On the side of the gear where there's no metal switch ( side with cam http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cam )
There's a slot to make it easier to reassemble the motor assembly, this slot has to be in the position where the motor is.
Fixing a Nikon D80 with err problem
- Thread starter fatigue
- Start date
On the side of the gear where there's no metal switch ( side with cam http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cam )
There's a slot to make it easier to reassemble the motor assembly, this slot has to be in the position where the motor is.
I'm not sure what I did differently this time, I popped open the the gear box one more time to make sure the gear was in the right place and it was. Put everything back together and I'm taking photos again! Thank you so much for your photos and walkthrough, you saved me a couple hundred dollars (which I don't think is worth it for the d80 anymore) or a new camera.
For anyone else following along I'll add the steps I followed to take things apart -- note that they might not be in the best order as I was fumbling to figure things out.
1. Remove bottom plate (total of 8 screws)
2. Remove 2 screws (shorter) from the right side of the camera, and 2 longer screws from the left.
3. Peel up the sticker on the AF/M switch and remove the screw and switch
4. Remove the right hand grip, there is one screw in the battery comparment
5. Remove the left hand grip, there is one screw
6. Now it should be easier to remove the back plate, you'll have to remove a ribbon
7. Remove four screws from the front plate, 2 are right on the front, 2 are under the flash
8. Discharge the flash capacitor (I just used a multimeter, I set it to 600 V and used the internal resistance to discharge, took a little while but it is worth not shocking myself or the electronics later on)
9. Remove the rear shield and circuit board, there are 7 screws holding the shield to the board/frame, and one screw just for the board. There are four screws under the board that you will need to remove later, that is the only reason for removing the board, so you don't need to remove it completely, just enough that it works for you. I removed a couple ribbons and a quick connect wire bundle like Fatigue did.
10. Remove the top of the camera- Remove the +/- wheel sticker and remove the screw and wheel. I forgot to write this one down but I think there are just four screws to remove and it comes off. You'll have to remove a ribbon. Leave the wires attached and just get it out of your way, like Fatigue shows
11. Remove the AF assist illuminator board - remove the three screws holding it in place as well as the three ribbons. Just let it dangle off the camera.
12. Remove 2 screws from the eye piece so that you have easy access to the two screws under it.
13. Unsolder the 4 wires on top and the black wire on bottom.
14. Remove 5 screws from the front of the camera that hold the mirror box in place (when looking into the front, the black screw is in the top right, two stubby screws on the bottom (one under tape), and two skinny screws on the left)
15. Remove 4 screws from the rear that hold the mirror box in place
16. Remove mirror box
17. You can now remove a couple screws to pull off the motor, and another couple for the gear box
18. Reassemble in reverse order
Thanks again Fatigue, couldn't have done it without you!
For anyone else following along I'll add the steps I followed to take things apart -- note that they might not be in the best order as I was fumbling to figure things out.
1. Remove bottom plate (total of 8 screws)
2. Remove 2 screws (shorter) from the right side of the camera, and 2 longer screws from the left.
3. Peel up the sticker on the AF/M switch and remove the screw and switch
4. Remove the right hand grip, there is one screw in the battery comparment
5. Remove the left hand grip, there is one screw
6. Now it should be easier to remove the back plate, you'll have to remove a ribbon
7. Remove four screws from the front plate, 2 are right on the front, 2 are under the flash
8. Discharge the flash capacitor (I just used a multimeter, I set it to 600 V and used the internal resistance to discharge, took a little while but it is worth not shocking myself or the electronics later on)
9. Remove the rear shield and circuit board, there are 7 screws holding the shield to the board/frame, and one screw just for the board. There are four screws under the board that you will need to remove later, that is the only reason for removing the board, so you don't need to remove it completely, just enough that it works for you. I removed a couple ribbons and a quick connect wire bundle like Fatigue did.
10. Remove the top of the camera- Remove the +/- wheel sticker and remove the screw and wheel. I forgot to write this one down but I think there are just four screws to remove and it comes off. You'll have to remove a ribbon. Leave the wires attached and just get it out of your way, like Fatigue shows
11. Remove the AF assist illuminator board - remove the three screws holding it in place as well as the three ribbons. Just let it dangle off the camera.
12. Remove 2 screws from the eye piece so that you have easy access to the two screws under it.
13. Unsolder the 4 wires on top and the black wire on bottom.
14. Remove 5 screws from the front of the camera that hold the mirror box in place (when looking into the front, the black screw is in the top right, two stubby screws on the bottom (one under tape), and two skinny screws on the left)
15. Remove 4 screws from the rear that hold the mirror box in place
16. Remove mirror box
17. You can now remove a couple screws to pull off the motor, and another couple for the gear box
18. Reassemble in reverse order
Thanks again Fatigue, couldn't have done it without you!
Thanks for the information about this problem. I have a D80, I got it at the end of 2006 and I only have just a bit over 14,000 actuations. I am really disappointed in Nikon for making something with a flimsy gear. I'm told the actuation MTBF is 50,000. 14,000 is nowhere near that. And I really baby the camera. I called Nikon today and they said the cost to replace the assy is between $100 to $200. I used to be a quality engineer for big computer manufacturers and when we found a problem like this we went after the vendor who made the part instead of passing the cost on to the poor consumer.
I just expected more. I will talk to them again to see if they can do better, if not I'll have to buy the parts and do it myself. Sigh...
I just expected more. I will talk to them again to see if they can do better, if not I'll have to buy the parts and do it myself. Sigh...
