I had disassembled my lens using someone else's video, it turns out it was a very bad idea, because 1/ the video stopped just before the difficult part, and 2/ he made me disassemble parts which didn't need to. Also, there was no video about reassembling the lens afterwards, which can be very tricky without instructions. So, a huge thank you for your video, it was a lifesaver!
Thank you, it took me three hours, but my lens is alive and well, working perfectly again. Great video, very well done and all the right information to take a person that has never done anything like this successfully through doing this repair. I couldn't have done it otherwise, that's for sure!
I cant believe it, I think I found my lens problem. My lens has an intermittent fault that I could not track down. I disassembled the lens to clean some of the elements and thought I would give the tip at 10:30 a try and bend the bar out to give the flex cable a bit more room to move, and the flex broke. I think it had been hanging in there giving an intermittent connection while I was thinking the problem was on the main board. Thank you ever so much for these fantastic videos.
I thanked you for your help tracking down the broken flex cable problem 2 years ago, but my problems didnt end there. After I replaced the flex cable, my lens was still not working, and still giving an error code, so I put the lens away in a cupboard and promptly forgot about it. Fast forward two years and I remember that my camera has been sitting unused for a long time and needed recharging, spotted the broken lens and decided to have another look at it, with the intention of buying a replacement lens for the 17-85mm. But my camera, a 40D would not power on after charging the battery. Tried with other working lenses, no lens, memory card removed, it was dead apart from the red led flashing when I closed the battery lid. I tested the battery and it was fine. I inspected the battery contacts in the body and gave them a clean, and then noticed the back up battery, so I pulled it out and it also tested fine. When I tried to put it back in, I couldnt figure out how to get it back in for a couple of minutes, until I noticed I was trying to insert it in its holder sideways; enough time to well and truly clear the memory. After putting the 3V battery back in and then the main battery, the camera body came back to life. After going through the basic settings, I attached the repaired lens, and it also works! Hopefully it gives me a few more years service as it is a useful lens for me. So once again, thank you for this excellent repair series, and if anybody has the same issue, try clearing the memory.
Excellent re-assembly video for the lens. Now that I have successfully repaired my lens, I would strongly recommend others to disassemble and the rebuild the lens on the same day or consecutive days since there are a many steps to the repair and even with the videos it isn't always clear if you have missed an element until later in the re-building cycle. The lens mechanics are extremely complex (and impressive.) I found what worked best was to lay out all the parts are you remove them into a large box with a white paper lining. Use masking tape (sticky side up) to hold each group of parts and especially the small screws and other small parts. Number the parts on the paper lining as you disassemble the lens - ( this will save you hours later avoiding a missed step or a wrong build sequence.) Work with the lens over a large open box lined with white paper on your work surface so if you drop a very small part it falls into your box. I would advise buying the aperture unit with the cable soldered already, since soldering a new cable is quite difficult (even for an electrical engineer with the correct soldering equipment) and if you soldering the unit wrongly you had a dead lens and many hours of effort wasted. If this is your first such repair, I'd suggest allowing 4 hours minimum for disassembly and perhaps 8 hours or more for re-assembly assuming you have numbered all your parts into small groupings inside your storage box. if you have any problems add another 4 hours. There are a couple of steps missed in the video (inserting the plastic focus ring with the post before inserting the barrel of parts - if you optionally removed this on the dis-assembly- it does simply fall out) so numbering the sequence is extremely useful. In my case I left a gap of about 5 years between disassembly and the re-build so this video was perfect for me. Many thanks !
@@CamerasLensesEtc I used a small fridge magnet and placed the screws in groups with the screw head down. If I moved it or bumped it it didn't matter, they all stayed in place, like a bunch of tiny soldiers. I used another small magnet on my screwdriver shaft because mine wasn't as fancy as yours, already magnatized! I did the same as you mentioned for the key parts. Great video, helped immensely. Thanks!
Thanks for this video. I repaired my 17-85. Great tips for unsoldering. I really like this lens. It went out of service this summer and I found myself with no lens except a 50mm and a 100-400. Not really great for street and landscape. Now I'm with my 17-85 again. Great! I also repaired a first generation 18-55 just before (same aperture flex problem), so I could train myself before trying my new skills on the 17-85. Much more easy to disassemble and reassemble a 18-55 than the 17-85, but the construction quality of a 18-55 is very poor. This 17-85 seems to have a good construction...except the aperture flex conception. Good Idea to bend it to give it some extra shots.
