The meter needle of my Leica CL wasn’t moving at all, so I decided to take it apart and see what the problem was.
As it turns out the metering device, a galvanometer, is broken. When measuring the resistance of the coil, which should be around 3.8kΩ, I get an open circuit. This means that somewhere inside there is a wire that is disconnected, and I decided to take the galvanometer apart and try to repair it. Here are some pictures of the disassembling process and of what’s inside the galvanometer.
We want to remove the linkage for the shutter speed indicator. Put the shutter dial on the B position and unscrew that top screw that holds the spring in place.
Before you remove the arm, loosen the screw in the red box, till you can move the metal piece on the right. Then gently remove the arm.
Remove the two screws that keep the metering device arm in place
Notice that there are two metal pieces that come off
Gently remove the arm
Unscrew the two screws that you see on the left of where the galvanometer was, and gently remove that device (you will need to desolder the wires from it)
If you unscrew one of the screws on the side of the galvanometer, you can pop the lid off
Before you can remove the coil from its inner housing (that C shaped brass piece with the silver magnet in the middle) you will have to desolder the two hairsprings
This hairspring, and the other on the other side of the coil, provide the spring action for the coil, while also functioning as the electrical contact between the ends of the coil and the outside contacts
As you can see, the hairspring is very small, you will need tweezers, a loupe (or better a microscope), a good soldering iron and a lot of patience
The red arrow points to one of the ends of the coil that attaches to the contact. In my case, both the ends of the coil had to be re-soldered to their contact. It’s a painful and slow process, and if like me you don’t have a microscope and a good SMD soldering iron, it is very much a difficult and trial-and-error process. You will need time and patience.
After several attempts, the coil is connected to both contacts, and the contacts are connected to the hairsprings. As you can see, that soldering spot where the hairspring connects is NOT a good joint, but that’s as good as it gets with my limited tools. To have a nicer and more secure joint you will need a microscope, good tin, flux, and a SMD iron.
The coil back in its frame! After hours of work the galvanometer is finally working again, and can be reassembled and reinstalled on the camera.
The whole process is a delicate and painful one, unless you own a stereo microscope and a good SMD soldering iron. If you contact Leica they can send you the spare part, but it takes 3 weeks to come from Germany (they don’t repair Leica CLs in USA) and it costs more than $80.
Thank you for your detailed photos and notes. I just picked up a CL and I’m having some electrical troubles as well. The battery test button works when pushed in. Also, the meter works, but only when I push the battery test button in slightly (and of course have the advance lever moved out a bit). I’m thinking a loose connection around the battery test button. I’m not sure how that would affect the meter circuit though. Do you have any ideas?
I’m not sure how to get into wiring around the button area. Your teardown where you have the front plate removed (https://garbugli.wordpress.com/2015/04/30/taking-a-leica-cl-apart/2015-04-07-01-12-11/) looks like the wires go pretty far back and don’t look easily accessible.
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Hello, I found an old picture of the metering board of the CL (I don’t have that camera anymore), and you can see it here https://garbugli.files.wordpress.com/2019/03/leica_cl_board.jpeg .
The blue arrow points at a sliding contact, that is pressed by the battery test button. In your case, I think that that sliding contact is pushed too low by its spring, for some reason, so you have to push the battery test button slightly to put it in the right position.
Getting to that board is fairly complicated, and unfortunately I have lost the pictures I took last time I did it, so I can’t help you there. Once you get to it though, it should be an easy fix.
If you don’t want to take the whole camera apart, you could try to glue something on the internal side of that battery test button, so that it pushes the sliding contact in slightly. It’s a hack, but it’s worth a try.
Cheers,
Leo
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Thanks Leo, that is incredibly helpful! I will try your suggestion of modifying the internal side of the button and let you know the results. Cheers!
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Hi Leo,
I just asked about the speed dial. And I’m late on my response about the battery test button. I did exactly as you suggested and glued on a small piece of plastic on the internal side of the button – works great!
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Hello Leo
Any idea for adjust shutter tension of Lecia CL?
Thanks
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I haven’t worked on a CL in a long time, but you can probably find some information here https://learncamerarepair.com/product.php?product=643&category=2&secondary=27
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Hello, the shutter curtain on my CL gets stuck once in a while and i have to push it with my fingers to get it unstuck. Is there a way to tighten the tension of the shutter curtains?
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There is a way to do it but I don’t have that camera anymore and I don’t remember how it’s done. Also, the tension of the spring affects the fast shutter speed timing so increasing the tension blindly might not be the best solution. Perhaps there is something in the mechanism that gets the curtain stuck? Maybe a clean and lubrication is needed? Good luck!
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