Canon XA20 Lens won't open repeatedly clicks

[aaroncal03]

Hello, 

I have been experiencing an issue with my Canon XA20 on and off for the past few years.  I haven't been able to find much info or others experiencing the same issue so I figured I would reach out here. 

So my issue is,  when attempting to power on the camera,  it just makes a clicking sound repeatedly and won't power off until you remove the battery.   The lens never fully opens so it never fully boots up.   The camera does power on to media mode with no issue.  

It seems to happen most frequently during the cold winter months, tho I am not using it outside during extreme temperatures. 

I do give the camera time to climatize and mostly use it indoors. 

Eventually, after many attempts and clicking the lens will "open" if that's the correct terminology and the camera will work.  It may even work for the next few months but eventually, the same issue will pop up.   

My first thought is maybe moisture is getting inside the camera causing it to stick and malfunction 

It's currently working thankfully so I can't post a video to show it malfunctioning 

Any thoughts

Thank you, 

Aaron 

[Tim · Accepted solution]

aaroncall03, 

We're sorry to hear that this issue occurs with your XA20.  Based on this issue, we recommend sending the camcorder to Canon for evaluation.  

You may fill out an online repair request form at the following link to setup your repair using our online service.

https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/support/service-repair

[Inapickle]

The symptoms you describe bring to mind a similar issue that was seen years back with the Vixia HF series camcorders. Can't seem to insert a link to the webpage, but if you search for 'How To Repair A Canon Vixia Camera (black screen issue)' you'll pull it up, on the 'Tomorrows' Garden' forum. 

I'm NOT AT ALL suggesting that you attempt something like that, which is madness - I'm sure you want to fix the problem, not conduct a post-mortem.

As Tim advised you'd need to send it in to Canon, if you haven't already. No doubt your XA20 is long out of warranty. Depending on the model Canon usually charge a flat rate fee for evaluation and estimate for the repairs. If it's a relatively simple fix (for Canon's Technicians), probably not in this case, it might not incur additional costs, but if it involves changing parts it surely will. Obviously, you need to weigh up if it's worth it.

Edit: Incidentally, when you say 'The lens never fully opens so it never fully boots up' can you actually see the lens sticking when you look down into the lens chamber. During normal operations, when you power on you should see the lens element move (smoothly) from it's rest position at the back of the chamber to the front, and when you power off it should return to the rest position. That's assuming the camcorder was last powered off with the zoom at Wide - if it was 'zoomed in' when powered off, the lens element will move to that same zoom position when you power-on again - it doesn't reset to default Wide position.

Also, by 'never fully boots up' do you mean that the screen stays black. Sometimes power-up/ black screen issues can be caused by bad battery contacts -  does the issue also occur when connected to external power ? If not maybe try cleaning the contacts in the battery chamber. I don't think that is the cause, but try it any way . Also, if you press the zoom rocker (to Telephoto) when the issue occurs (while it's ticking), does it free-up the lens and fully boot up?

Why it occurs more frequently in colder temperatures is anybody's guess. Could be down to contraction/expansion of metal components, especially if the underlying problem is a worn servo motor, or component in the coupling mechansim. Or else corrosion of metal components from condensation.