Excellent video - many thanks. Error 01 happened 3 years ago so lens got parked. Successfully fitted a new aperture flex cable today and cleared the error message but on testing found that focus was hunting. Stripped down again and cleaned the focus bar and sensor as per your detailed instructions. Now have a working lens again. Thank you for passing on your knowledge and skills.
Another superb video - many thanks. An interesting note that may help some lens owners stop scratching their heads when wondering where those 4 screws go that are left. I found that when disassembling and reassembling the plastic ring - here at 22:10 or thereabouts, 4 more screws are used on my lens. The hole that is said to stay empty also has a screw as do the 3 other holes left empty in this and other videos.I don't know if Canon did away with the extra screws at some stage. Nevertheless, lens works perfectly again. Many thanks.
@@CamerasLensesEtc Hi and thanks for your response. What I am referring to is that in your videos, the USM motor is held in with 3 screws, (7:57 on second video - disassembly). When I disassembled my lens which I have owned from new (2005) has 7 screws, so the screw holes which are empty on the USM motor in your video are fully populated in my lens. I disassembled the lens about a week before I received the power aperture unit and cable so I had overlooked this part of the disassembly. I used video 5, this one, to make sure I was assembling correctly. I then found that I had the 4 screws left over when fitting the circuit board and knowing there were only the bayonet screws left to fit. So I think that some of these lenses have 4 more screws fitted and Canon decided to remove them at some stage in production. Why otherwise would the holes and threads be there in the first place? Do you agree? Thanks again for great videos though. I repaired my 28-70 2.8L as well. It was an old ex pro lens and had a loose front element and rear section. Tightened all loose screws and found rear assembly had 2 posts broken. Thank you cyanoacrylate glue ;-)
Some of the 17-85mm has 6 screws in the USM motor, and some has only 3. I think the newer ones has only 3. The USM motor has only 6 holes total, so it is interesting that you had 4 screws left... Also, there is an empty hole in the ring which is under the PCB, and top of the USM motor. The empty hole is under the aperture cable, towards the end. My guess is that after Canon designed the lens, they realized that they can save some money by not putting that many screws in the lens. Thank you for the feedback, and I'm glad you could use my videos to repair your lens.
@@CamerasLensesEtc Exactly, that is the 4th screw. The one that goes in the hole that you state should be empty at 24:23. Serial number is 07203235 so I don't know if it is early or not. I presume it must be as I bought it new in a kit with the 20D in 2006. It was massively discounted from €2290 (imagine that) to €899 as the 30D had come out. I presume it must have been 2004 or 2005. It lasted almost 7 years and died end May 2013 with err01 and possibly also 99. I was working in Djibouti at the time and had a day of 58C - I thought it was the cause. I put the lens away. A month later I bought my 6D 24-105 kit. Now it's time to sell my 20D with perfect lens - 8000 actuations only... and as new in orignal packaging with all papers ;-) I think I will probably gift it.
Okay... managed to fix focus hunting thanks to your videos! I was about to ditch the lens as it's... dunno... 17 years old!? But I decided to try following your instructions... And my FIRST CANON LENS is live again! Got it as a kit lens with EOS 30D! Thank you! :)
After nearly going crazy watching a crappy disassembly tutorial, I couldn't get it together again. Then I found your video! Can't thank you enough! Excellent work!
Good morning All, Thanks a lot for this great and very useful vidéo . Just something i want to suggest, instead of trying to remove the old flex cable, perhaps we just need to cut it and let enough space between each pin and put the new one over the old flex. I think it really avoid to heat twice each pins, cause mine is dead at this mine , i order a complete and already solded one . Grrrrr
Hi! Thank you for the suggestion. Sometimes I have a non-working lens which was repaired by someone who did not remove the old cable, but just soldered the new one on the top of that. I prefer to remove the old one, I have never ever had problem with heat, but the risk is when you remove the old cable, you might lift up the metal pins (connectors), and the thin wire can be broken. It happened me once, and learned my lesson, since then I remove the cable very carefully.
