A700 controlswitch replacement

Very cool. Did you try an electrical contact cleaner?

Ahoy!

That's a lot of work.

The control wheel skipping issue is well documented and there's plenty of threads on Dyxum about it. All you needed was either some Eclipse or lens cleaning fluid and job done. It takes 30 seconds and is known to work. You could use electrical contact cleaner, but a fast evaporating fluid works best. It's simply a means to an end in order to remove a build-up of fluff and general dust and debris which then allows the control wheel to make proper contact much like cleaning the lens connectors both on the camera and the lens as they can build up a layer of tarnish over time and case a poor contact thereby causing some annoying function errors.

Just put the nozzle containing the fluid on each side of the control wheel and squeeze a few drops towards the centre and the rotate the control wheel rapidly to and fro until the fluid evaporates. That's it, job done!

I agree, job well done! I replaced my control wheels also, not really that hard (except for putting the screws back to where they came from) if you have the service manual and is a permanent fix unlike trying to clean them with fluids which is only temporary in my experience.

Edited by stiuskr - 19 November 2014 at 00:21

I have now disassembeld the controlwheel completely and I can tell You that the "airblowing method" is just placebo. There is not a chance in the world that the air will reach the electrical contacts. The problem is not dust that can be removed by air. The problem is more likely caused by oxide on the lead lines (is that correct english?)
It's the excercise of the switch while blowing that might help temporarily. Same thing with contact cleaner. I doubt that the cleaner will ever reach all the way to the contacts.

Please have a look a this Youtube clip.



http://youtu.be/qQUAa3isfzA

Edited by Jorgen1 - 19 November 2014 at 18:27

Thanks for posting the YT video. The control wheel and the rotary switch are two separate pieces with the switch being buried in a well with no way to get to the contacts without disassembling the switch itself.

Thanks ratboy. Very simple but very functional
The numbering refers to the drawings in the manual where the screws are shown

Bob J wrote: Well done for tackling such a job and many thanks for documenting it so well - this will be useful to lots of people!

+1. Contact cleaner is only a temporary solution to get you out of a bind, but in the end this is the only permanent way to fix the problem and keep your A700 in top condition.