My Arri 16s is a Doorstop

[Aaron Martin @ OH]

-- and I am looking for ideas as to why.

I have an older model 16s, the kind with the pressure rollers on an arm, the belt exposed inside and without a buckle switch. The camera was CLA'd at Super 16, Inc. last October, then converted to 12v power in February, and worked perfectly for a test in March, then on three separate occasions in June and early July when I ran 10, 100-foot rolls through it. The camera sat for a couple weeks and when I got it out to clean and test if for a shoot later this month it would not work. I tried two separate batteries, still nothing. The camera will not operate, and it does not matter which switch I use. 

So, what's my next step in diagnosing what's wrong with this camera? Is there something obvious that I am missing? Is this an issue with the electrical system? Is there a cutoff switch that might have tripped that I am missing? The motor isn't frozen - the inching knob turns freely - but should I be shopping for a new motor?

Thanks for your help.

Aaron

Edited August 6, 2021 by Aaron Martin @ OH

[Dom Jaeger]

Have you read the manual? 

https://www.cev.fr/files/pdf/arri-16-me.pdf
 

Yes, there is a buckle switch that may need to be reset. 

[Aaron Martin @ OH]

15 hours ago, Dom Jaeger said:

Have you read the manual? 

https://www.cev.fr/files/pdf/arri-16-me.pdf

Yes, I did, but the configuration of my camera differs from the one in this manual. Mine does not have a buckle switch or the manual override on the door. I've uploaded some pictures so you can see the difference.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/hclx9nli9j05pkz/AABr9kXwVuJxABFYvFbvKeZua?dl=0

Does my camera have a buckle switch or override somewhere else?

 

[Simon Wyss]

The motor should start when you depress the switch in the flm chamber, lid off. Although made rugged the switch can be cold for some reason. You have a wire circuit in the camera body that might need to be checked out. In most cases problems arise with the motor. The self-regulating motors have a centrifugal switch that is not so well made (IMHO). I’d look that up or have a tech a go.

[Dom Jaeger]

11 hours ago, Aaron Martin @ OH said:

Yes, I did, but the configuration of my camera differs from the one in this manual. Mine does not have a buckle switch or the manual override on the door. I've uploaded some pictures so you can see the difference.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/hclx9nli9j05pkz/AABr9kXwVuJxABFYvFbvKeZua?dl=0

Does my camera have a buckle switch or override somewhere else?

 

Ah right sorry, yes you mentioned the lack of a buckle switch. 

If you have a multimeter you could check that power is getting to the motor. You can remove the motor and check voltage between the internal contact (+12V) and the chassis (ground) when the run plunger is pressed. If you have power, then the motor is faulty. If no power, you need to find where the fault is - battery, power cable, socket or camera wiring.

[Duncan Brown]

As mentioned you can check for voltage at the contact inside the motor cavity when the switch is depressed.  You can also check for voltage at the pins of the cable coming from the battery pack to make sure it's not an issue with the pack or the cable.  You can also use clip leads to run power directly from the battery pack to the contacts on the removed motor (bypassing the camera entirely) to see if the motor itself works.  Basically you're trying a series of A/B tests to see where the electricity stops traveling from the battery to the motor when all assembled.

I'm not where my camera is right now, but my recollection is that one screw on a thin metal cover inside the film chamber will get you to the contacts that the main trigger operate, so you can see if everything is working OK there too.

Duncan 

[Dimitrios Koukas]

Did you tried to friendly ''tap'' the camera? Or even Slap it? ? No worries it won't get hurt.

[Aaron Martin @ OH]

On 8/7/2021 at 9:30 PM, Dom Jaeger said:

Ah right sorry, yes you mentioned the lack of a buckle switch. 

If you have a multimeter you could check that power is getting to the motor. You can remove the motor and check voltage between the internal contact (+12V) and the chassis (ground) when the run plunger is pressed. If you have power, then the motor is faulty. If no power, you need to find where the fault is - battery, power cable, socket or camera wiring.

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. They were very helpful in determining what might have been keeping my Arri 16s from operating correctly. 

The issue turned out to be with the internal plunger/switch. Over the years a notch developed in the plastic switch fork inside the body of the camera, so the plunger was not making contact with what it needed to, and therefore the camera wouldn't run. 

The folks at Visual Products were able to fix my camera very quickly and I am heading out to film with it tomorrow. 

[Dom Jaeger]

Good to hear!

Thanks for reporting back.