white lightning 5000 broken

[André Michaud]

my coffee can is broken. some parts sounds loose inside.
i want to see inside what is going on? is there some people
know how to open it. thanks

[jp]

Make sure the flash has been drained (fired after being unplugged), or don't touch anything inside.

My 5000 has 3 screws around the flash tube that appear to hold the reflector in. Remove the flash tube with gloves on and the modeling light, and I'd start taking it apart there.

[Ash]

I'd recommend a qualified technician just to avoid any ....shocks

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

The charge in the capacitors can kill you. Seriously, this is not an exaggeration, if you don't know how to drain them (and no, it is not about hitting the flash button after unplugging it) you should find someone else to do the work.

[Ash]

As Jason said. For reference - the capacitor in a disposable camera is enough to knock you out, probably kill a small child at full charge. I wouldn't mess with a flash head.

[Henry Ambrose]

White Lightning will fix it for you.
That you're asking this question indicates you should send it back to them for service.

[David McNiven]

Please heed the warnings already given!
I don't know the White Lightnings but many packs & monoblocs that I have repaired still carry a lethal charge even after unplugging/firing.
330 volts is usual, 660 volts is quite common at tube terminals, available current can be more than a hundred times greater than is necessary to kill you.
Flash heads & packs are not suitable DIY repair projects.

[W K Longcor]

When in college (many, many years ago) I had a flash that had problems. It had been unplugged and "flashed" over three days earlier. A friendly electrical engineering student offered to check it out for me. He opened it up and shorted the contacts on the capacitor to drain it. The resulting discharge sounded like a shotgun being fired in the room. It blew an eighth inch hole through a rather heavy screw driver blade. My friend decided I should send the unit out for repair! ( He went home and changed his underwear!)

[David McNiven]

I used to discharge the capacitors through a large (150-Watt) 470-Ohm wirewound resistor across DVM terminals using standard clip leads for contact, monitoring the voltage to zero.
For unexpected on-site repairs I've occasionally used a 240-volt light bulb with bulb holder & leads attached. Some flash units can light a bulb for many seconds.
A hard short with a screwdriver could spike the charging/control circuits & destroy sensitive components.
If you already knew all this you may be safe to work on one, otherwise you should definitely leave them alone.

[André Michaud]

many thanks to all of you for warnings. it is preferable to never touch that when we are not specialist .