Foil keeps grounding for no reason??

[keith]

mmm really?? i thought you seat it tape the bottom of the wire to the tang. then tighten? or did i assemble the tip first? i doubt that though because that could cause the wire to break and i would get a yellow light instead.

You will get a yellow light if the wire breaks and does not touch (make a circuit with) the blade or tip. If the wire snaps in such a way as it is making a circuit - which is now independent of the tip assembly - you will get the problem you report; no light at all even when the tip is depressed, or disassembled.

Normally I would suggest that you place a minimum amount of wire through the barrel and then tighten the barrel onto the blade. You can then move the wire through the tip and seat the cup. If you seat the cup and then tighten down the barrel you run the risk of rubbing up the wire in the top part of the groove and creating the problem you report.

[Purple Fencer]

mmm really?? i thought you seat it tape the bottom of the wire to the tang. then tighten? or did i assemble the tip first? i doubt that though because that could cause the wire to break and i would get a yellow light instead.

Ideally, you should pull about an inch of wire through and THEN tighten, stopping after every turn or so to make sure the wire's not catching (if the groove right at the tip is shallow, it can happen easily).

That way, if you DO catch the wire, you can start over....you'll lose 6 inches or so of wire anyway.

A LOT can happen to screw up the circuit in foil....all it takes is one small error, one that may not show up until after the final assembly.

It takes a lot of experience -- and rewiring jobs -- to find any patterns in your wiring technique that might be contributing to your problems. And just because I've wired a LOT of blades since the late 90s doesn't mean I can't still foul it up.

[yearsofwisdom]

You will get a yellow light if the wire breaks and does not touch (make a circuit with) the blade or tip. If the wire snaps in such a way as it is making a circuit - which is now independent of the tip assembly - you will get the problem you report; no light at all even when the tip is depressed, or disassembled.

Normally I would suggest that you place a minimum amount of wire through the barrel and then tighten the barrel onto the blade. You can then move the wire through the tip and seat the cup. If you seat the cup and then tighten down the barrel you run the risk of rubbing up the wire in the top part of the groove and creating the problem you report.

Wow that sounds correct. thanks, my coach showed me how to do it but this may have slipped my mind. guess i have to rewire again...

[yearsofwisdom]

Ideally, you should pull about an inch of wire through and THEN tighten, stopping after every turn or so to make sure the wire's not catching (if the groove right at the tip is shallow, it can happen easily).

will do thanks.

[thekoby]

From my experience, you want to tighten the barrel before you seat the wire cup. If you do it the opposite way, you risk twisting the wire and either stripping it or breaking it.

When I'm teaching people how to maintain weapons, I always tell them to tighten the barrel, then move the wire back and forth slowly and gently to make sure it did not get caught in the threads, then seat it using the point setter.

This may be the cause of the problem. The wire may not have been completely broken, explaining why it worked a few times, but then finally broke, which is why it doesn't work now.