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.
Tim Campbell
5D III, 5D IV, 60Da