@@CamerasLensesEtc That's what happened to me even if i proceed very carefully anf after cutting the old flex in order to proceed with one pin at a time . Cheers
Great video, should have watched yours first. The other videos remove too many screws (the big barrel screws) and it made re-assembly difficult. Your video showed me how to put it back together again. Great job!
A very complete video tutorial, thank you. Unfortunately I didn't succeed at de-soldering the cable, a very tiny wire connecting one of the motors broke so I couldn't re-solder the new cable. I'm wondering, would it be possible to leave the end of the cable on the aperture, just cut it, and solder the new cable on top of it? Eventually I ended up replacing the aperture unit. Still very grateful for this video.
You have to be careful with desoldering the broken cable, make sure that the soldering iron has melted, then lift up the cable. You can leave the old cable on the aperture unit, but I prefer to remove the old one.
Hi I have never watched a video with so much detail, Great explanations all the way through, I will be having a go in the near future, just now waiting to get my eyes sorted. Regards welshman 2081
Excellent... After my de-soldering debacle... My replacement Aperture diaphragm arrived today... So I've just spent a good 3-4 hours carefully re-assembling. These instructions are VERY easy to follow, but somehow you seem to manage everything without: a) dropping small screws at late stages into the mechanism... Forcing a dis-assemble and re-assemble again ;-) b) getting dirty fingerprints over the exposed lens parts... requiring plentiful cleaning (and also ensuring de-dusting) along the way. Anyhow upshot is - now I have a fully functioning lens again :-)
Thanks for a brilliant tutorial, I used this and the one on the EFS17-55 one to fix my focus hunting issue. I do however have a slight issue, I have a very small (about 4mm by 7mm) black rubber pad with a hole i it that I cant see on your video's but looks like it may have come out of the rear housing. any Ideas? (the lens is functioning perfectly with out it???)
Those suppose to stop the lens from having zoom creep. At 19:07 I put back three screws and and their collars, and that small rubber goes next to the hole where the screws goes into (inner hole, in the USM motor). You can see the place of the rubber at 17:07.
Just saw that my EFS15-85 Canon lens had a snapped flex cable. After some searching came across your video which i find methodical and well explained. I wanted to know if the replacement procedure is the same as the EFS 17-85? Also what caused the cable to break...does the cable move in and out with the zoom movement eventually weakening the wires? Many Thanks...also for all the links.
I haven't disassembled the Canon 15-85mm lens, so I don't know the difference. As the lens zooms in and out, the cable moves, and it gets weakened, and it might brake (it takes years). However, I find that strange that the cable broke in such a new lens like the 15-85mm lens.
@@CamerasLensesEtc Thanks for the reply...I think i bought my camera 7d with the lens, new, about 6 yrs ago and I use it a lot so with the wear it seems to have just broken on one of the leader edges...
Very imformative since other videos only focus on taking the thing apart. I managed to fix mine following your instructions. However, afterwards the focus seems to work but it wont light up the relevant point(s) in red in the viewvinder. Any ideas?
I had disassembled my lens using someone else's video, it turns out it was a very bad idea, because 1/ the video stopped just before the difficult part, and 2/ he made me disassemble parts which didn't need to. Also, there was no video about reassembling the lens afterwards, which can be very tricky without instructions. So, a huge thank you for your video, it was a lifesaver!
Thank you for your comment, I'm glad my video was helpful.
Thank you, it took me three hours, but my lens is alive and well, working perfectly again. Great video, very well done and all the right information to take a person that has never done anything like this successfully through doing this repair. I couldn't have done it otherwise, that's for sure!
Thank you for the feedback, I'm glad my video has helped you.
I cant believe it, I think I found my lens problem. My lens has an intermittent fault that I could not track down. I disassembled the lens to clean some of the elements and thought I would give the tip at 10:30 a try and bend the bar out to give the flex cable a bit more room to move, and the flex broke. I think it had been hanging in there giving an intermittent connection while I was thinking the problem was on the main board. Thank you ever so much for these fantastic videos.
Thank you, I'm glad you like my videos!
