Nikon N2000 Seized up

[kennyboy019]

Hello, hopefully you guys can help me with my problem. I have an old Nikon N2000 35mm that is almost totally seized up. I can kind of move the "L, S, C" knob but it does not click, but all the other adjustments are frozen, even the self timer. Is there any way to fix this or is it bricked? It was my grandfathers, and he's not the easiest on his equipment. It also looks as if it may have gotten wet at some point, there's a little sticker on the lower right inside of the film compartment thats solid red. Would soaking it in electrical cleaner be an option or should I disassemble it? It was a gift years ago so I have no $$ in it so far.

 

[tirediron]

It's not worth the effort IMO. The N2000 was a relatively inexpensive consumer-grade body, and you can find better quality film bodies everywhere for <$50. Soaking it in electrical cleaner would NOT be a good move as that would strip out any remaining lubrication and probably damage the mirror & prism coatings. I'd relegate it to paper weight status and look for a replacement.

 

[kennyboy019]

It's not worth the effort IMO. The N2000 was a relatively inexpensive consumer-grade body, and you can find better quality film bodies everywhere for <$50. Soaking it in electrical cleaner would NOT be a good move as that would strip out any remaining lubrication and probably damage the mirror & prism coatings. I'd relegate it to paper weight status and look for a replacement.

Thanks for the reply. I got the top off, and the internal parts actually seem to be fine. Its the actual rotory mechanism thats attached to the top cover. I suppose I could just screw around with it and try to get it working. I was going to use it for a class, but I have a Minolta Maxxum 5 as well. The batteries are just a pain to find where I live.

 

[cgw]

Give it a good funeral. Nice Nikon AF bodies like the 8008s/801s and N90s/F90x are giveaway-priced now--and use AA batteries.

 

[sm4him]

It's dead, Ken.

 

[vintagesnaps]

I have a pair of camera repair books by Tomosy that are I think out of print; if you post what you think is jammed I can look up recommended lubrication. (You might have to clean out dried up gunk first.) Some of the general 'Don'ts' in the book include - "Do not over-lubricate." AND - "Don't be oil happy."

I actually had a camera that seemed jammed, start working again for no apparent reason; my best guess is tension released on some mechanism inside the camera. I don't give up easily! sometimes some tinkering can get an old mechanical camera working again although yours sounds like that may not be possible.

edit - And having looked up your camera if it involves electronics/batteries to function that could be a different story. (I assume you put in new batteries).

Maybe it would be usable as a pinhole style camera, with direct positive paper - or maybe as a doorstop/paperweight.

 

[kennyboy019]

I have a pair of camera repair books by Tomosy that are I think out of print; if you post what you think is jammed I can look up recommended lubrication. (You might have to clean out dried up gunk first.) Some of the general 'Don'ts' in the book include - "Do not over-lubricate." AND - "Don't be oil happy."

I actually had a camera that seemed jammed, start working again for no apparent reason; my best guess is tension released on some mechanism inside the camera. I don't give up easily! sometimes some tinkering can get an old mechanical camera working again although yours sounds like that may not be possible.

edit - And having looked up your camera if it involves electronics/batteries to function that could be a different story. (I assume you put in new batteries).

Maybe it would be usable as a pinhole style camera, with direct positive paper - or maybe as a doorstop/paperweight.

As far as I can tell the actual electronics and mechanics of the camera are ok. Everything I've seen inside the camera looks fine. You remove the top of the camera and the switches themselves are still attached to the body, its just the knobs for the switches that are part of the top case that have frozen. Its weird.

Like I said, Ill just mess around with it and see what happens. I already have a couple of other cameras I can use for my class.