430exii contact problems?

Hi all
not sure if this is the right forum, so please excuse me if I am mistaken:

the other day i was preparing my equipment before my daughter's bday party. I had the 7d with the 24-105 and the 430exii on it. tried out a couple test shots and they all came out super overexposed. I couldn't figure out why...but me being a newbie, blamed myself and went searching in all the menus...for like a half hour. I even put it in the green box to cancel anything i might have done....and still the same situation.

Only out of complete frustration, I turned on and off my camera (no change) and then I removed the flash and put it back on....poof! the flash returned to acting normally.

While I am a big believer in "all's well that end's well" I wanted to ask - is this a warning that something is wrong with the hot shoe/ or the flash? Is there some sort of maintenance I need to perform? Or is it one of those one in a .... period that it just was bad luck and happened.

Thanks for any help you can afford a newbie

There's usually a fair amount of tolerance designed into a hotshoe / flash foot, simply to allow reasonably easy insertion and removal. While the flash should not rock fore and aft or side-to-side, you will notice some rotational play.

And, in some combinations, the locking mechanism CAN engage before the flash is fully seated. These circumstances can occasionally give you contact alignment problems.

Ensuring the flash is fully inserted (pushed right forward into the shoe before locking) should sort the problem. I've encountered this several times over the years; it's not a biggie or something to cause concern.

ETA - The contacts on the flash foot are spring-loaded; if you still have problems, it's worth checking they are all fully extended. If they're sticky, try 'working' each one with something non-conductive - I find a toothpick works.

thanks a lot!
that's kind of what i thought
but i wanted to make sure that I am not neglecting any early signs
thanks again