n00b with Emag issues

[Kyuzo00]

I just received a X-valved Emag (first mag I've owned). and unfortuantely I've run into a couple issues and I was hoping to find some advice. Unfortunately it kinda devolved into a comedy of errors.

Issue 1:
Sear Sticking? I noticed that the sear seems to be very *sticky* as in it doesn't want to freely move between up and down and requires much greater force that I would think necessary to actually move it. If I remove the rail and hold the sleeve which the retaining screw/pin goes through, I can find a position where it moves much more freely up and down. However, installing it back into the rail returns it to the *sticky* travel. There still appears to be a tiny bit of slack between the rail and the sear, and it doesn't seem to be sticking on the pin. It seems as if it's an alignment issue. Has this been seen before? I examined the sear on a friend's emag and the ease of travel was phenomenal (almost free-floating).

Issue 2:
Gassing after a shot. Practically every time in mechanical mode and sometimes in hybrid/electro (I just got it and haven't tried too much yet) after a single shot it starts gassing down the barrel. Turning off the gas supply and then turning it back on gives an audible click as if everything reset and there is no gas leak. Firing a single shot returns it to the previous leaking issue. I don't know if somehow this is related to Issue 1 or if it is a level 10 tuning issue?

I was told there were no issues with the mag when I purchased it, and am worried if somehow I screwed something up (to top things off the safety jammed on me and I couldn't move it... lost the spring and bearing trying to unjam it). I'm sorry if there are fixes posted elsewhere, I'm a bit frustrated and decided to just go ahead and post.

[kevdupuis]

For the first question it sounds like the solenoid is out of alignment with the sear, check for a bent rod or it may need a solenoid adjustment. I'm not totally familiar with E/X- mags yet.

The second sound like a slight lvl 10 leak. Try lubing the marker and cycle it about twenty times then check for the leak. If it's a slight leak that comes and goes you can leave it or go to the next smaller lvl 10 carrier using the same o-ring. Remember lvl 10 loves lube. :D

[Kyuzo00]

thanks for the reply... I agree that there appears to be some sort of alignment issue, but I'm not sure what is acceptably considered adjustable. I was reading through the tolerance sticky and I'm assuming that's the 3.005 measurement being referred to (sear pivot to plunger nut - i don't know the terminology, sorry).

As far as the leak, it is by no means minor, rather it's only a little better than screwing in a tank with a busted asa o-ring.

[deadeye9]

If your friend will let you, you could swap the sear assembly with the one from his E-mag.
This would indicate if there's a problem with the sear.

The air leak sounds like a level 10 problem. First, try removing a shim. Then try using a smaller carrier. Go to
http://www.automags.org/resource/level10/index.shtml
to learn more about level 10 tuning.

[Kyuzo00]

The e-mag sear is not a simple slip out like on classic mags.... are there any instructions for removing the e-mag sear available? It appears as if you have to remove the solenoid. Any gotchas that I have to worry about?

[deadeye9]

Remove the rail. Remove the left grip frame cover. Using a pair of needle nose pliars, remove the E-clip that's located on the plunger that goes into the solenoid. Pul out the sear assemblly.

[JrnyFan1985]

with the lvl 10, try using a different spring too. that might do the trick.

[Kyuzo00]

Thanks both of you for the suggestions. JrnyFan.. fyi I tried a longer spring already without success but I'll get to playing with it some more soon.

Deadeye: Had an interesting evening playing with the sear last night. I removed both my sear and my friends' sear and gave a comparison. I adjusted the plunger to the same depth and "loosened up" the pivots as his was to give a little more play. Put it back in the frame and it was great until I actually screwed in the sear pin all the way and straightened the body and then it was almost exactly the same (tightening the sear pin was pretty much okay, but mixed with the body alignment brought back the *stuck sear* issue).

I looked closer at the sears and noted that the bottom of his sear on the on-off pin side had a different curve than mine. Examining even closer I realized that the sear thicknesses were different. His sear was probably just under .5mm or so thinner than mine. His rail was heavily milled so we're going to try swapping sears for a while as mine seems quite happy in his rail and his sear is quite happy in my rail (free floating... no noticeable stick). I didn't get a chance to reassemble and test last night, but hopefully that will be tonight. Just found the sear differences rather odd

[athomas]

It does sound like an out of alignment solenoid plunger. Is the solenoid held in place properly?

The leak is most likely a level 10 issue. Remove your shims and use the largest carrier that doesn't leak.

[Kyuzo00]

I think sear-wise I'm doing much better now that I've swapped out, although I've still got concerns about total travel, as I've noticed that I can get the sear to travel higher by adjusting the plunger depth than I can with the manual pin (I can't seem to get it to adjust). It seems as if I'll barely get enough height when pushing the trigger in manual mode while in electronic mode it'll probably do fine (the top of the sear clears the hole in the body with a couple milimeters to spare. When using the trigger, it appears to only just barely meet the top of the hole in the body). In both mechanical and electro modes (I'm assuming you should be able to adjust the height to the same) how much clearance should the sear get? I'd like to ensure that I operate the on-off fully, but don't know the rule of thumb for how far above the hole in the body the on-off section of the sear should clear. Any recommendations?


And yeah, I think that I'll probably start the level 10 tuning from scratch as if it were never installed. I feel like a bit of a moron, but I don't quite get what effect each piece of the kit really has and how to take advantage of it (what is the effect of adding one shim, if the input pressure to the valve from the reg is increased (increasing velocity) what should be adjusted in the lvl10 to compensate, etc). I went through some of the level 10 posts but I hadn't seen really granular information like that. If anyone can think of a good post to link to for that kind of specifics I'd appreciate it. I really need to learn how to work with this kit better.

Regardless, thanks all for the help... I really appreciate it!

[athomas]

When adjusting the travel of the sear, remember, the sear is a solid piece of metal. If the front of the sear(bolt catching sear tip) is down far enough to release the bolt, then the on/off is definately closed off since the on/off closes before the bolt is released. The plunger depth should be fine if the sear tip clears the bolt. In manual mode, you should get the same results. As long as the trigger action is only stopped after the bolt is released, then the trigger travel is fine.

You never know, maybe something is out of alingment from the factory. If the sear pin hole was drilled slightly askew, thn you could have problems. With the gun turned off and without air, move the sear assembly through its full cycle. Check for sticky spots. Note where it is rubbing if it is. You may have to make some minor alignment adjustments to loosen things up.