Nikon Coolscan LS-8000 ED / LS-9000 ED service and repair notes
Placed here are some of the compilations of modifications, service and repair procedures I found over the years on Internet as well as those I developed myself. You are welcome to use them, but with following disclaimers:
Disclaimers
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I am not affiliated with Nikon or any other photography/optics/scanner company.
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I will not assume any responsibility for any damage that may occur to your scanner if you try to follow the procedures posted here. I may be able to help you if you mess up, but I will not do this for free.
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Some of the procedures listed here were not developed by me. I found them on the web, in some cases modified them. I am not trying to take any credit for them, I am reproducing them here as a compilation of all service/repair protocols and modifications in case they disappear from the original forum boards etc. I had tried to cite the original sources I used, but I may have missed some inadvertently.
After I created these pages, I had many requests of service/repair.
1. I do perform repairs on Nikon Coolscan scanners.
2. I have taken accurate measurements of most plastic parts that are prone to breaking in Nikon Coolscan scanners and had them 3D-printed.
I do not share the models , but can sell you the replacement
parts. If interested, write to me
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There is a Nikon Coolscan group on Facebook, if you have more questions, you may consider posting there.
Getting Nikon Super Coolscan scanners work under Windows 7 (including x64), 8 and 10
This is a re-write of the procedure I had found here. I run all my Nikon Coolscan scanners using Windows 7 (x64) computers. The software (Nikon Scan) was released to work under XP but a simple modification will make it work under Windows 7. It also works for Windows 8 and 10, but you would need to do another trick to install "unsigned driver". See more details here. If all fails, as well as for Mac users, I would recommend using VueScan.
This is a compilation of notes I had found online and composed myself. As always, I had tried to cite the original references, but if I forgot somebody - sorry.
Some notes on diagnosing/troubleshooting the Nikon Coolscan LS-8000 and LS-9000 scanner failures
These scanners are very well built. But after many years of service some things may break. Many failures are repairable.
Disassembly of Nikon Super Coolscan LS-8000
Disassembly of Nikon Super Coolscan LS-9000
Nikon LS-8000 and LS-9000 scanners are very well built and are extremely reliable. They rarely need service beyond imaging mirror cleaning.
There are few particular types of service/repair that I had done to my LS-8000 and LS-9000 scanners over years:
1. Cleaning the mirror in Nikon Super Coolscan LS-8000 and LS-9000 scanners
A dirty mirror in the scan head will result in degraded scan image quality. In extreme case the scanner will stop working - it will report a hardware failure because the light-source self-test will fail. Another symptom - sometimes the scanner may report failure to perform autofocus. These all may be caused by failing LED, but more likely it is just a dusty/dirty mirror.
I would recommend cleaning the mirror every 10,000 scans or so and/or if the scanner was stored for a while in the dusty environment. Luckily, the mirror cleaning procedure is fairly straightforward.
In the case you have a mirror degraded by fungus, (or you messed up and scratched the mirror while cleaning :), you can order a replacement (you will need a mirror with dimensions 70mm x 29mm x 5mm, but I think 70mm x 29mm x 6mm will work as well) here (I have no agreements with this vendor):
http://firstsurfacemirror.com/
2. Power Supply repair in Nikon Super Coolscan LS-8000 and LS-9000 scanners
Power Supply PCB for Nikon Coolscan LS-8000 ED and LS-9000 ED scanners are switching power supplies with 3 outputs: +5V, -12.2V, and +15.5V (+/- 5% tolerance). LS-8000 ED and LS-9000 ED have similar power requirements and identical power pin-outs, so you can use the power supply from LS-8000 ED to replace the one in LS-9000 ED and visa versa.
Two most common problems with these power supplies are:
1. The ON/OFF switch stops latching n ON position. The scanner can be powered ON and operated but you have to keep the power button pressed by hand. Not a good way to scan. The power switch is ALPS SDL1P-D manufactured in Japan and sometimes you can find it on Ali Express and other second-hand retail sites, just google "ALPS SDL1P-D switch tip foot". It can be replaced fairly straightforwardly.
2. Another frequent problem (in the power supplies manufactured by SANSHIN, I only saw those in LS-9000 ED units) is a bad control IC in the inverter section, the part STRW6756 manufactured by Sanken. The replacement is also straightforward.
3. Replacement of the shaft coupling in Nikon Super Coolscan LS-8000 and LS-9000 scanners
One of failure modes of the Nikon LS-8000 and LS-9000 scanners is a broken shaft coupling, connecting the stepper motor to the worm screw moving the film tray carriage. The symptom of this problem is a failure of initialization procedure (fast blinking power light) at very early stage - before the scanner "plays" its usual start-up music and tests LED.
This coupling is made from aluminum and plastic and sometimes fails (I suspect mostly due to rough handling during shipping). I could not find an identical coupling online, but found very similar that works just fine. The replacement procedure is the same for LS-8000 and LS-9000 (once you took the shell off).
As of fall of 2015 Nikon would still service LS-9000 and as far as know they still have a stock of these couplings.
But It is a very easy repair and I think there is a greater risk of additional damage during shipment then by doing it yourselves. However - as always - you are welcome to follow my advice - but do it at your own risk.
4. Rail lubrication in Nikon Super Coolscan LS-8000 and LS-9000 scanners
The film tray carriage in Nikon LS-8000 and LS-9000 scanners is moved by a worm screw along two steel rails. The carriage has brass bushings on one side (for one of the rails), and simple opening in plastic body for another rail. The lubricant that Nikon used to put on these rails in LS-8000 was prone to drying up. This lead to carriage sticking/stalling which sometimes resulted in initialization failure, and sometimes in "tray not recognized" failure. I read somewhere that the lubricant was changed for LS-9000 model and this is no longer an issue. But whenever I open the scanner to clean the mirror etc., I inspect the rails and if they are dirty or look dry - clean and lubricate them.
5. Replacing the flap door in Nikon Super Coolscan LS-8000 and LS-9000 scanners
The flap door (I think intended mostly to keep the dust out) is one of very few weak parts in the Nikon LS-8000 and LS-9000 scanners. I had seen many broken.
I had repaired them by carefully drilling a small hole along the central axis and putting a steel pin inside. The door itself is made from ABS. I had also made 3D model of the door and had it printed on 3D printer, see here.
This seems to be a relatively common failure of LS-8000 scanners. The typical symptom is that scanner passes power-up initialization fine (no fast blinking), but is not recognized by a computer (in Windows - Device Manager does not see it), the scan software reports that it cannot find a scanner. Disassembly is fairly modest, but the IC repair is elaborate. The good news that the IC itself is cheap and readily available from Mouser, DigiKey and other standard suppliers.
Also, even if you do not think you have tools/skills to perform the IC replacement, you may be able to find a good electronics shop to do this for you...
7. CCD sensor alignment in Nikon Super Coolscan LS-8000 and LS-9000 scanners
If the scanned frames are skewed or not properly centered, the CCD board needs alignment.
8. Fixing Zig-Zag Banding Noise.
This problem has been discovered by Graeme Hardie at LincolnScan in UK (https://lincolnscan.co.uk/Coolscan.html).
Graeme investigated this and came up with a solution.
The problem presents itself as a zig-zag patterns in the scans, particularly in the dark areas, as can be seen in the left image below. In all coolscan models this is caused by a deteriorated small electrolytic capacitor (10uF 16V) associated with the analog-digital converter (ADC). Replacing that capacitor with a multi-layer ceramic capacitor (also 10uF 16V, size code 1210) fixes the problem.