Hey guys, I had a quick question. I have been looking for a flash and I've found a canon 430ex on craigslist for about 70 bucks but the capacitor is bad. How difficult is it to replace it? I know there is some danger in it and also if its not too difficult does anybody have instructions? Thanks for the help!
It's fairly basic soldering. The caps in a flash can be dangerous though if you don't know what you are doing. You need to be very careful to discharge the cap properly, or it will discharge through your body when you touch the leads.
If you've never worked with hi capacity capacitors, try asking your local jr college if they would be willing to swap it out for you as a practical learning lesson for the students.
If you can get the flash open without damaging it too much, it's not a tough replacement. Get a 2 watt 100K ohm resistor. Its pretty hefty looking. Touch the leads of the resistor to each end of the Capacitor leads. Hold it with a pliers, not your bare fingers. This will discharge the cap.
The bleed-off only takes a second. Very Important !!! Beware of the polarity when replacing it, Caps only go in one way. The + and - are marked on the PC board and the Cap itself. Also, if the cap is already dead, It wont' have much or any charge in it. Just remember, you'll need to get the exact capacitance replacement, from a good supply house, such as Allied or Newark electronics.
If it is on Craigslist how can you be certain the problem is just the capacitor? Has the seller had it apart? The first thing to go is usually the flash tube, often the result of a drop or excessive use without sufficient cooling.
But even if there are other problems Canon repairs flashes for a fixed rate of about $130. So at $70 + the cost of repair you'd still be money ahead. Canon also sells parts for flashes. I have the parts manual so if you do decide to buy and DIY send me a PM and I'll e-mail you a copy.
Replacing a bad cap in a 430EX is a probably a trivial repair. I've never worked on a 430EX, but the the OEM Canon replacement caps for most models of their small flashes come with attached leads and a push-in connector, so there's no soldering required.
But, if the problem isn't a bad cap, or if there's any other damage, there's a good chance that it can't be economically repaired.
A used 430EX (not mark II) is worth around $150 on the used market. IMHO, you're better off shelling out $150 for a working used flash than risking $70 on a broken one that you may not be able to repair.
Replacing a bad cap in a 430EX is a probably a trivial repair. I've never worked on a 430EX, but the the OEM Canon replacement caps for most models of their small flashes come with attached leads and a push-in connector, so there's no soldering required.
But, if the problem isn't a bad cap, or if there's any other damage, there's a good chance that it can't be economically repaired.
A used 430EX (not mark II) is worth around $150 on the used market. IMHO, you're better off shelling out $150 for a working used flash than risking $70 on a broken one that you may not be able to repair.
