Malfunction after wired remote on D90

everprentice

Senior Member
As suggested by Don Kuykendall, I am making a new post on my predicament.

This is the whole story: I bought a used D90+grip. It came with a shutter release cable remote as a bonus from the seller.
The camera was in great condition and have been using it for 2 weeks now.

Earlier today I decided to test the remote. I had two good and charged batteries in the grip. I attached it while the camera was off as suggested by the manual. When I turned it on, the camera won't. The window displayed the available shots but the camera did not turn on normally and was unresponsive. I turned it off, took the batteries out and detached the grip. I attached the battery cover and inserted a battery and the window was blank. I turned it on but it didn't. I tried using different batteries and even re-charged them but to no avail. :confused::blue::grey:

Does anybody have an experience with this problem?

Also, I am starting to believe that the remote was the culprit and may have not been in good working condition. Do you think it would be ethical to go after the seller?
 

Dave_W

The Dude
It kind of sounds like the grip short circuited your camera. It's a somewhat common occurrence and I've read (and google found) several examples of a grip shorting out cameras
 

Whiskeyman

Senior Member
I'm not familiar with this. Were I you, I'd contact a camera store, in person or by phone, and ask if they have any experience with this and if so what they did to resolve it. Or contact the seller and ask if they have any ideas.

Is the grip a Nikon or an aftermarket part?

WM
 

Ruidoso Bill

Senior Member
The camera worked for two weeks prior to plugging in the remote, I would be looking at what the remote did. Is it from a store or individual? Store take it back, individual I would still contact. If the camera does not power on even without the grip you have a camera needing repair.

It is not a question of ethics, if the seller supplied the remote I would ask him for assistance.
 
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everprentice

Senior Member
Appreciate your replies. The grip is Nikon. I have contacted the seller (individual) about this. No reply yet. I will try to contact Nikon service center too. Will make updates on what happens next.
 

Mike D90

Senior Member
I been doing some reading because I too own a D90 and am curious as to the issue.

Would like to know if you are trying to turn the camera on with or without a lens attached?

If so, remove the lens (place a body cap on if you have one) and try the camera power without the battery grip using a standard battery.

Also, check the battery contacts inside the camera and see if they look at all corroded. Try cleaning them with a pencil eraser.
 

everprentice

Senior Member
Hi. Tried turning it on without and without the lens, the grip, swapped lenses and even the cards. Still to no avail. I suspect the camera is shorted because the LED doesn't light up when I insert a card while the camera is turned off. I worried. I know Nikon repairs cost a lot.
 

Mike D90

Senior Member
Hi. Tried turning it on without and without the lens, the grip, swapped lenses and even the cards. Still to no avail. I suspect the camera is shorted because the LED doesn't light up when I insert a card while the camera is turned off. I worried. I know Nikon repairs cost a lot.

I have read a lot of articles on the D90 main power circuit board issues. Hope I never have this problem.
 

everprentice

Senior Member
Thanks mike. I stumbled on this video that might explain what happened when I inserted the release cable: D90 GP-1 Repair.mov - YouTube

In this video the narrator says the connector (even on the Nikon GPS) is not snug fit and the play can damage the PCB. This might have caused the short to the system.

Update: I have contacted the seller but no response yet. I contacted KEH and told me they might need to send the camera to Nikon in event the PCB needs replacement because Nikon doesn't sell them those parts anymore.
 

everprentice

Senior Member
Nothing has changed since the incident. Camera still won't turn on. Contacted the seller and he is willing to take the defective camera if the shop says the board got shorted out by the release. I am contemplating of either sending to APS or United both in the Chicago area. However, after phone calls, I am inclined to ship it to the former because the person in the other end seemed to know a lot more about the repair process.
 

everprentice

Senior Member
Update: I just got an e-mail from another camera repair shop and I'm told it may have been a blown fuse. After a lot of searching, I found this link:
Dean d70s!!!: Nikon DX SLR (D40-D90, D3000-D7100) Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review. The guy sent his D70s to Nikon and was repaired with a replacement of a fuse.

I searched for a D90 repair manual and finally found one. There are three fuses, on in the power drive PCB, another in SB PCB(the one that interfaces with the flash) and another in the SB/IF PCB.

Here are the phenomena and the respective blown fuse:
1. If powerdrive PCB fuse is blown, D90 can't be powered by battery but not by AC OR powered by AC but not by battery
2. If SB PCB fuse is blown, Speedlight can't be charged OR shutter can't be released
3. If SB/IF PCB fuse is blown, D90 can't be powered by AC but by battery
 

everprentice

Senior Member
Received the estimate from APC and here is an overview of what needs work on the camera:

Type Code/Part No. Item Description
Labor 2059 Replace main FPC (main circuit board) <<---FPC is flexible printed circuit
Labor 2124 Replace electrical circuit
Labor 465 Firmware update
Labor 3034 Adjust lens mount adjustment
Labor 3462 Adjust focus accuracy
Labor 5055 Clean and check CCD/CMOS
Labor 7282 General check, adjust and clean

Price: $290

I went on the phone with a tech and was told that the remote might have shorted the circuit. The repair is expensive but I believe it is justifiable. I went through details in the Service Manual and there are a lot of things they do to tune-up the camera and make sure it is up to the standards. However, since the seller provided the remote he was willing to work out something with me.

Bottomline, the GPS port is D90's achilles heel. Apparently, many have experienced some problems with the port. Though I haven't found much online about the camera shorting out because of inserting a remote it is still a possibility (proven by my experience).
 

everprentice

Senior Member
The seller wasn't agreeable to spend for the repair so he took the camera back and refunded me the money. So my advice, think twice before you stick something in your GPS port :p
 

Mike D90

Senior Member
The seller wasn't agreeable to spend for the repair so he took the camera back and refunded me the money. So my advice, think twice before you stick something in your GPS port :p

Well, my radio triggers plug into the GPS port to fire the shutter. I have had no issues so far. I always turn the camera OFF before plugging in anything there.

Thanks for the update!
 
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