Thought I was so smart, but it turns out....

I'm not! I dropped my 580EX about 2 1/2 feet onto concrete. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. But it turned on and the the only damage I could see was that the hotshoe plate had broken in half. (the cause of the fall) So I jumped online and found a great tutorial to fix it. So I bought the part and pulled the unit apart and fixed it. But the flash itself isn't working. I'm so disappointed. Well I'm wondering how to figure out what else could be wrong with it? The only other thing that is abnormal (by what I can see outwardly) is that the pilot light won't light up even with fresh batteries. But I know there is power to the unit because I can see all the settings. When I look in the flash setting on the camera menu, it says that it isn't connected, or the flash isn't turned on. Even when it is. Is there anyone that can help me figure it out? Or should I just send it in to be fixed.

I doubt theres really a way to diagnose the actual problems on your own. Youll probably have to send it in.

My guess is it's your flash tube. Fortunately you can fix that yourself too if you're handy:

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=523087

You were very smart. You did basic troubleshooting and came up with a solution based on observation and corrected the obvious problem. Do you have any idea how many people would have not done done the research, ordered the part and then replaced it on their own? How could you even begin to guess a electronic problem without training and tools to do the diagnostics.

replace the lighting element it probably broke

digital paradise wrote in post #13205759
How could you even begin to guess a .... problem without training and tools to do the diagnostics.

Sort of off topic, but sort of on topic as well ...
I work IT. It happens all the time at work. It's amazing how many folks will diagnose ,as an example, an Exchange (email) problem to completion, without ever managing such a system. Sometimes folks will document exactly what they believe the problem is, and how to fix it, all without a shred of experience in such issues or access to any administrative portion of the system... Being understaffed, like all IT departments, I sometimes jokingly ask the boss to hire "this guy" because he's "this good".. Oh, and usually, they are dead wrong just about everything!