Weird problem with 580EX - Anyone seen this?

I've had this 580EX for many years, and it's been great. About a year or so ago, I purchased and installed a replacement foot for it that added a pc port. Worked like a champ. So here's the new behavior that has me baffled. Put in fresh batteries. Turn it on, and it comes on normally. Turn it off, and it appears to turn off normally. Wait a few minutes and turn it back on, it appears to turn on the way it's supposed to. Turn it off and leave it off for a day or so, and the batteries are completely dead. I tried it a couple of times to be sure (with fresh batteries each time). Obviously, even though it appears to be turning on and off normally, it's still drawing current when turned off. To work around the problem, I can remove the batteries when I'm done using it, but that's kind of a pain. Anyone know what might be happening and if there might be an easy fix?

Sounds like some type of short that is drawing current while it's off. Did you double check the new foot install?

The replacement foot was installed nearly a year ago, and I don't see anything obvious there. The flash hasn't been dropped or bumped or anything like that either. Just suddenly started happening. It's possible it got damp during a recent shoot outdoors. I didn't notice anything though. It does sound like a short of some type. I didn't know if the old 580EX's were prone to any particular type of short. Thanks.

sdipirro wrote in post #8606005
It's possible it got damp during a recent shoot outdoors.

If you believe this might be the case, you can buy these beads and place them in a ziplock bag with the flash. They will suck all of the moisture out. The great thing about these beads is that they can be recharged in the oven for other uses. This auction happened to be the first I ran into. If youre interested search "Silica beads" or "Silica gel" Theyre hard like mini marbles.

http://cgi.ebay.com …torsQ5fAutomoti​veQ5fTools

You could try putting the old foot back on to see if it still happens, that'd give you an answer.

Good suggestions. Thanks, guys.

Tims suggestion is a good one. If I had to take a guess, I would guess that it isn't the foot but an internal problem with the flash. Something has went bad that is allowing to still draw current even when turned off. Of course, that's just a guess