I thanked you for your help tracking down the broken flex cable problem 2 years ago, but my problems didnt end there. After I replaced the flex cable, my lens was still not working, and still giving an error code, so I put the lens away in a cupboard and promptly forgot about it. Fast forward two years and I remember that my camera has been sitting unused for a long time and needed recharging, spotted the broken lens and decided to have another look at it, with the intention of buying a replacement lens for the 17-85mm. But my camera, a 40D would not power on after charging the battery. Tried with other working lenses, no lens, memory card removed, it was dead apart from the red led flashing when I closed the battery lid. I tested the battery and it was fine. I inspected the battery contacts in the body and gave them a clean, and then noticed the back up battery, so I pulled it out and it also tested fine. When I tried to put it back in, I couldnt figure out how to get it back in for a couple of minutes, until I noticed I was trying to insert it in its holder sideways; enough time to well and truly clear the memory. After putting the 3V battery back in and then the main battery, the camera body came back to life. After going through the basic settings, I attached the repaired lens, and it also works! Hopefully it gives me a few more years service as it is a useful lens for me. So once again, thank you for this excellent repair series, and if anybody has the same issue, try clearing the memory.
Thank you for your comment, and I'm glad that my video has helped you!
Excellent re-assembly video for the lens. Now that I have successfully repaired my lens, I would strongly recommend others to disassemble and the rebuild the lens on the same day or consecutive days since there are a many steps to the repair and even with the videos it isn't always clear if you have missed an element until later in the re-building cycle. The lens mechanics are extremely complex (and impressive.) I found what worked best was to lay out all the parts are you remove them into a large box with a white paper lining. Use masking tape (sticky side up) to hold each group of parts and especially the small screws and other small parts. Number the parts on the paper lining as you disassemble the lens - ( this will save you hours later avoiding a missed step or a wrong build sequence.) Work with the lens over a large open box lined with white paper on your work surface so if you drop a very small part it falls into your box. I would advise buying the aperture unit with the cable soldered already, since soldering a new cable is quite difficult (even for an electrical engineer with the correct soldering equipment) and if you soldering the unit wrongly you had a dead lens and many hours of effort wasted. If this is your first such repair, I'd suggest allowing 4 hours minimum for disassembly and perhaps 8 hours or more for re-assembly assuming you have numbered all your parts into small groupings inside your storage box. if you have any problems add another 4 hours. There are a couple of steps missed in the video (inserting the plastic focus ring with the post before inserting the barrel of parts - if you optionally removed this on the dis-assembly- it does simply fall out) so numbering the sequence is extremely useful. In my case I left a gap of about 5 years between disassembly and the re-build so this video was perfect for me. Many thanks !
When I disassemble the lens, I place the removed parts next to eachother from left to right, then when I assemble them, I just go backwards.
@@CamerasLensesEtc I used a small fridge magnet and placed the screws in groups with the screw head down. If I moved it or bumped it it didn't matter, they all stayed in place, like a bunch of tiny soldiers. I used another small magnet on my screwdriver shaft because mine wasn't as fancy as yours, already magnatized! I did the same as you mentioned for the key parts.
Great video, helped immensely. Thanks!
Thank you very very much!!! I got my lens fixed up thanks to your detailed step-by-step instructions.
Glad it helped!
Very nice to have an assembly video as well, as it is not just disassembly in reverse. Thanks for this great work.
Thank you for the feedback and the donation!
Thanks for this video. I repaired my 17-85. Great tips for unsoldering. I really like this lens. It went out of service this summer and I found myself with no lens except a 50mm and a 100-400. Not really great for street and landscape. Now I'm with my 17-85 again. Great! I also repaired a first generation 18-55 just before (same aperture flex problem), so I could train myself before trying my new skills on the 17-85. Much more easy to disassemble and reassemble a 18-55 than the 17-85, but the construction quality of a 18-55 is very poor. This 17-85 seems to have a good construction...except the aperture flex conception. Good Idea to bend it to give it some extra shots.
Thank you for your comment, I'm glad that my video has helped you!
Excellent video - many thanks. Error 01 happened 3 years ago so lens got parked. Successfully fitted a new aperture flex cable today and cleared the error message but on testing found that focus was hunting. Stripped down again and cleaned the focus bar and sensor as per your detailed instructions. Now have a working lens again. Thank you for passing on your knowledge and skills.
You're welcome, I'm glad my videos have helped!
