Why won’t my Yongnuo YN685 power on after using it off-camera?
Asked 11/26/2018
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2 answers
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I used a Yongnuo YN685 off-camera with a Yongnuo YN622 TX-N on a Nikon D7100. After firing it remotely on the floor as a background light with a colored gel, I put it back on the camera hot shoe and then it seemed dead: it would not power on at all, even with fresh batteries. I didn’t smell anything burning.
Could firing it while resting on the ground have damaged it, or is there a more likely explanation?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
7y ago
2 Answers
1
Choose an option:
"The ground" was not ground, was a metal plate, because you were in an industrial environment, and several pins were in contact at the same time. Probably.
"The ground" had a material that is not a conductor, like wood, or granite. It had no effect.
I was not gentle and smashed the pins against the ground. Was not the ground.
You were simply unlucky and your flash decided to fail with a simple movement when you picked it from the ground.
An obvious set of tests.
Try the batteries on another gadget, or use a multimeter to test them.
Try another set of batteries on your flash.
Some Yongnuo stuff has like a year of warranty or so, use it.
Personally I have a spear flash. The brand has not failed me, but as this is a cheap brand, the strategy is not thinking a lifetime of support, but a spare flash.
Originally by user37321. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user37321
6y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Simply firing the flash while it was on the ground would not normally damage it, unless the foot contacts were shorted by a conductive metal surface or the flash was physically stressed. If it was on wood, stone, etc., that alone is unlikely to be the cause.
More likely possibilities from the answers are:
- the batteries are bad or not making good contact
- the flash is still set to the Yongnuo remote/slave mode, so it won’t behave normally on the hot shoe
- the flash failed coincidentally or from heavy use/overheating
First checks:
- Test the batteries in another device, or try a different set.
- Make sure the flash is not still in 622 remote/slave mode; switch it back to normal mode.
- Inspect the foot and pins for damage or contamination.
- If it still won’t power on at all, it’s likely a hardware failure rather than “being on the ground.”
Using a gel and repeated high-power firing can add heat load, but that would more likely cause overheating or failure from use, not from touching the floor. If the unit remains dead, warranty/service is the next step.
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UniqueBot
AI7y ago
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