two pieces of metal in the assembly that rub against one another had started to stick. It needed a tiny drop of grease to free up the action and it was all sorted. According to Alan it is becoming a more frequent issue, he had a number of other cameras in, including a Monochrom, that were suffering the same problems. In terms of turn around, I sent it up to him on a Wednesday and it was back with me within 10 days. Superb service and I now have my camera back to full working order. Can't rate the service highly enough, and it probably saved me months had I sent it off to Germany. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxHu Posted May 25, 2021 Share #15 Posted May 25, 2021 My M10 rangerfinder got stuck 2 days ago and I found the reason. As the picture show below, in the rangerfinder, lens rear fringe drive Part I, and Part I drive part II via a metal point(red dot) of Part I rub the edge of Part II (red line), here is the cause of sticky-----two metal parts interact via sliding friction rather than rolling friction, and due to lack of lubrication, Part I and Part II got sticky even stuck some day. Solution: It's very simple, a tiny drop of lube on the touch action surface ! Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Step 1: Remove the top cap It's quite simple, just 2 screws(one is in the button conner, the other one in the battery room), as pictures shows below, easier than M240. Lubrication surface: see pictures below, the dark imprinting line(in red circle) is the scratch mark, put one drop of lube, it's down! 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Step 1: Remove the top cap It's quite simple, just 2 screws(one is in the button conner, the other one in the battery room), as pictures shows below, easier than M240. Lubrication surface: see pictures below, the dark imprinting line(in red circle) is the scratch mark, put one drop of lube, it's down! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/293403-m10-sticky-rangefinder-coupling/?do=findComment&comment=4207630'>More sharing options...
Oswalt Posted May 25, 2021 Share #16 Posted May 25, 2021 2 hours ago, MaxHu said: My M10 rangerfinder got stuck 2 days ago and I found the reason. As the picture show below, in the rangerfinder, lens rear fringe drive Part I, and Part I drive part II via a metal point(red dot) of Part I rub the edge of Part II (red line), here is the cause of sticky-----two metal parts interact via sliding friction rather than rolling friction, and due to lack of lubrication, Part I and Part II got sticky even stuck some day. Solution: It's very simple, a tiny drop of lube on the touch action surface ! Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Step 1: Remove the top cap It's quite simple, just 2 screws(one is in the button conner, the other one in the battery room), as pictures shows below, easier than M240. Lubrication surface: see pictures below, the dark imprinting line(in red circle) is the scratch mark, put one drop of lube, it's down! Screws need to be removed from the bottom of the camera to remove the top plate? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gobert Posted May 25, 2021 Share #17 Posted May 25, 2021 Yes Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxHu Posted May 26, 2021 Share #18 Posted May 26, 2021 5 hours ago, Oswalt said: Screws need to be removed from the bottom of the camera to remove the top plate? yes，a very long Screw (about 70mm )go through from bottom to top Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted May 26, 2021 Share #19 Posted May 26, 2021 5 hours ago, Oswalt said: Screws need to be removed from the bottom of the camera to remove the top plate? Take care: There is a flex cable and connector between camera body and top. Be aware that yoiu will be forfeiting your guaranty. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oswalt Posted May 26, 2021 Share #20 Posted May 26, 2021 (edited) Misquoted. Edited May 26, 2021 by Oswalt Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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