Replacing the flash light

Saddie79

Hi,

My flashlight is dead and I was wondering if anyone ever attempted to replace it on their own. I know this might seem like too much to take on, but I wanted to see if anyone has done it before.

Thank you!

bruto

I have not done this myself. I've fussed with other electronic flashes in the past, and difficulty ranges all the way from dead easy to impossible.

One thing you should always keep in mind is that the current for an electronic flash is stored in a capacitor, which, when the flash is fired, releases a sudden charge which can be extreme, even in rare cases lethal. Unless you know how to insure that that capacitor is discharged, do not mess with a flash. This is true even of the flashes in disposable cameras. They pack a huge wallop!

A little quick google searching (probably the best keyword will be 'flash tube') suggests that the part itself is pretty cheap. The flash tube is very cheap, and even the whole pop up unit is not bad, but it also looks as if the job will require some dis assembly and soldering, as I don't think the flash tube is replaceable like a regular bulb.

And I will repeat, just for the record, that the current from one of these things can be EXTREMELY LARGE, enough to cause physical injury.

bruto

@saddie79, I found a site in which you can see the basic dis-assembly procedure for the D5100:

https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Nikon+D5100+Teardown/5271

At one point you can see where the top with flash unit is removed. From there it should not be too hard to replace either the unit or the flash tube.

I have not looked at other similar models to see if there is a flash-specific procedure, but if you look around more, you may find something, depending on your taste for adventure!