Nikon F90 repair & common faults
Excellent coverageThe Nikon F90 is an early 1990s advanced amateur SLR, sold as the N90 in the US, built around an electronically controlled shutter and Nikon's first serious in-body autofocus system for the range. Its behaviour under fault is dictated by that AF motor and shutter unit, and by the top LCD panel that reports every setting back to the user.
Matrix, centre-weighted and spot TTL metering · Electronically controlled vertical metal shutter · Body-driven screw-type autofocus · 4 × AA battery power · Nikon F bayonet mount
Common Nikon F90 faults
Nikon F90 LCD screen fading or missing segments
The top panel LCD on these bodies is prone to fading, blotching or dropping whole segments with age, sometimes cracking outright. It is a display fault rather than an exposure fault, the camera is usually still metering and firing correctly underneath. Confirm the batteries are fresh before assuming the panel itself has failed, a flat cell can mimic a dim display.
Nikon F90 shutter won't fire
A dead shutter on the F90 usually points to the electronic shutter unit or its control circuit rather than anything mechanical jamming. It can also be a symptom of exhausted or corroded batteries failing to deliver the current the shutter magnets need. Check the four AA cells are fresh and seated cleanly before treating it as anything more serious.
Nikon F90 autofocus won't lock or keeps hunting
Persistent hunting or a refusal to confirm focus points to the body's AF motor coupling, the drive train that turns the lens, or the AF sensor module reading low contrast, rarely the lens alone. Trying a second lens first is a fair way to see whether the fault sits in the body or the glass, before assuming the drive mechanism needs attention.
Nikon F90 meter reading erratic or dead
An erratic or blank meter reading is usually down to the metering circuit or the SPD cells behind the viewfinder losing calibration, rather than the shutter or aperture linkage. Corroded battery contacts are a frequent cause of intermittent readings on this generation of body. Check the contacts and try fresh cells first, a genuinely dead meter needs the circuit itself looked at.
Nikon F90 rubber grip sticky or melting
The rubberised armour panels on F90 bodies are well known to turn tacky, soft or outright gummy as they age, a chemical breakdown of the material itself rather than anything to do with the camera's electronics or mechanism. It looks alarming but has no bearing on shutter, meter or autofocus function. It is a cosmetic and handling issue, not a functional fault.
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Try it now ›Scatto is a reference tool for people who service film cameras. It explains mechanisms and quotes service data, but it cannot see your camera at the bench, so verify anything load-bearing before you act on it.