HELP! FL36(R) flash bulb replacement

[Gazza_DJ]

Hello, I have an FL36R that's long out of warranty, and I think the bulb has died. It charges, you can hear the capacitors charge, and it discharges when you press the TEST button, but there's no flash.

Obviously in it's current state it is useless, and it will cost more than a replacement to get it repaired by Olympus most likely, so I've got nothing to lose by having a crack myself.

My question is, does anyone know if the bulb is available separately?

[Ross the fiddler]

Originally Posted by Gazza_DJ

Hello, I have an FL36R that's long out of warranty, and I think the bulb has died. It charges, you can hear the capacitors charge, and it discharges when you press the TEST button, but there's no flash.

Obviously in it's current state it is useless, and it will cost more than a replacement to get it repaired by Olympus most likely, so I've got nothing to lose by having a crack myself.

My question is, does anyone know if the bulb is available separately?

You would have a 'cracking time' if you don't discharge it fully before getting your hands into it. Sorry I can't help with sourcing the part you need though, but have you searched ebay for it. You would need to make sure the naming of it is correct, I would think, to get any sensible search results.

Actually, out of my two that I have, one is a little faulty & only firing with certain aperture settings (I think that was it as it has been at least a year since I last played with that one). I haven't considered doing anything else to it (repair wise) since the need hasn't been great for it having the other & FL50R etc.

[Jim Ford]

This ebay seller lists several flash tubes, but not for Olympus:

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Xenon-Flash...p2047675.l2563

Maybe it's worth contacting them to see if they have a compatible item.

Note: I expect you already know that you must completely discharge the main capacitor before fiddling with the flash internals! I suspect a 100K Ohm resister would do it (you'll need to leave it connected for several minutes or more).

Jim

[Gazza_DJ]

I doubt there's any charge left in it, it's been sitting in it's case for a couple years now.

I guess I'll just have to pull the thing out and see if I can ID it that way!

[Graham_of_Rainham]

Originally Posted by Gazza_DJ

I doubt there's any charge left in it, it's been sitting in it's case for a couple years now.

I guess I'll just have to pull the thing out and see if I can ID it that way!

From painful experience capacitors can hold a charge for a very long time. Always best to discharge them and then short them out with a resistor across the ends...

Try These guys