Is my 430ex broken?

Need advice here as I do not know if I'm doing it wrong or if my flash is broken.

I have a 60d with a 430EX speedlite. The problem is that the flash does not work in E-TTL mode: the flash fires but does not contribute to the overall exposure.

I've set my camera to manual mode, F/4, 1/160s, ISO 800. I'm 2 stops underexposure. Flash is set to E-TTL mode (zoom head work, AF assist light too). I press the shutter, the flash fires, but the image is still 2 stop under exposed.

I tried the same settings without the flash and exact same exposure. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the flash supposed to compensate for this under exposure?

If I set the flash to Manual mode, I can see it contributing to the exposure (plenty powerful enough, the photo is even over exposed).

But in E-TTL mode, it's just not working. I get a big bright flash as I press the shutter, but nothing shows up in the photo.

Am I doing it wrong or is my flash failing me?

Pins might not be making proper contact
Batteries might not be strong enough to handle pre-flash + exposure flash

SMP_Homer wrote in post #15369385
Pins might not be making proper contact
Batteries might not be strong enough to handle pre-flash + exposure flash

Thanks Homer. I've tried to clean the pins, but no improvement. Batteries should be strong enough, but I'll recharge them first before I rule that out.

I did a test with the 2nd curtain sync. If I set the shutter speed at ~4sec and slower, I get the pre flash AND the actual flash to fire. At slower shutter speed, i only get the preflash. So that may be the battery as you mentioned. Hopefully, it's not a problem with the flash itself.

Are you getting a green 'exposure OK' light on the flash?

The preflash and flash are usually so close together I just don't see how the batteries would do much to recharge the capacitor. For me, dead batteries mean the recharge takes longer and longer to the point that it never happens, but I never get pre-flash only. If the red light comes on at all, the flash works properly.

To me it sounds like your pre-flash is a full dump, leaving the capacitor drained and unable to fire the actual flash. Once you go to the really long exposure you get a recharge in there, but that's not normal behavior.

AntonLargiader wrote in post #15369470
Are you getting a green 'exposure OK' light on the flash?

The preflash and flash are usually so close together I just don't see how the batteries would do much to recharge the capacitor. For me, dead batteries mean the recharge takes longer and longer to the point that it never happens, but I never get pre-flash only. If the red light comes on at all, the flash works properly.

To me it sounds like your pre-flash is a full dump, leaving the capacitor drained and unable to fire the actual flash. Once you go to the really long exposure you get a recharge in there, but that's not normal behavior.

This is what I'm afraid off indeed. Via the 2nd curtain sync, I can see whether the pre flash alone fired or whether both pre flash and actual flash fired. With a 1-2 seconds shutter speed, I can only see the pre flash. With 3-4 sec and above, i get both burst of light. That threshold is exactly what my flash recycle time is.

Is this something that can be fixed myself? Is it a pin problem or an internal problem? My flash is no longer under warranty, so if I can't fix it myself, I'll have to use as it is: in manual only...

AntonLargiader wrote in post #15369470
Are you getting a green 'exposure OK' light on the flash?

No green light after the flash fires.

I tried again with fresh batteries, same result. Sounds like my flash's ETTL is dead...