failure of striker to engage

flip70 · 02-11-2008, 02:45 PM

after firing my luger I gave it a good cleaning & for the first time too out the striker & it's spring to clean. seemed stright forward & can only go back one way, but now it does not fire. Think the striker is not engaging what i guess you would call a sear or lug. What went wrong ? At the same time the trigger came out, but that sems fine as the bar that the safety holds down comes out when triger is pulled. NEED HELP

John Sabato · 02-12-2008, 09:50 AM

First, take the top half of the Luger off of the grip frame.

Then manually work the toggle and see if the sear is engaging the striker (firing pin)... if it does, and pressing on the forward part of the sear bart drops the striker we are halfway home to proper assembly. If it does not drop the cocked striker, then there is no need to further assemble the pistol until we figure out why not.

Do you feel resistance when you lower the toggle (about the last half inch?)

If you do feel the resistance, then the striker should be functioning, and pressing the front of the sear bar should drop the cocked striker.

If you do not feel the striker resistance when you close the toggle, then remove the rear toggle pin and withdraw the toggle from the upper receiver. --- Does the sharp edge on the left side of the striker seem very worn?

Check the small spring loaded plunger on the sear bar to make sure it is fully extended. The plunger is that portion of the sear bar that is pressed on by the trigger lever in the sideplate.

Check these things and report back on your findings... we will try to troubleshoot this problem long distance for you...

OH, and do you have a camera capable of closeup photos? Photos could help considerably in diagnosing the problem.

flip70 · 02-12-2008, 04:26 PM

I'll give it a try & let you know. Should be able to get pix
Thanks

flip70 · 02-12-2008, 08:11 PM

I uploaded some pix but do not know what happened to them. In all this looking at the gun I think I now know what is wrong. The sideplate is loose. When the trigger is pulled the plate moves outward just a bit and the piece on the inside of the sideplate does not hit the front of the sear bar. When I hold the sideplate tight it works. What can I do about this ?
Really appreciate the help Would not want to replace any parts as all numbers ( except magazine ) match

John Sabato · 02-13-2008, 09:33 AM

First about your photos.

When you upload a photo, you are presented with a success screen that shows your photo. On that screen, there are instructions that the URL for the photo must be copied and pasted into a post to make the photo appear by using image tags. The image tags start with the letters "img" (no quotes) surrounded by the square brackets "[ and ]" and after your URL you place the same tag but the 'img' letters are preceded with a back slash "/" that tells the page that the address is finished.

Just upload your photos again, and this time copy and past the URL into a temporary location like in Notepad... then add the image tags and paste the whole shooting match into you post.

Be sure and leave a "return" in between each photo. You can put up to 8 images into each individual post... and that includes smiley faces like this one

Regarding the loose sideplate. this can be corrected by judicious and careful bending. it doesn't take much work to fix this, but you have to have confidence in yourself.

The bend of the tab should take place at Point A.

Place a small shim, a popcicle stick should do, under point B.

Then carefully and gently stike Point C (the raised portion of the sideplate) with a rubber mallet to ever so slightly until you have achieved a bend at Point A of about 1/32 of an inch or even less. Do this and then try the fit on the sideplate. keep doing it until you have a snug but not TIGHT fit.

This should cure your unreliable striker drop.

If you are careful you can do this, but at your own risk ... If you are not comfortable making these adjustments, take it to a gunsmith.

Good Luck! ... and let us know how you made out.

flip70 · 02-13-2008, 05:05 PM

I brought the gun to my local shop & he did pretty much as you suggested.Seems to work fine. Only trouble is he says the gun is pretty worn out & that I could use a new spring to hold the take down latch. I don't shoot it much just a couple of time a year & then only about 50 rounds at a time. It is really accurate. Thanks again for the help. As for the photos when I try to upload a single picture it says maximum file size exceeded. What is with that ?
flip70

John Sabato · 02-13-2008, 06:21 PM

Photos to be uploaded can only be 200Kbytes in size. You can reduce them using most any graphics progam to a size that will be uploadable, or you can take them at reduced resolution with your camera.

You can order a replacement takedown lever spring from Lugerdoc. Check the Want to BUY forum...

