What is wrong with my Canon AE 1?

Question

I cleaned up my dads old Canon AE 1 today, took 6 hours to take it apart, unjam the gears in the coking mechanism, clean the corrosion off of the battery terminals, and put it all back together. At this point, it seems fully functional, ALMOST. When I cockit, and take a piucture, it works, then if i recock it, and shoot again, the shutter goes off, but the mirror doesnt reopen, and to get it to reopen, i have to press the rewind button on bottom, followed by ythe batteryyy ycheck button on top. I have no idea why but this resets the mirror and allows me to cock it again, then i will have to do this process once more, because the mirror will always fail to reopen 2 times in a row, then the third shot will always shoot and reset properly. I did have to do some stuff like rewire the tungsten wire, and other things, and its possible i didnt do them perfectlyy, though i followed videos closelyy and it seems to be working correctly to my knowledge. If anyone knows why this is happening please help!

Answer 1

One of the most important aspects of being a working photographer is to have a great relationship with an extremely competent camera repair person. Trying to fix your own gear usually leads to disappointment, frustration and often yields tragic results.

Find a good mechanic and they will keep you shooting.