Film advance I was using my K1000 and the film advance spool suddenly stuck and wouldn't advance the film. It'll advance fine when there's no film in it. How can I fix it myself?

Is there film in the camera? If so it may be at the end of the roll and thus when advancing the film it jammed. Rewind the film then see if the lever and shutter operate. If not then a CLA is needed.

Without film in the camera it may well read before zero, my K1000, K1000Se, and K2 do that. Press the film rewind button, maybe that will release it for you.

For camera repairs look to:
Eric Hendrickson: http://www.pentaxs.com/index.html

First thing I would do is sacrifice a roll of film. Load the film as you have been. Then with the back open and tension on the film (do not touch the film over the shutter, advance the film. It may be that you are putting the film on the takeup spool incorrectly. Watch how the film advances on the spool. If it is on the spool incorrectly it will disconnect then not advance. If that does not work it may be a errant takeup spool.

I'm not sure I see a problem here. There is enough slack in the film that the first few exposures can spool out of the canister without it turning. If in doubt, close the back and then _lightly_ turn the rewind crank to take up the slack. Don't force it, just turn it until you feel resistance. Then advance the film and see whether the rewind knob turns.

There are a couple of possibilities that I can think of:

First, film must be loaded into the camera for the picture counter to increment.

Second, if you've loaded film, but the counter still does not change, it is possible the film is not advancing (the film release button/knob/lever that you use to rewind the film may be activated) or the film has slipped off the sprockets on the take-up spool.

If you can stand to lose the photos you may have already taken, just open the back of the camera and make sure the film is advancing when you take a photo.

If you can't possibly lose the photos, rewind the film and take the film to be developed. Try to find a local developer that only charges for the photos that "came out"... This can save a lot of money if only a few frames develop properly (or if none come out!)

The K1000 is all mechanical, the battery only powers the light meter. So even if the battery is dead, then you should still be getting images even if very over or under-exposed.

If the images are totally black on the negatives, then your shutter is stuck open and massively over-exposing your images. If the images are black on the prints, then the negatives have been unexposed and will be totally clear. The latter problem means that the film has not been exposed at all and is either due to incorrect film loading, faulty film winding, or a shutter which fails to open.

To eliminate the possibility of a shutter fault, hold the camera up to the light with the camera back open and fire the shutter at each setting. You should see light as the shutter opens and from 1s to 1/30s should be able to see and hear the difference at each speed.

To check film loading and advancing correctly, load a film and wind film on (remember this camera needs the film leader to be manually engaged onto the take-up spool). Use the rewind crank (do not press the rewind button) to take up the loose film and take a few shots. You should see the rewind crank turn each time you advance the film if it is correctly loaded and advancing. If not, open the camera back and visually inspect the film. It should be securely engaged into the take up spool. With the back still open, advance the film and take a few shots: the take-up spool should be advancing and the sprocket wheel (just before the spool, it's the wheel which engages the holes at the edge of the film) should also be turning. If it isn't, then the film rewind mechanism is faulty and the camera is behaving as if the rewind button has been pressed. It's usually easy to remove the bottom of the camera to check that the button isn't sticking.

If all checks so far are OK then check the film pressure plate on the inside of the film door. It should be able to give a little when pressure is applied and holds the film firmly in contact with the advance sprocket, if not then one of the seating pins on the flat metal spring may have become dislodged and it's usually easy to reseat it. Clean the plate after touching it as it must be grease-free and spotless.

If you try all this and still have a problem then please add a follow up comment and I'll try to respond asap, but bear in mind that as I'm in the UK I may be in a different time zone to you.

If I've fixed your problem, then please take a moment to rate my answer.

Film issues on the Pentax K. 1000 can be caused by three things. The first, is the cassette fails to lay flat when you inserted into the camera when this happens in the film is pulled across it will pull at an angle against the rewind shaft causing the film to bind and the main drive sprocket to tear the film. The second issue is caused when the take-up spool is bound and pulls too harshly on the film itself you can test this by resting your thumb against the take-up spool not the drive sprocket the take-up spool winding and winding the camera it should slip a little If it's very stiff and pulls hard against your thumb that's probably your culprit. The third issue is a bent rewind shaft if the rewind shaft has been damaged by impact it can come into connection with the main body of the film and cause a binding.
The first thing I would check is to make sure that film spool is laying flat if you'll notice on the door there is a spring mechanism that is designed to hold that film cassette down flat be sure that that spring mechanism is pressing against the top of the film cassette and it doesn't hurt to pull it out slightly and re-arch the spring to press down on the film cassette. See if this cures your problem.

kyle_walsh,
does this noise happen with film loaded or all the time?
this could be a broken gear or the take-up spool is slipping. with the film door opened advance the lever and check if the take up spool is turning. if not turning then a gear is broken. if the spool is turning then the spool is slipping.
there are no new parts available for the K1000, however some camera repair shops have good used parts that can be used.
the take-up spool was one of the very few weak parts of the K1000, you can make a temp. repair if you want.
on the take-up spool push down lightly on the gear like wheel and rotate the spool you should see a hairline crack under where the film is inserted. check both sides. if you find the crack put a very small amount of super glue on the crack using a tooth pick or similar tool. this works 80% of the time.
if you take or send your K1000 to a camera repair shop get an estimate first.

ksanzo,

The take up spool is cracked at the base causing the spool to slip. The camera must be mostly disassembled to replace the spool ( if available ) . This is one of the very few weak parts in the K1000. send or take it to a camera repair shop for an estimate first. --- or--
separate the base of the spool by pushing down on the gear like wheel and if you find the small crack from the bottom of the spool film slots, very carefully put a dab of super glue on the crack. check both sides of the spool. this works about 80% of the time. however it's better to replace the spool.

Yes this is fairly common with K 1000 and the Spotmatics : although the shutter is cocked and hence you cannot advance film you cannot release shutter because mirror box is not cocked. Remedy : remove bottom cover and locate mirror box lever which protrudes slightely and is movable up and down and is spring loaded. Move upwards until it licks in position ( moving up against spring tension ). Now release the shutter and camera should let you advance the film .