Canon 7D acting up: thinks external flash is attached when it isn't

I had my external flash (Speedlite) on my camera and after I removed it my camera refuses to engage the internal flash. When I press the flash button, nothing happens. When I go to full auto mode and I try to shoot in dark conditions, once again, the flash does not engage. If I try to go into the built it flash menu, I get a message that says that the menu is not available because I have an external flash attached.

I tried reinstalling the external flash and removing it, reset the camera settings, power cycled multiple times, even replaced the battery. Any idea how I can get the camera to see that there is no longer an external flash attached? Things worked just fine just before I used my external flash (which I have used many times before).

I know this sounds stupid, but on my Canon point and shoot, the internal flash will not work if I have a hot shoe cover on it. So, if you have a the hot shoe covered with a protective cap, try removing it. Good luck.

After some googling I found out there is a microswitch on the right side of the hoe shoe. I looked in there and mine looks depressed. I tried using a toothpick to depress it but it's not working - looks like it's stuck. :-(

After some googling I found out there is a microswitch on the right side of the hoe shoe. I looked in there and mine looks depressed. I tried using a toothpick to depress it but it's not working - looks like it's stuck. :-(

Try a shot of canned air and "gently" pushing the switch down with a pin a couple of times. It was a pretty common issue with older Canons. (30D) Dirt can get stuck there. You haven't been using your camera outside it's housing have you?

Good luck,

Steve

After some googling I found out there is a microswitch on the right side of the hoe shoe. I looked in there and mine looks depressed. I tried using a toothpick to depress it but it's not working - looks like it's stuck. :-(

You can try to manually pull up the flash after pushing the button on the side of the camera. Hook your fingernail under the front and pull up. That usually works. Otherwise bend the right side of the rail up just a bit since it often is the rail that is bent, not the switch that is dirty. You can then put a tiny, really tiny (nanoliter) drop of lubricant (Dry PTFE or such from a good bike shop) on the switch, but usually pulling up the flash works for me at least. This has been a problem for Canon for many years going back to the film Elan cameras.

Bill

After some googling I found out there is a microswitch on the right side of the hoe shoe. I looked in there and mine looks depressed. I tried using a toothpick to depress it but it's not working - looks like it's stuck. :-(

This happened to me on my old 20D body about 5 years ago. As you said theres a little pin that gets stuck down. I think i ended up taking off the hot shoe and cleaning the pin.The pin is on a spring, so be careful you dont push the pin down into the body of the camera, else your in trouble. There should be plenty of info on the net about how to fix it and any possible issues.