Odd Glock malfunction?

[Mark13]

I was shooting a mag of corbon 135's out of my G23, two handed, firm grip, when halfway through, the trigger didn't reset after a new round chambered.

I have a 3.5 rocket connector and haven't had any problems with functioning before this. If I am correct, an improperly installed 3.5 rocket connector will cause the pistol to not be able to be fired, and doesn't affect the reset.

I replaced the mag with one loaded with target ammo and it didn't happen again. Later I examined the whole mechanism and still don't understand how this type of malfunction could occur. Even pulling back the slide a little resets the trigger, with or without my finger on it.

Any ideas?

 

[JohnKSa]

Something's wrong with your connector. It can't be anything else.

 

[victory]

You see what it says under the "Glock" symbol? It says "Perfection"

Why mess with perfection? Put your old connector back in and it will most likely go away.

 

[Mark13]

I know I messed with perfection, but if it was perfect I wouldn't have wanted the 3.5 connector.

I reinstalled the short orange slide backplate you use to tune/install the connector. It's short so you can see inside the mechanism.

I noticed that only the top part of the sear is touching the bar coming down off the striker. At reset the sear looks like it's already about half off the bar.

Is this normal for a glock?

I'm thinking that during recoil with the corbon's, the frame flexed enough to allow the striker bar to ride up over the sear, and I got a new round but no striker tension to pull the trigger forward?

 

[Rockstar]

The Ghost Rocket connector should "stand off" the trigger housing @ at seven degree angle. If the connector is not put under tension when the trigger housing is installed in the frame, then a failure to reset condition can occur.

 

[Black Snowman]

I get full engagement on my striker from my factory 3.5# connector. In fact I flattened the bottom of my striker to eliminate some of the stacking on the trigger because I had enough extra engagement. Sounds like something is off somewhere. 1st place I'd look is the non-standard part.

 

[Mark13]

I seem to have enough tension on the connector to reset the trigger.

It could be that the tolerances on my glock are stacked so that the striker tab isn't fully engaged with the sear, and taking out and re-installing the mechanism block just made that worse. I could try to bend the sear up a little farther to get more engagement on the striker tab.

 

[cerberus]

Combat gun

I think that when you try to make a target gun out of a combat gun by changing items. It's gonna cause a change it's dependability.

 

[C. H. Luke]

"In fact I flattened the bottom of my striker to eliminate some of the stacking on the trigger because I had enough extra engagement."

Has this improved the let-off significantly?

 

[flip180]

Does this sound like the problem you were having?

http://glocktalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=313597

I seem to be having similar problems to with a Glock 3.5# connector.

Flip.

 

[Black Snowman]

C. H. Luke, in a nutshell, no. I PMed you a detailed explination.

 

[JohnKSa]

The "sear" engagement with the striker tab is considered to be one of the internal safeties. When it doesn't work, that means you have only the firing pin safety preventing a slam fire.

When the connector is pushed out of engagement with the "sear" then the back of the trigger bar and the "sear" should rise to maximum height--determined by the cut on the left side of the frame that the left cross piece of the cruciform part of the trigger bar rides in.

Either the spring has been lightened to the point that it's not taking the sear up as far as it should (unlikely and easy to test), or the connector is interfering with the sear and not allowing it to rise up to catch the striker tab (I think this is it).

It could be that there is a burr on the edge of the connector ramp or the trigger bar, or it could be that the tab on the connector that rides against the inside right of the slide isn't quite long enough and the slide's not pushing it over enough to disconnect.

Field strip the gun.

Use a small screwdriver or equivalent, push the connector tab over to the left. The back of the trigger bar should pop up (reset).

You'll have to manually push the trigger bar forward using the nub that sticks up near the right front of the mag channel.

To pull the trigger again, put a tiny bit of forward pressure on the trigger bar using the nub that sticks up near the right front of the mag channel. You should now be able to pull the trigger.

Make sure not to pull the trigger unless you put a little forward force on the trigger bar to prevent damage to the trigger safety, and also make sure the trigger is in the full back position before reassembling the gun.

You should be able to fiddle around and figure out what's going wrong.

BTW, I think that bending the sear up is a really bad idea.

