Vivitar 285HV flash

[Mike D90]

I won a Vivitar 285HV flash in mint condition (said it was used once and I believe it) as it is extremely clean and still in box.

I suppose it has sat for a while without being used.

I am trying to "form" the capacitor so it will work again. Will the "AA" batteries do this or will I need the SB-4 AC adapter?

So far, I have had it on for an hour or more and it still has not charged the capacitor.

This is a beast of a flash unit and can even be used on DSLR due to its 6V trigger voltage, however, without TTL function.

I plan to buy two or three more of these for studio flash off camera.

 

[WayneF]

It sounds already failed and bad, or odds seem just as good that it is some other failed electronic issue. Like maybe corroded battery terminals not making contact is pretty common.

The flash capacitor and flash tube operate on high voltage, in the order of 200 volts (bigger speedlights are often 300+ volts). This source is a power converter in the flash which runs on the AA batteries. If capacitor is the actual cause, and fresh batteries don't do it, you probably need a new flash, or at least a new capacitor (which can be quite dangerous to the inexperienced attempting to install).

The AC power supply is NOT the answer, because if the capacitor does need forming, it just better insures the capacitor does blow up. Forming a capacitor also involves limiting the current so it does not fail when hitting it with high voltage while leaking so badly. External power packs generally output the high voltage directly to the capacitor, speeding up recycle (greater current capacity than the little converter). That higher current would be the opposite of limiting the current, which probably insures a very leaky one fails, sometimes with a bang. If not already failed... if that is the actual problem.

Sorry this is no help, but the AC power is not the answer. It would surely still need AA batteries to power the other electronics, so corroded battery terminals or other issues would still be an issue.

 

[Mike D90]

It sounds already failed and bad, or odds seem just as good that it is some other failed electronic issue. Like maybe corroded battery terminals not making contact is pretty common.

The flash capacitor and flash tube operate on high voltage, in the order of 200 volts (bigger speedlights are often 300+ volts). This source is a power converter in the flash which runs on the AA batteries. If capacitor is the actual cause, and fresh batteries don't do it, you probably need a new flash, or at least a new capacitor (which can be quite dangerous to the inexperienced attempting to install).

The AC power supply is NOT the answer, because if the capacitor does need forming, it just better insures the capacitor does blow up. Forming a capacitor also involves limiting the current so it does not fail when hitting it with high voltage while leaking so badly. External power packs generally output the high voltage directly to the capacitor, speeding up recycle (greater current capacity than the little converter). That higher current would be the opposite of limiting the current, which probably insures a very leaky one fails, sometimes with a bang. If not already failed... if that is the actual problem.

Sorry this is no help, but the AC power is not the answer. It would surely still need AA batteries to power the other electronics, so corroded battery terminals or other issues would still be an issue.

Actually, this is a help. I have done a lot of reading on this and seems that it can take many many hours to form the capacitor again and most will eventually come back to life.

This flash is immaculate and there is no corrosion whatsoever anywhere in the battery compartment or battery holder.

I was just able to revive an older Vivitar 2800 that wouldn't work at first. took me a couple of nights of fooling with it to get it to fire. Now it works fine. I hope this 285HV will do the same.

Using the "AA" batteries makes sense so as to give the capacitor a "slow" charge so that is what I will do and is what is mostly recommended.

I ahve read the best way to do this is turn it on for a few minutes then shut it down for a few hours. Turn it on again and let it charge for a few minutes and then off to rest for a few hours. Do this over and over and eventually the capacitor will form.

 

[Mike D90]

Update:

This flash never did come back to life. Seller gave me an immediate refund with no issues at all. Flash is being returned.

Just in case you shop eBay look for "Tuvideals". Great seller and honest.