Z7 Problems

[Tommy]

The only two suggestions I got are:

1) Try a different battery, possibly a new battery, if you can... Maybe your battery is old and no longer holding the required voltage to keep the monitor on...

2) Check the ribbon cable behind the monitor to see if it is damaged or worn out and therefore shortening against the metal frame. Try to move the monitor to see if it comes on and off while moving... That would be your clue that the ribbon cable is damaged...

Thank you very much for the advice. I tried to pull out and turn on the camera, then it worked, but after I close the lid and turn it off, the screen goes out again, and when I turn it on again, the screen doesn’t work, so I need to turn off the camera, open the screen, and then turn on the camera, then it works.

 

[Burt]

Thank you very much for the advice. I tried to pull out and turn on the camera, then it worked, but after I close the lid and turn it off, the screen goes out again, and when I turn it on again, the screen doesn’t work, so I need to turn off the camera, open the screen, and then turn on the camera, then it works.

So when the monitor is in the close position the ribbon cable damage is touching the metal frame and preventing the monitor from coming on..

Your options are:

1) Pull the monitor out before turning the camera on and turn the camera off before closing the monitor

2) Have a visual inspection. You should be able to see some sort of peeling of the protective coating of the ribbon cable..

You may be able to fix it with some electrical tape. If not, have it replace it... It shouldn't cost much... This is bound to happen if you get dirt or dust and the monitor get pulled out and pushed in often... Consider it a wear and tear part...

What is happening is that when you turn the camera on, because the ribbon cable is shorting the electric circuit, the camera automatically disables the power to the monitor, until you turn the camera off.. So if you pull the monitor out before you turn the camera on, the camera cannot detect the short and the monitor works as usual... It will eventually stop working all together, and you could damage the mosfet that is protecting the camera from shortening the circuit... You need to fix it ASAP...

 

[Tommy]

I examined it visually but didn’t find anything. Is it possible that the tape is damaged from the bottom and not from the top, since I can’t see anything from the top, or that the cable has partially come off the socket?

 

[BF Hammer]

I examined it visually but didn’t find anything. Is it possible that the tape is damaged from the bottom and not from the top, since I can’t see anything from the top, or that the cable has partially come off the socket?

Ribbon cables are notoriously fragile. I do not believe it is a short, but a crack that opens up as you close the screen and the ribbon cable is being folded over the most. An open-circuit rather than a shorted-circuit. I have often wondered just how tough that metal foil glued to Mylar is on my own cameras - as I pull the screen out once again for a low angle shot.

 

[Burt]

I examined it visually but didn’t find anything. Is it possible that the tape is damaged from the bottom and not from the top, since I can’t see anything from the top, or that the cable has partially come off the socket?

The middle part where the cable slide in the frame is where most of the sliding, rubbing occur, so I would say that's where the problem is... All ribbon cable mounts have a lock that should prevent the cable from coming out of the mount...

 

[Burt]

Ribbon cables are notoriously fragile. I do not believe it is a short, but a crack that opens up as you close the screen and the ribbon cable is being folded over the most. An open-circuit rather than a shorted-circuit. I have often wondered just how tough that metal foil glued to Mylar is on my own cameras - as I pull the screen out once again for a low angle shot.

The only difference between an open and short (or closed) circuit is that, like in Tommy case, when the short occurs the camera automatically turn the power off temporarily to the monitor to prevent the frying of the board.. An intermittent open circuit would not require the camera to be turned off and on again to reset the mosfet...
With an open circuit, you normally would only get the flickering of the screen without the need to turn the camera on and off..

Another example of an open circuit is when you take the lens off without turning the power off on the camera... When you put the other lens on, the camera does not need to be turned off and on again, because it was just an open circuit you created by removing the lens..

For a short circuit to happen, there has to be some voltage (Positive) touching the frame (Negative), hence the name short circuit...

If Tommy said that the screen comes on and off without the need to turn the camera off and then on again, then yes, it would definitely be an open circuit..

If you use/move the monitor often, it pays to check for any dirt/dust especially in the middle of the mount where the ribbon is forced to slide against the metal frame... A tiny drop of silicon spray could help, but as usual the best cure is prevention..