# Nikon F4 with MB-21. No power getting to camera



## inwellington (Feb 20, 2014)

Recently acquired this combination. Camera looks clean. Apparently lightly used.
I put 3 batteries in and nothing works. Have made sure the camera is on, LEDs on MB-21 won't light, same with viewfinder. I read somewhere that batteries at positive end are wider than 6mm, these won't make touch the contact on positive end. Looking carefully at the little recessed contact on positive end, it appears that the positive end of battery may not be making contact. Is there such an issue with the MB-21? Any ideas.

Would appreciate any help.

Regards, Paul.


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## bhop (Feb 20, 2014)

Could just be corrosion in the battery contacts, or if the battery's not making contact as you say, you might just need to stretch out the springy end of the battery holder until it does.


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## Mike_E (Feb 21, 2014)

Will it work without the motor drive attached?

With the MD off of the camera have you tested for voltage from the contacts of the MD?


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## molested_cow (Feb 21, 2014)

Does the camera work without the MB-21?

If there's circuit board in the MB-21 unit, then there's a chance that it's corroded and need to be replaced.


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## compur (Feb 21, 2014)

inwellington said:


> I put 3 batteries in and nothing works. ...  Any ideas.



The MB-21 needs six batteries, not three.


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## Derrel (Feb 21, 2014)

compur said:


> inwellington said:
> 
> 
> > I put 3 batteries in and nothing works. ...  Any ideas.
> ...



AND speaking of batteries: my Nikon MD-12 units and MD-4 will NOT FUNCTION with Duracell "Copper Top" AA-cell batteries, but they DO WORK well with Everready Energizers. It's the weirdest doggone thing...long story, briefly...I bought a huge supply of Copper Tops on sale...and they would NOT WORK in two MD-12's and one MD-4...I took them all back and got a refund...seems like the EXACT dimension or something was not right. The tiny spring contacts in those MD units do NOT make a whole lot of contact. I noticed years ago, that a good number of JAPAN-made AA cells had a small "nipple" on the positive contact...which seemed to add maybe 1/4 mm in total length, as compared to USA-market batteries.


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## inwellington (Feb 22, 2014)

Derrel said:


> compur said:
> 
> 
> > inwellington said:
> ...



To start off, I was told on another forum, as well as here, that the MD-12 requires 6 batteries. I totally missed that when reading a pdf on the MD-12. It took some time to find the second battery holder. So that saved my bacon. 

Regarding the above info about "Copper Top," I did read in the pdf I mentioned, it did say that if the "nipple" exceeds 6mm, they won't work. When I recalled that, I figured incorrectly that that was my problem.

Also in one of the above posts, I did measure voltages on the two pins of the handgrip battery holder and I wasn't getting any voltage so I again incorrectly figured were was an issue with that battery holder. 

I'm just getting into this F4 and have not loaded a roll of film yet. But I'm about to pull the trigger. It is quite complex (the only 35mm camera I had before the F4 was a Pentax Spotmatic) so I may have additional questions.

For starters I'm not seeing any info in the eyepiece on the bottom of the screen. Maybe film has to be in the camera for some feature to work.

Thanks for your collective help.

Regards, Paul.
Picton, Ontario.


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## compur (Feb 22, 2014)

AA & AAA battery dimensions vary a little between brands. I know the Energizers are slightly longer than the Duracells so there may be an electrical contact issue when the shorter batteries are used.


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## 71M (Feb 22, 2014)

Derrel said:


> AND speaking of batteries: my Nikon MD-12 units and MD-4 will NOT FUNCTION with Duracell "Copper Top" AA-cell batteries,


Really? I'm amazed I used Duracells in the MD-4 - that's the F3 one right?


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## 71M (Feb 22, 2014)

*never


71M said:


> Derrel said:
> 
> 
> > AND speaking of batteries: my Nikon MD-12 units and MD-4 will NOT FUNCTION with Duracell "Copper Top" AA-cell batteries,
> ...


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