Zenit 19 odd functioning

Hello! I was very exited to get a mint Zenit 19 from the ukraine, and it was great through the first roll of film. However, it seems the battery test LED has failed, and shutter speeds are intermittent. I had replaced the batteries with ones that I got on ebay in "new" condition. New batteries should not be dead in a week....

The cosmetic condition of this Zenit is excellent, and its mechanically good. Its my favorite camera and I want to see it working well again. (Even if that means getting another 19, but not at the ebay prices)

Thanks

The Zenit 19 is a great camera- but it eats batteries at a tremendous rate from my experience especially if you leave it switched on. Plus it only needs to lose a little charge for the red light to stop working- and when the charge drops the shutter will still fire but only at I think 1/1000. As I say from my experience your Zenit 19 sounds ok- just switch it off when not using it and be ready to keep changing batteries- btw LR44 batteries will do fine in a 19 as it has a bridging circuit to deliver the corret voltage to the meter. Maybe claening the battery contacts will help too it cant do any harm hope that may be of some help.

Samsung GX-10,too many Russian Lenses, A lot of Zenits, an Almaz 103 a few Yashica,and finally a Minox35GT