Weird electrical issue? Clean your grounds!

By David S. Wallens
May 23, 2026

No parts, no factory-trained technicians. I had a 40-something-year-old camera with a lagging shutter. Sometimes the camera would take a photo, and sometimes it wouldn’t.

I’d press the button, and nothing would happen. I’d just stand there missing my photo. Frustrating, yes.

A quick online search pointed to the likely cause: the shutter button itself.

The camera’s little red shutter button, the all-knowing internet said, is suspended by four little springs. Over time, those springs lose their springiness. The fix: Disassemble the camera and add some fresh tension to those tired little springs.

Oh, don’t lose the little ball bearings that allow the camera’s clamshell to open and close.

Gulp.

If not major surgery, this still sounded outside my comfort level.

I’ve had this camera since it was new. I didn’t want to mess it up.

I asked Michael at Kiwi Camera Service, our local photography wizard, for his advice. The camera had been sitting for decades here in my office, and he serviced it two or three years ago. Good as new–until recently.

These cameras are very susceptible to weak batteries, he explained upon my recent query.

[Video: How to use a multimeter to solve common electrical issues]

How old were mine? he asked.

Shoulder shrug.

He checked the batteries. Good as new.

Dirty threads on the battery compartment door, he continued with confidence, could also be the problem, as the door completes the circuit.

A little scratch brush, a watchmaker’s tool that resembles a ballpoint pen but with a tip formed in wire brush, magically appeared in his hand. I now see that I can purchase a set of four for the price of lunch.

He cleaned the threads with his little tool. Ten seconds max.

Then he inserted the batteries and buttoned up everything.

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Click, click, click.

The camera was good as new.

Weird electrical issue with your camera, car or whatever? Have you checked the grounds?

 

When you take anything apart put it inside a BIG plastic bag to catch the irreplaceable parts.