Free 380ex!!! Cliffhanger edition

A camera store I frequent received a Rebel G with a 380ex. I've been looking for one of these FOREVER as an inexpensive daytime fully-automatic fill flash. They are easy to find but I can't justify the pricetag people are asking considering for another 50 or so dollars I could get a new 430ex II. They gave me the flash unit.

However, this poor soldier has seen better days. The entire battery compartment was loaded with battery acid. The batteries inside expired March 2003. I knew this wasn't good.

So, I did what I do best, and that was rip the whole thing apart and clean it. Having done this with a 540ez, and a 550ex, I knew what I was getting myself into.

so... does it? getting impatient here

I bet it does (or it exploded thus preventing the OP from returning to update)...

rip j-dogg

Should I cut the red wire or the blue wire?!?!?

which red or blue wire, there's like 15 of them!!

Okay the verdict is in....IT WORKS!!!!!

Been testing it for the past day on the Rebel, and it works flawlessly. Not bad for a 2-hour cleaning job. It even shuts off on its own when not in use.

Thank for sharing. I didn't know about this one. Looks like it is cheapest way to get HSS.

Posts like these help push up the price of broken gear on Ebay.

j-dogg wrote in post #13766558
Okay the verdict is in....IT WORKS!!!!!

Excellent! Can I change my vote?

I have one almost 10 years old, originally bought for an IX Lite, that's still working well.

Unless you voted for the top choice. I hit myself a few times trying to make it work. It's like a giant taser that lights a room up.

another one saved from the junkyard

I voted for that annoying sensation one gets from a high voltage capacitor discharging through one's skin.