Wolverine Movie Maker Issues

[Stan Jelavic]

Fixed several of these units and would like to share my experience.

Error message to connect power.
This error is generally related to stepper motor not working. Most likely cause is a fragile connection close to the motor armature breaking off. Needs to be cleaned and resoldered.

SD card read error or protected with the card that worked before.
Contacts issue. Can try cleaning them. My solution is to change the SD socket. Very delicate operation.

Takeup reel runs continuously.
Blown takeup drive.


Pretty delicate operation. Work under microscope.


Jitter Issue. Some small amount is normal, but if excessive it indicates worn out cam.
See post
https://8mmforum.film-tech.com/vbb/f...0644#post30644

Images out of focus.
You will have to open up the unit and remove the from bezel by undoing the small screws at the back and carefully pulling
the bezel out. If it binds then remove the buttons cover by prying up from the front.
Use small vice grips to get the lens to turn the unscrew it enough to be able to remove the epoxy and then adjust it for the best focus.

Display issues.
Bad display or problems with the controller.
The best bet is to switch to Hawkeye mod and reuse the unit.

Scratched LED.
The led is probably OK. Git to change the clear cover. Can send the instructions on how to do this.

Takeup not working
Probably blown motor. Had 3 units with this problem.
Send me the motor and I will fix it for you. Around $30 + shipping.
Can provide instructions if you do not mind getting your hands greasy

More to come...

[Jordan Jones]

Hi Stan, thanks for the info. I just bought a used wolverine moviemaker (not the pro), and the first super8 tape everything went well. While doing the second tape, the machine would start making a knocking sound every now and then. Then it got worse, until it sounded like a woodpecker and it stopped recording and said please connect power source. I turned it off and back on, and everything works but if I try to record same thing. A very quick and repetitive knocking sound for 2-3 seconds until it just quits and says the same error. Any ideas on what that would be? Thanks!

[Stan Jelavic]

Hi Joran,
The knocking sound can be produced by the film being too wide and tight in the gate. The claw gets jammed in the film perforation and snaps back down after that making the noise. You can try the folded paper fix.
https://www.wolverinedata.com/assets..._Film_test.pdf
There could be other issues with the unit:
- work out transport cam
- cam stopper adjustment
- cam height adjustment
- damaged or loose stepper mounting bracket
Hope this helps.

[Joerg Polzfusz]

Could this also be a bad splice (film) or an accidental switch to Normal8 (Wolverine)?

[Jordan Jones]

Thanks Stan! You were absolutely right, film was just too tight in there and the paper trick worked.

[Stan Jelavic]

Glad it helped...

[Claire Williams]

Probably blown motor. Had 3 units with this problem.
Send me the motor and I will fix it for you. Around $30 + shipping.
Can provide instructions if you do not mind getting your hands greasy

Hi Stan! I'd love to talk about either sending a motor to you or instructions for self repair.

Machine wouldn't turn on and stay on today, and one of your other posts about a similar problem was really helpful in figuring out that was the issue.

[Stan Jelavic]

Hi Claire,
Check the motor continuity. Unplug it from the power supply and check the motor coils by testing continuity between the two pairs of wires at the connector. There are 4 pins on the plug. Two of them go to one of the coils and the other two to the other coil. If bad, you will have to remove the transport assembly with the motor (3 screws). You may have to remove the front bezel also prior to this step. The front bezel is held in place by the small screws that can be removed from the inside of the unit. Then unscrew the motor from the transport and open it up carefully. Usually it is termination connector with bad solder joints. Re-solder and test continuity. If OK you are all set.

[Claire Williams]

I had checked the stepper motor continuity, and it's good, but the takeup motor seems to be dead. Without it everything powers on fine, with it it fails the check after trying to turn the takeup reel pin.

Edit: In case I'm just mislabeling it, photo added

[Stan Jelavic]

I don't think the takeup would cause your issue. Can you describe exactly what the unit does. Do you hear the stepper powering on during power up. It should do few rotations and stop after that. Also include any error messages on the display.

[Claire Williams]

Never gets far enough for an error message. Logo screen comes up, the screen goes white, it attempts to turn the takeup (I watched it repeatedly to make sure it was the takeup gears making a small sound, not the stepper), then immediately shuts off.

When I googled the issue, I didn't find a lot, but I found this post of yours and worked through checking everything you mentioned without finding any issues:
https://8mmforum.film-tech.com/vbb/f...-after-powerup

I slowly tore it down as I went through the checks you suggested. When everything seemed okay, I unplugged everything from the board except the short white ribbon cable in the middle, checked the stepper continuity with a multimeter to confirm it wasn't dead, and then reconnected it and it's related connectors (it's 2 pin, the 4 pin red/black set, and the pair of red/black/yellow/greens) without the takeup motor attached, powered it on and it turned on as normal (normal stepper clicks, normal boot screens then the normal work screen). Photo from after disconnecting the 4 pin connector since it was difficult to stand up or lay down while it was connected since the cable is so short.



Once the takeup was reconnected as well, it went back to just doing logo/white screen/off.

[Stan Jelavic]

OK looks like the takeup motor is shorted or jammed. That would pull higher current and cause the shutdown.
I use this motor
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...e?ie=UTF8&th=1
and swap the motor part only. Pretty messy job.

[Claire Williams]

Thank you, I'll order one! And absolutely on the messy part.