Manfrotto quick release plate won't fit on 486RC2 head

For some reason this started after I bought the product. I'm honestly not sure what's going, cause it the lever just won't close completely when the quick release plate is on, as if the plate is too big. This has never happened before.

Here are some pics:

What it looks like fully closed:

Have you flipped the lock (the small brass piece under the lever) into the unlocked position. Honestly right now I don't have my tripod in front of me to tell you which is the locked or unlocked position.

Nothing really useful to suggest - but the safety release is open in picture three. You can see the cam which retracts the brass safety latch. My only suggestion is to ensure the screw 'handle' (the chrome ring in picture 4) is pushed flat - it can be stiff and maybe stopping the plate from seating properly. Though you'd think the weight of camera and lens would do that by default. Otherwise, I'm stumped.

Yea, safety open, ring flat. This is so weird. :/

Because the plate is not on your camera it allows the holding screw to be off center, this causers the screw to catch.

Weird, when I first discovered this problem it was when my camera was attached to the plate. Now I've screwed it on and it works! In fact, it works even without the camera now.

Thanks!

I could tell that the screw was not in the right position in the 2nd photo, off center.

Good catch, Lionel! I've been playing with a plate and can replicate that quite easily. Another little lesson learned!

I suspect that the problem is that the plate attachment screw was not centered in the recess in the bottom of the plate, making the screw essentially too long under the plate. As a result of the screw being too long, the plate could not be low enough for the clamp to fully close.

Indeed, lesson learned.

Thanks everybody!

I'm glad you got it all sorted out. This is why it's so much easier when you post pictures. My pet peeve is when someone asks for help and "doesn't have time to post pictures." Then they bump the thread because no one helped. It makes me want to say, "If you're too lazy to take a picture, I'm too lazy to help."