Sorry if I sound clueless, however what switch do you mean, I checked all your pictures, however as a new guy to the camera scene, I have a hard time following what all the small bits and parts are for
Sorry if I sound clueless, however what switch do you mean, I checked all your pictures, however as a new guy to the camera scene, I have a hard time following what all the small bits and parts are for
The one on the right shows one plastic rivet damaged
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Do you have a picture of a fixed gear? Its just it could be nice to see how you put a screw into the plastic part, or U-bend wire. I cant just see how that would work
Too bad I wasn't able to get a picture of a fixed gear. Nowadays nobody sends a D80 for repair.
You will be amazed what a wire can do. Sometimes stroner than the original
Here's some samples:
To hold a shaft in place and to replace a broken gear tooth
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I would be very interested to see a picture of a fixed gear as well, just to get an idea of how to proceed with the repair
Will post a picture if I got a chance to fix one
After a weekend my brother (Techtrino) and I now own two fully functional D80's for about 80 bucks combined! We bought these used with the dreaded "Err" message. We couldn't have done it without this guide, and a few youtube snippets. It took us almost five hours to disassemble my D80, so when we finally got to the gears, we went to full extend to ensure that the problem would be solved. This included removing the old white, almost dried, lubricant they use on the gear, and replacing it with new PTFE lubricant. Also, the electrical goldplates was cleaned, and given conductive lubricant.
We fixed the gear in a different way than fatigue did, by melting the broken platic rivet down, and using some fairly strong super glue to keep it fixed:
This fixed the problem on both cameras.
After the reassembly off my camera, and confirming the fixed had worked, we disassembled and fixed my brothers camera in about 3 hours total!
To all the people considering doing this fix, keep in mind that a good DIY experience is highly recommended, as it can be a bit tricky to disassemble, even with fatigues pictures. Also a good soldering iron/station works wonders as well!
Final picture:
Two working D80's. Now the search for a great lens starts!
Again, thanks to fatigue and Paul Nyholm for the steps necessary to get these cameras working!
We fixed the gear in a different way than fatigue did, by melting the broken platic rivet down, and using some fairly strong super glue to keep it fixed:
This fixed the problem on both cameras.
After the reassembly off my camera, and confirming the fixed had worked, we disassembled and fixed my brothers camera in about 3 hours total!
To all the people considering doing this fix, keep in mind that a good DIY experience is highly recommended, as it can be a bit tricky to disassemble, even with fatigues pictures. Also a good soldering iron/station works wonders as well!
Final picture:
Two working D80's. Now the search for a great lens starts!
Again, thanks to fatigue and Paul Nyholm for the steps necessary to get these cameras working!
Great Photos!! I have had my camera apart before. You might try to access the bottom of the Apeture control unit from the bottom of the camera. Stop disassembly short after the bottom back and right grip COVERS ONLY. Five screws and a spring hold it together. Once freed I was able to repair the grey Gear that has the contacts. There is a small spring that attaches the camera to the unit. Durring reassembly I had to use sewing thread to hold it in place to get it back on the posts. If you are gentile it won't come off though. Tweezers are a big help during this operation. When putting it all back together it is actually nessesary to MASSAGE the motor assy and Grey gear and former cover.... they are all floating parts take your time. The plus side is less chance of part fatigue operator error broken wires and such with a light disassembly. It worked for me! Thank YOU again for the pics they helped with the idea! Besides, you can always keep taking it apart if it does not work!
Besides, you can always keep taking it apart if it does not work!
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Sorry for bumping this thread, however my D80 has just started giving me the Err again. I already did the fix, so I have a hard time believing it can be the same problem again. This time however, I seem to be able to temporarily get the camera to take pictures again, if I press the front button which locks in the aperture for preview, and I click the shutter button. It then allows me to take 1-4 pictures before it Err's again, could this be a completely different problem, or could it be the same again, making me try the fix again?
Thanks!
EDIT: Just tried to take some pictures, it seems like the mirror some times get stuck at the up position so the viewfinder is black Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZ6ywCV0Io4&feature=youtu.be
Thanks!
EDIT: Just tried to take some pictures, it seems like the mirror some times get stuck at the up position so the viewfinder is black
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZ6ywCV0Io4&feature=youtu.be
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Were you ever able to figure this out? I just finished replacing the gear on mine and when I got it back together it have the exact same symptom you indicated. I'm wondering if I had the gear lined up incorrectly or if it's something else I missed.
The gear has an index. The index has to be within the range (yellow arrows)
My photo is not so clear, but if you look closely on the actual part, you will see the arrows.
In fact, there are 3 arrows. The index does not have to be in the middle arrow. As long as it's with the range, it should be fine
Sorry for bumping this thread, however my D80 has just started giving me the Err again. I already did the fix, so I have a hard time believing it can be the same problem again. This time however, I seem to be able to temporarily get the camera to take pictures again, if I press the front button which locks in the aperture for preview, and I click the shutter button. It then allows me to take 1-4 pictures before it Err's again, could this be a completely different problem, or could it be the same again, making me try the fix again?
Thanks!
EDIT: Just tried to take some pictures, it seems like the mirror some times get stuck at the up position so the viewfinder is black
It could be a problem with the motor. It can be refurbished but with cheap replacement available online, just get it replaced
Thanks, so the shutter motor? Also I bought another D80 with an err message, so I might just try to fix that
EDIT: Seems weird that the motor would be broke, the shutter only has around 7000 click, what about the mirror motor?
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One motor serves as shutter motor and mirror motorThanks, so the shutter motor? Also I bought another D80 with an err message, so I might just try to fix that
EDIT: Seems weird that the motor would be broke, the shutter only has around 7000 click, what about the mirror motor?
The brush motor
A bit OOF:embrass:
Dirt from the motor
This is also the usual cause of "Press Shutter Release Button Again" problem on entry level Nikon DSLR
The motor's brush could also be in bad shape so little "magic" has to be done
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