Bolex EL lost power :(

tom lombard · August 13, 2017

Bolex EL I got a few months ago was running fine off of an AC adapter as well as off of a battery pack I put together. It didn't come with any power supply so I also bought a couple (in case I needed a spare) Tuchel to wire up & hook to the EL. Everything was fine to the point that I ran a 100' test roll thru the camera. After seeing how the test roll went (looked OK), I wanted to do some more testing with different lenses & such so I loaded up another 100' and the EL would barely fire off of either my (recharged) batteries or the AC adapter. It would let me take single frames but other settings (24 fps mostly) would fire for a couple frames at most & then stop. That was what was going on when I was initially dealing with poor batteries (and no AC at the time) so I started looking at my wiring. No surprise to find my (amateur) soldering didn't hold up at by battery holder so I started from scratch with that spare Tuchel and a spare battery holder. Got the whole thing together but nothing fires from the EL. Same with batteries or AC adapter. I checked voltage coming out of the female connectors of the Tuchel and I'm getting proper voltage (batteries or AC). EL seems absolutely dead. Can't single frame even and internal meter doesn't come on. The power connection of the EL does have some play that I don't recall being there before. Not much but def has a wiggle to it and rotates a couple of degrees. Might the power connector of the EL have come loose internally? Is there a magic reset button on the EL I'm overlooking? Any additional thoughts? Thanks, Tom

Tyler Purcell · August 13, 2017

It's probably just the fuse. I'm not sure how the EL is configured, but the EBM has the fuse on the bottom of the camera where the tripod mount is.

tom lombard · August 13, 2017

Ah... hadn't thought about the fuse. Now that you mention it, I recall wanting to look at it when I first got the camera but wasn't able to get the plate off the bottom. That does give me something to try & get to now. However, I thought I'd hotwire the 4 pins coming out of the camera and bypass my other wiring just to double check it wasn't my soldering. When I do hook it up, I get an internal click and see that it's trying to advance a frame but doesn't have power to do it. Makes me wonder if it's not the fuse because it would be open if the fuse blew so I shouldn't hear or see anything happening. May be fuse is not blown but is still the issue. Any suggestions on getting the plate off anyone? Screws were removed and I did a variety of tapping & poking but it wouldn't budge. I could squirt some penetrant along the edge of the plate but would want to be very sparing in doing so. The EL is a MK I if that makes any difference in an answer. Thanks, Tom

tom lombard · August 14, 2017

Looks like the fuse! Managed to get the plate off the bottom (put a bolt in the tripod mount & tightened it up with a nut then a bit of wiggling & pulling). The fuse looks good but multimeter says no continuity. I'll grab a fuse tomorrow & likely be back in business. Under the plate was a badly deteriorated piece of foam that looks like it was intended to keep stuff from getting into some access holes. Rather than replace the foam, I'll hotmelt a bit of fabric in there to cover those holes. Will report back after replacing fuse.

tom lombard · August 14, 2017

Manual I have & what I'm finding online just show how to replace the fuse but I'm not finding anything to identify it. Looks like maybe 3 amp (which would make sense). Anyone knows for sure, let me know. Thanks, Tom

tom lombard · August 14, 2017

I got out a magnifying glass and it looks like its 2A 250V. Prior to that, I went to the garage & pulled the 3A fuse out of my lawn tractor. The fuse out of the Bolex is longer & narrower so suspect it's of European descent and not of American automotive lineage. I'll be researching but would appreciate anyone knowing what I need & where I can get it letting me know. Thanks, Tom

This it...?

https://www.radioshack.com/products/radioshack-2-0a-250v-5x20mm-slow-blow-glass-fuse-4-pack

2.0A 250V 5x20mm Slow-Blow Glass Fuse Edited August 14, 2017 by tom lombard

Tyler Purcell · August 14, 2017

Sounds right, it should work. I mean as long as the fuse doesn't have a higher amp rating then what you pulled out, it should be fine.

tom lombard · August 15, 2017

I went to a local TV/electronics shop and, boom, he had a 5 pack of just what I needed for $2.95. GM-GMA2.0 (2.0 Amp GMA Mini Fuses) is what's on the package. And it's good that they come in a 5 pack as I had the EL lying on my workbench with the open bottom towards me, popped in a fuse, plugged the connector into my battery pack and... flash from the fuse. She blew :( Only 2 things I could think of were that something, indeed, happened to the EL electronics internally or I had wired something together backwards. I took the outer part of the Tuchel off so I could see my wiring... hmmm... when I referred so a diagram online in putting it together, the 2 connectors on the left were positive but was that on the left when viewed from the front or the back. Easiest & quickest thing to do was cut the lead, strip the ends, and put in jumpers but cross them over. The EL now fires and fuse remains intact. The jumpers didn't make a great connection so I've got a couple of wires to solder but that seems to be what my issue has been. I guess the right sized screwdriver and the extra fuses is something to add to my emergency kit.