Nikon 70-200 autofocus fail

[monokakata]

My 70-200 f/2.8 VR2 seems to have lost its autofocus, and I'm looking for any DIY remedies to try before I send it off to be fixed. It's about 2.5 years old.

-- I know it's the lens, because all my other AF lenses focus perfectly on the D810.

-- I cleaned the contacts.

-- I slid all the switches back and forth many times.

-- if I put my ear to the lens and hit the AF-ON button, I can hear a click and then what must be the Silent Wave motor running. It just keeps running.

-- no matter what I do, the focus area rectangle is always red -- even when I focus manually, and bring something into focus. It definitely will focus manually.

The fact that the motor keeps running until I stop pressing AF-ON makes me think that the problem's mechanical, that the motor's not engaging whatever it's supposed to engage.

Any ideas?

It's out of warranty, so I'd like to hear about any alternative repair depots. West Coast US would be the easiest for me.

 

[ChrisA]

I think you have the problem diagnosed correctly. Some small mechanical part is broken.

It's hard to recommend a repair shop because the best one is going to be some one man shop that is near you. Back what I shot with a medium format film camera I knew a good place because those cameras just need to be worked on.

 

[Cheese&Apple]

I don't know how you cleaned the contacts but try cleaning doing it with the pink eraser at the end of a pencil. There is just enough abrasive in the eraser to do a great job without damaging the contacts.

I carry a pencil in my kit just in case.

~ Peter