Another superb video - many thanks. An interesting note that may help some lens owners stop scratching their heads when wondering where those 4 screws go that are left. I found that when disassembling and reassembling the plastic ring - here at 22:10 or thereabouts, 4 more screws are used on my lens. The hole that is said to stay empty also has a screw as do the 3 other holes left empty in this and other videos.I don't know if Canon did away with the extra screws at some stage. Nevertheless, lens works perfectly again. Many thanks.
I have an another video about disassembling this lens, I would recommend to check it if you're not sure where the screws came from.
@@CamerasLensesEtc Hi and thanks for your response. What I am referring to is that in your videos, the USM motor is held in with 3 screws, (7:57 on second video - disassembly). When I disassembled my lens which I have owned from new (2005) has 7 screws, so the screw holes which are empty on the USM motor in your video are fully populated in my lens. I disassembled the lens about a week before I received the power aperture unit and cable so I had overlooked this part of the disassembly. I used video 5, this one, to make sure I was assembling correctly. I then found that I had the 4 screws left over when fitting the circuit board and knowing there were only the bayonet screws left to fit. So I think that some of these lenses have 4 more screws fitted and Canon decided to remove them at some stage in production. Why otherwise would the holes and threads be there in the first place? Do you agree? Thanks again for great videos though. I repaired my 28-70 2.8L as well. It was an old ex pro lens and had a loose front element and rear section. Tightened all loose screws and found rear assembly had 2 posts broken. Thank you cyanoacrylate glue ;-)
Some of the 17-85mm has 6 screws in the USM motor, and some has only 3. I think the newer ones has only 3.
The USM motor has only 6 holes total, so it is interesting that you had 4 screws left...
Also, there is an empty hole in the ring which is under the PCB, and top of the USM motor. The empty hole is under the aperture cable, towards the end.
My guess is that after Canon designed the lens, they realized that they can save some money by not putting that many screws in the lens.
Thank you for the feedback, and I'm glad you could use my videos to repair your lens.
@@CamerasLensesEtc Exactly, that is the 4th screw. The one that goes in the hole that you state should be empty at 24:23. Serial number is 07203235 so I don't know if it is early or not. I presume it must be as I bought it new in a kit with the 20D in 2006. It was massively discounted from €2290 (imagine that) to €899 as the 30D had come out. I presume it must have been 2004 or 2005. It lasted almost 7 years and died end May 2013 with err01 and possibly also 99. I was working in Djibouti at the time and had a day of 58C - I thought it was the cause. I put the lens away. A month later I bought my 6D 24-105 kit. Now it's time to sell my 20D with perfect lens - 8000 actuations only... and as new in orignal packaging with all papers ;-) I think I will probably gift it.
Okay... managed to fix focus hunting thanks to your videos! I was about to ditch the lens as it's... dunno... 17 years old!? But I decided to try following your instructions... And my FIRST CANON LENS is live again! Got it as a kit lens with EOS 30D! Thank you! :)
Thank yo for your comment, and I'm glad that my video has helped you. And also, thank you very much for your paypal donation!
Thank You so much for this video. It helped me alot. My lens have a second life now. Best regards from Poland. God bless You
Glad it helped!
super like, me ajudou muito na montagem de uma aqui que troquei esse flat! abraço e parabéns! Wagner do Brasil!
Thank you for your comment! Greetings from The Netherlands!
Great Video Series! Honestly very helpful and properly explained. A+++
Glad it was helpful!
After nearly going crazy watching a crappy disassembly tutorial, I couldn't get it together again. Then I found your video! Can't thank you enough! Excellent work!
Thank you for the feedback! Don't forget to push the thumbs up button! :)
thanks you for you help. I got the job a second time because i put my fingers on the small lens inside and i need to disassemble twice to clean it.
Really great. Finally doing this because of the shelter in place. It's been sitting on a shelf for 6 years waiting to be repaired.
Thank you my friend! you saved me a lot of money in comparison with shop repair. Keep up the good work!
Thank you for subscribing! I'm glad I could help!
Good morning All,
Thanks a lot for this great and very useful vidéo . Just something i want to suggest, instead of trying to remove the old flex cable, perhaps we just need to cut it and let enough space between each pin and put the new one over the old flex. I think it really avoid to heat twice each pins, cause mine is dead at this mine , i order a complete and already solded one . Grrrrr
Hi! Thank you for the suggestion. Sometimes I have a non-working lens which was repaired by someone who did not remove the old cable, but just soldered the new one on the top of that.