02-11-2008, 02:45 PM	#1
flip70 User Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: long island new york Posts: 13 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	failure of striker to engage after firing my luger I gave it a good cleaning & for the first time too out the striker & it's spring to clean. seemed stright forward & can only go back one way, but now it does not fire. Think the striker is not engaging what i guess you would call a sear or lug. What went wrong ? At the same time the trigger came out, but that sems fine as the bar that the safety holds down comes out when triger is pulled. NEED HELP

02-12-2008, 09:50 AM	#2
John Sabato Lifer Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: The Capital of the Free World Posts: 10,150 Thanks: 3,003 Thanked 2,304 Times in 1,096 Posts	Striker problem... First, take the top half of the Luger off of the grip frame. Then manually work the toggle and see if the sear is engaging the striker (firing pin)... if it does, and pressing on the forward part of the sear bart drops the striker we are halfway home to proper assembly. If it does not drop the cocked striker, then there is no need to further assemble the pistol until we figure out why not. Do you feel resistance when you lower the toggle (about the last half inch?) If you do feel the resistance, then the striker should be functioning, and pressing the front of the sear bar should drop the cocked striker. If you do not feel the striker resistance when you close the toggle, then remove the rear toggle pin and withdraw the toggle from the upper receiver. --- Does the sharp edge on the left side of the striker seem very worn? Check the small spring loaded plunger on the sear bar to make sure it is fully extended. The plunger is that portion of the sear bar that is pressed on by the trigger lever in the sideplate. Check these things and report back on your findings... we will try to troubleshoot this problem long distance for you... OH, and do you have a camera capable of closeup photos? Photos could help considerably in diagnosing the problem. __________________ regards, -John S "...We hold these truths to be self-evident that ALL men are created EQUAL *and are endowed by their Creator* with certain UNALIENABLE* rights, and among these are life, LIBERTY, and the pursuit of happiness..."*

02-13-2008, 09:33 AM	#5
John Sabato Lifer Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: The Capital of the Free World Posts: 10,150 Thanks: 3,003 Thanked 2,304 Times in 1,096 Posts	First about your photos. When you upload a photo, you are presented with a success screen that shows your photo. On that screen, there are instructions that the URL for the photo must be copied and pasted into a post to make the photo appear by using image tags. The image tags start with the letters "img" (no quotes) surrounded by the square brackets "[ and ]" and after your URL you place the same tag but the 'img' letters are preceded with a back slash "/" that tells the page that the address is finished. Just upload your photos again, and this time copy and past the URL into a temporary location like in Notepad... then add the image tags and paste the whole shooting match into you post. Be sure and leave a "return" in between each photo. You can put up to 8 images into each individual post... and that includes smiley faces like this one Regarding the loose sideplate. this can be corrected by judicious and careful bending. it doesn't take much work to fix this, but you have to have confidence in yourself. The bend of the tab should take place at Point A. Place a small shim, a popcicle stick should do, under point B. Then carefully and gently stike Point C (the raised portion of the sideplate) with a rubber mallet to ever so slightly until you have achieved a bend at Point A of about 1/32 of an inch or even less. Do this and then try the fit on the sideplate. keep doing it until you have a snug but not TIGHT fit. This should cure your unreliable striker drop. If you are careful you can do this, but at your own risk ... If you are not comfortable making these adjustments, take it to a gunsmith. Good Luck! ... and let us know how you made out. __________________ regards, -John S "...We hold these truths to be self-evident that ALL men are created EQUAL *and are endowed by their Creator* with certain UNALIENABLE* rights, and among these are life, LIBERTY, and the pursuit of happiness..."*

02-13-2008, 06:21 PM	#7
John Sabato Lifer Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: The Capital of the Free World Posts: 10,150 Thanks: 3,003 Thanked 2,304 Times in 1,096 Posts	Photos to be uploaded can only be 200Kbytes in size. You can reduce them using most any graphics progam to a size that will be uploadable, or you can take them at reduced resolution with your camera. You can order a replacement takedown lever spring from Lugerdoc. Check the Want to BUY forum... __________________ regards, -John S "...We hold these truths to be self-evident that ALL men are created EQUAL *and are endowed by their Creator* with certain UNALIENABLE* rights, and among these are life, LIBERTY, and the pursuit of happiness..."*

02-12-2008, 04:26 PM	#3
flip70 User Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: long island new york Posts: 13 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	I'll give it a try & let you know. Should be able to get pix Thanks

02-12-2008, 08:11 PM	#4
flip70 User Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: long island new york Posts: 13 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	I uploaded some pix but do not know what happened to them. In all this looking at the gun I think I now know what is wrong. The sideplate is loose. When the trigger is pulled the plate moves outward just a bit and the piece on the inside of the sideplate does not hit the front of the sear bar. When I hold the sideplate tight it works. What can I do about this ? Really appreciate the help Would not want to replace any parts as all numbers ( except magazine ) match

02-13-2008, 05:05 PM	#6
flip70 User Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: long island new york Posts: 13 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	I brought the gun to my local shop & he did pretty much as you suggested.Seems to work fine. Only trouble is he says the gun is pretty worn out & that I could use a new spring to hold the take down latch. I don't shoot it much just a couple of time a year & then only about 50 rounds at a time. It is really accurate. Thanks again for the help. As for the photos when I try to upload a single picture it says maximum file size exceeded. What is with that ? flip70