 

[Mark13]

Thanks, but my problem I think was that the striker tab had ridden over the sear, so the striker tension could not pull the trigger forward, it stayed back. That guy was pulling the trigger and nothing was happening.

I'm not a glock expert but I don't think the connector type significantly affects the force the striker has. No matter what connector you have the striker will let off towards the very end of the trigger travel. So spring compression on the striker should be very nearly the same. The rocket 3.5 has a little tab you grind down, that stops the trigger travel after it lets off, but it doesn't change the let off point. The let off feels lighter because the connector to sear angle is shallower. This gives a mechanical advantage in pulling the sear off the striker tab.

 

[Mark13]

Thanks John I'll try that.

 

[JohnKSa]

I don't think the connector type significantly affects the force the striker has.

That's more or less correct. The force of the striker is determined by the weight of the striker, the strength of the striker spring and the distance that the striker is pulled to the rear.

The 3.5lb connectors have a more gentle ramp so I suppose that it's possible that the trigger might travel a little farther back before the sear drops enough to release the striker. If anything, the lower poundage connectors might actually cause slightly harder primer strikes...

You COULD have a connector that caused lighter strikes if it somehow dropped the sear faster but I would think that a significant change would be difficult since the vertical motion of the sear is controlled somewhat by the cut in the side of the frame that the sear crosspiece runs in.

Light strikes are more likely caused by a clogged striker channel, a broken striker, or something amiss with the striker safety.

 

[SDC]

You have to watch yourself with these things; I once put a "drop-in" trigger in my G22 that turned it into a full-auto, and it sounds like your pistol has gone just past that; if you don't have enough engagement between the leg of the striker and the rear of the trigger bar, the striker will slip off the trigger-bar each time the slide goes back into battery, giving you "BRRRP!" instead of "Bang!". If you put the armourer's half back-plate onto the slide, you should be able to see that at least half the width of the rear of the trigger-bar is contacting the striker leg, otherwise it's an unsafe condition. If you don't have enough, you either get the FA malfunction that happened to me, or you get a case where the trigger bar is so low that it doesn't pick up the striker at all when the slide goes back into battery (no reset).

 

[C. H. Luke]

FWIW, have had problems with the only Ghost 3.5 conn. have tried.
Not the same as yours but the problem was the conn., in this instance, the let-off was erratic causing the pistol's accuracy to be lousy. Replacing it with an OEM 3.5 fixed it.

Again FWIW, that Ghost conn. put enormous pressure on the slide's cam rail compared to the OEM item.

Do not overlook the striker channel. That it will move freely by tipping the slide isn't definitive. Tiny chips/shavings of brass, without fail, will work their way in there and can cause light strikes.

All that said, am running my IDPA gun with a 4 Lb. striker spring, a 3.5 Scherer conn., using hand-loads, and never have light strike problems. {Win. or Fed primers a must tho'} Striker and channel are far from squeaky clean too.

You might consider having Arthur Viani at Ghost inspect your connector? He is good about answering emails promptly too.

Good Luck........

 

[quantico]

I think you maybe have some maintainance cleaning issues to address ... I would return the glock to stock condition and go from there... I use a 3.5 pound connector and all polished trigger parts.

 

[Kilroy]

If the gun worked OK prior to aftermarket parts, then consider calling the warranty number for the aftermarket part manufacturer. Talk to their staff and describe the problem. I am sure a solution will be forthcoming.

 

[JohnKSa]

that Ghost conn. put enormous pressure on the slide's cam rail compared to the OEM item.

There's your answer. If it takes a lot more pressure to flex the connector over to the left to disconnect/reset the trigger, it's definitely possible that if you get enough flex in the frame or enough play in the slide you'll start getting failures to reset.

I'd ditch that part in a heartbeat. Return it and get your money back.

 

[Mark13]

I have the short backplate, and it looks like half the sear is on the striker tab. I'm going to put the old connector back in and see if the engagement is any different.

 

[Island Beretta]

These 'tight' tolerance parts can throw the gun's reliability out of wack since others parts may not be in spec and it also makes the gun more sensitive to debris and/or carbon, metal filing buildup. As a rule we usually advise shooters to go with the full kit e.g Lightning Strike where possible and ensure that testing is thorough. Believe me I have seen so much Glock malfunctions and in 99% of the cases, it is due to a pistol mod. or more.