I prefer to remove the old one, I have never ever had problem with heat, but the risk is when you remove the old cable, you might lift up the metal pins (connectors), and the thin wire can be broken. It happened me once, and learned my lesson, since then I remove the cable very carefully.
@@CamerasLensesEtc That's what happened to me even if i proceed very carefully anf after cutting the old flex in order to proceed with one pin at a time . Cheers
Great video, should have watched yours first. The other videos remove too many screws (the big barrel screws) and it made re-assembly difficult. Your video showed me how to put it back together again. Great job!
Thank you for the feedback!
Very detailed instructions, I repaired the lenses, thank you!
Excellent video very well done. Thank you for making this!
Brilliant, followed the video step by step and now I’ve got my lense back, many thanks.
A very complete video tutorial, thank you. Unfortunately I didn't succeed at de-soldering the cable, a very tiny wire connecting one of the motors broke so I couldn't re-solder the new cable. I'm wondering, would it be possible to leave the end of the cable on the aperture, just cut it, and solder the new cable on top of it? Eventually I ended up replacing the aperture unit. Still very grateful for this video.
You have to be careful with desoldering the broken cable, make sure that the soldering iron has melted, then lift up the cable. You can leave the old cable on the aperture unit, but I prefer to remove the old one.
Excellent, very comprehensive and easy to follow, thank you.
Hi I have never watched a video with so much detail, Great explanations all the way through, I will be having a go in the near future, just now waiting to get my eyes sorted.
Regards welshman 2081
Thank you for the feedback!
Excellent... After my de-soldering debacle... My replacement Aperture diaphragm arrived today... So I've just spent a good 3-4 hours carefully re-assembling. These instructions are VERY easy to follow, but somehow you seem to manage everything without:
a) dropping small screws at late stages into the mechanism... Forcing a dis-assemble and re-assemble again ;-)
b) getting dirty fingerprints over the exposed lens parts... requiring plentiful cleaning (and also ensuring de-dusting) along the way.
Anyhow upshot is - now I have a fully functioning lens again :-)
Thank you for great video !
You are welcome!
Thanks! It works!!! only because I found this video :)
Thanks for a brilliant tutorial, I used this and the one on the EFS17-55 one to fix my focus hunting issue. I do however have a slight issue, I have a very small (about 4mm by 7mm) black rubber pad with a hole i it that I cant see on your video's but looks like it may have come out of the rear housing. any Ideas? (the lens is functioning perfectly with out it???)
Those suppose to stop the lens from having zoom creep.
At 19:07 I put back three screws and and their collars, and that small rubber goes next to the hole where the screws goes into (inner hole, in the USM motor). You can see the place of the rubber at 17:07.
@@CamerasLensesEtc Superb, thanks for your help
Just saw that my EFS15-85 Canon lens had a snapped flex cable. After some searching came across your video
which i find methodical and well explained. I wanted to know if the replacement procedure is the same as the EFS 17-85?
Also what caused the cable to break...does the cable move in and out with the zoom movement eventually weakening the wires?
Many Thanks...also for all the links.
I haven't disassembled the Canon 15-85mm lens, so I don't know the difference.
As the lens zooms in and out, the cable moves, and it gets weakened, and it might brake (it takes years). However, I find that strange that the cable broke in such a new lens like the 15-85mm lens.
@@CamerasLensesEtc Thanks for the reply...I think i bought my camera 7d with the lens, new, about 6 yrs ago and I use it a lot
so with the wear it seems to have just broken on one of the leader edges...
Thank You! I only needed about 7 hours!
Very imformative since other videos only focus on taking the thing apart. I managed to fix mine following your instructions. However, afterwards the focus seems to work but it wont light up the relevant point(s) in red in the viewvinder. Any ideas?
Forget my stupid comment, it was a wrong setting (AI Servo)
You need to adjust the position of the encoder brush.
Thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkksssssssssssssssssss
You're welcome! :)
@@CamerasLensesEtc Thanks to your video, a dash of madness and another of courage, I can use my lens to its fullest, thank you very much and success!
All we see is this error.. shows how bad these lens are.. not fit for purpose
Partly, there are so many faulty lenses, because there are many of it was made.