Can we talk about the actual failure rate of ribbon cables in old point-and-shoots?

I was reading a repair manual for a late 90s Olympus and it said over 60% of the 'lens error' faults were just a single ribbon cable needing re-seating. Anyone else find that one part causes most of a model's problems?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_james1mo agoTop Commenter

Yeah, that "single ribbon cable" thing is SPOT ON. I've fixed three Olympus Stylus Epics where the lens just needed that one flex cable pushed back into its connector. The latch gets weak and it works loose over time.

sethmartinez23h ago

Honestly @the_james you nailed it. I got a Stylus Epic from a thrift store that would just show the lens error and shut off. Popped it open, that same ribbon cable was barely hanging on. Pushed it back in and the thing fired right up like new. Been meaning to do the same with my mom's old one she thinks is toast. It's wild how something that tiny stops the whole camera from working.

kim_hart71mo ago

Honestly I always assumed those cameras were just dead for good. Hearing it's often just that one cable makes me want to dig my old one out of the drawer. Might be a simple fix after all.