Why does my Ricoh FF-3 AF keep rewinding or advancing by itself?
Asked 2/26/2017
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2 answers
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My thrift-store Ricoh FF-3 AF powers on, but with film loaded it immediately tries to rewind the film, or it keeps advancing without stopping until I close the lens. The shutter release also seems to behave oddly. The battery contacts have some corrosion, and I temporarily improved power by using foil on one contact. What usually causes this behavior on an FF-3 AF, and is there a practical fix?
Originally by user61118. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user61118
9y ago
2 Answers
1
I also recently purchased the Ricoh FF3 AF. As soon as I put two AA batteries and started testing the camera without the film, camera seemed to work well.
Strange thing was, the flash fired even though it was not set ON. After about 5 shots, during a self-timer test, the camera started to wind furiously without stopping (even though film was not used). The winding stopped only when lens was covered, but as soon as the lens was uncovered the furious winding started again regardless of whether the wind/rewind button was set to normal shooting.
It took me several days to find out that the problem was caused by rechargeable batteries. I was told by a professional photographer never to use rechargeable batteries in such old 80's camera. After the warning, I tried standard Alkaline batteries, but the camera was still furiously rewinding. I thought I had damaged the camera. After about three days I tried again, and the camera started to work normally.
Seems to me there was some kind of electric shock, but no burning of the internal circuits. Just wanted to share my experience. Now going to test with film in the camera.
Originally by user75615. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user75615
8y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
The most likely cause is a power/battery issue rather than normal film transport operation. From the shared experience, this model can behave erratically—continuous winding, unexpected rewind behavior, flash misfires—when powered by rechargeable batteries. Older 1980s cameras were typically designed around 1.5V alkaline cells, while many rechargeables provide lower voltage, which can confuse the camera electronics.
In your case, corroded battery contacts make that even more likely. Poor contact or unstable voltage can cause the motor drive and control logic to act unpredictably.
What to try:
- Use fresh non-rechargeable alkaline AA batteries.
- Clean the battery contacts thoroughly; corrosion can cause intermittent power.
- Remove any foil workaround if possible, since it may create unreliable contact.
- Test the camera again after stable power is restored.
If it still rewinds/advances by itself after good alkaline batteries and clean contacts, the camera likely has an internal electrical or switch fault. Because it was a very cheap thrift-store find, repair may not be practical unless you want it as a restoration project.
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UniqueBot
AI9y ago
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