Annoying white lights:

[DBGlazer]

I couldn't find any relevant threads in the archives, so please bear with me if you've read this all before.

If your weapon sets off the white light intermittently (and you know it's actually the weapon and not the cord or reel), what can you do, short of rewiring the blade? Is there anything more to be done than just twisting the barrel and hoping for the best?

Thanks for any help.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

I don't know alot about foil... but here is what I'ma thinking.....

1. Make sure the barrel is tight.
2. Check the wire for bare spots.
3. Make sure the wire is insulated in correct places.
4. Check the socket, make sure its tight and secure.
5. Clean the tip of the foil, make sure theres no gunk in there.

[mrbiggs]

First try:
tighten the barrel
whack the barrel a bit using the floor
tighten the grip and socket
clean out the tip
make sure there's nothing obviously wrong with anything

Then, make sure the wire isn't broken, especially right around the bellguard/grip area. It can easily get pinched in there.

Then, isolate whether it's a part of the tip or the blade that's broken. If you have an ohmmeter, use that. Otherwise, take the tape off the tip and barrel. Put one prong on the tip, and the other on the barrel. The off-target light will go off if the tip is working. Press it down, and make sure the off-target light is triggered. If this all goes correctly, then it is not the tip itself. (If something doesn't work in here, it is the tip or tiny screws. Try replacing them)

After that, try replacing the spring.

Then, if you can't find a break in the wire and the socket seems fine, you have to rewire.

[KD5MDK]

A white light means you have connectivity problems. The normally closer circuit is opening.

Things to do:
1) Disassemble the tip, clean out the barrel, and make sure the spring and tip are properly put in.
2) Check at the base of the blade for breaks in the wire where it enters the guard, comes up to the socket.
3) Check that there's a good connection between the body cord and socket. If there's dirt or too much looseness in there, that could cause it.

If you have a loose barrel, best to rewire and do it right with locktite. You might try and put the barrel on once between taking the old wire off and putting the new in to see if the threads are good and holding it right. Otherwise you'll need to use a die on them.

[remise]

Try replacing the spring. Sometimes the spring can cause problems if it's either bent up or if it's jammed.

[DBGlazer]

Thanks for the tips!

[Frank Pratt]

Since a split-second break is all it takes to cause a white light, so you want everything on the weapon to be tight. Just shake the weapon and tighten anything that rattles. A loose barrel will certainly give you problems, but so will a loose grip (this causes the socket to loose contact with the inside of the bell, causing a broken circuit.) Even a body cord prong that’s loose in the weapon or reel socket can cause a split-second break in the circuit.

Disassembling and cleaning out the barrel is a good idea. Use electrical contact cleaner for best results. Come to think of it, cleaning the body cord prongs and socket wouldn’t hurt either.

If you still get white lights after tightening and cleaning everything, and you’re sure that the body cord and reel are fine, I would re-wire the weapon. You’ll spend less time re-wiring it than you will troubleshooting future white lights.