Lens cover does not operate

I fixed this problem on my Fuji FinePix A303 (though it took some hard work).

The problem:
Camera Lens Cover stuck open or stuck closed.
Power on, and get !LENS COVER error.
Lens fails to extend.

The solution:
Short answer: The motor driving the lens cover is weak and eventually breaks down. I manually open the cover now. This took a manual modification to the camera (and some work).

1. Take the camera apart. See here for details, and be careful around the flash, as you'll get a nasty shock otherwise! http://www.mathematik.uni-marburg.de/~haim/focuserr.htm
2. Once you can see this, you're just about there:

3. Take off the battery cover (in the picture above).
4. Wrap a wire around the sliding pin for the lens cover, and drill 2 small holes through the black structure underneath the battery case, and then to the outside. The wire goes from the pin to the outside via the two holes. You should be able to manually open and close the camera cover COMPLETELY now with the wire.
5. Reassemble the camera (actually, you can test that it's working when it's all apart, if you're careful).
6. To operate the camera now, close the shutter first while off. Power on the camera, and very soon after open the shutter all the way by pulling on the wire (from step 4). This basically mimics the action of the little lens cover motor. If you timed it right (you have about a second margin), the lens should extend and everything functions perfectly.

It would have been nice to have been able to simply buy a new motor, but that would probably be a pain and cost some money.

Hope this helps!

Matt Van Dyken.
http://mattvd.googlepages.com