topic Re: EOS Rebel T2i: the in built flash is not working. What is going on? in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

EOS Rebel T2i: the in built flash is not working. What is going on?

ingridfurtado — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 20:38:10 GMT

I have my EOS Rebel T2i since 2011. But now, the flash compartment is not functioning right. Any time I need use the flash, the flash's "door" does not open and give me a error message.

What is going on with the camera??

Thank you,

Ingrid

Re: EOS Rebel T2i: the in built flash is not working. What is going on?

ColinGlover — Sat, 14 Dec 2013 13:26:24 GMT

There's a little spring loaded catch in one of the runners that tells the camera that there's an external flash attached, This gets stuck and carefully needs pulling back up.

Re: EOS Rebel T2i: the in built flash is not working. What is going on?

TCampbell — Sat, 14 Dec 2013 15:53:34 GMT

What is the error message? Also, when you try to pop-up the flash do you hear any noise?

Re: EOS Rebel T2i: the in built flash is not working. What is going on?

ingridfurtado — Sat, 21 Dec 2013 16:21:20 GMT

The message is: "error 5: the built-in flash could not be raised. turn the camera off and on." 😕

Re: EOS Rebel T2i: the in built flash is not working. What is going on?

ingridfurtado — Sat, 21 Dec 2013 16:25:07 GMT

hi, Colin! I' ve tried to clean it carefully... But it did not work. ( all the springs are working... There is nothing broken) but the flash is still not opening. The only mode i am able to use is with the flash off....Canon has the poker face to charge $200 to just "see" what is the problem. It is an absurd,

Re: EOS Rebel T2i: the in built flash is not working. What is going on?

ingridfurtado — Sat, 21 Dec 2013 16:27:15 GMT

Hi, Tim! The message is: "error 5: the built-in flash could not be raised. turn the camera off and on." 😕

Re: EOS Rebel T2i: the in built flash is not working. What is going on?

ingridfurtado — Sat, 21 Dec 2013 16:28:49 GMT

Tim, the only noise i hear is a "tic tic tic" when the camera is trying to open the flash, then, the error message appears in the screen.

Re: EOS Rebel T2i: the in built flash is not working. What is going on?

ingridfurtado — Sat, 21 Dec 2013 16:30:57 GMT

Colin, how do i do what you are saying? there is any video tutorial i can watch?

Re: EOS Rebel T2i: the in built flash is not working. What is going on?

TCampbell — Sat, 21 Dec 2013 18:36:36 GMT

The three noises you hear are the camera pulling back the latch to allow the flash to pop-up. The catch is spring-loaded and motorized. The flash is also spring-loaded so that once the catch is retracted (looks like a small hook) the flash should just spring-up into firing position.

When the flash is pushed down to close, there's a tiny button which it presses (a micro-switch) which tells the camera that the flash is down. When the camera attempts to release the catch, it expects the micro-switch (button) to pop-up thus indicating that the flash popped up. If it does not, it tries again. After three tries, it will give up and display Err 05.

The fact that you hear the noise tells us that the motor is working.

As you inspect the camera body and specifically the area of the flash, does everything look ok? Any signs of damage?

There could be dirt jamming the mechasm. If anyone has spilled anything on it (e.g. a sugary drink) then it could sticky.

You can *try* this: Press the button to raise the flash while applying a _very_ gentle prying pressure (do NOT use strong force -- don't want to break anything. Just give it a tiny assist so that if it is merely sticky it might just need a little help.

If it is not physically damaged, then it likely needs to be cleaned.

I have seen articles on the internet that suggest you oil it... I would NEVER apply "oil" to my camera. I would probably use a can of compressed air and blow out the hinge area and without fully closing the flash, work it up and down a few times so that if a bit of dirt or dust is jamming the hinge then you would hopefully work it free. Incidentally... don't use compressed air cans on any camera optics. There's a propellant in the can and it can leave a residue on surfaces if you aren't careful. Normally if a can is not shaken and is held "level" the propellant will not spray out. But it will spray out if shaken or if not level and that propellant will leave a hazy residue on the surface.

If this doesn't work, I would not "oil" the camera (that oil can manage to get into a lot of places where you don't want it and a small expense could turn into a larger one) -- I would send the camera in for professional service.

Re: EOS Rebel T2i: the in built flash is not working. What is going on?

CrippleC0ve — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 17:46:40 GMT

In playing with my T3i after using way too much compressed air, I started to mess with the hook that keeps the cover done on the flash. I noticed on my rig that the hook had a little left to right play in it. I carefully pushed it one way and tested it. It didn't do anything. I pushed it the other direction of the slack and it worked. It worked 10 times after that. So the hook was out of alignment. It went out of alignment in the first week I've owned it. But since I use the rig for video it didn't bother me but now I'm been taking stills. hope that helps.