p 64

[idlerwilly]

HI,
This a great site!
I have a problem with my "new" p 64.It shoots great in single action, but with a round in the chamber it will not engage the hammer for double action fireing!
With an empty chamber it will cock and drop the hammer as it should but with a round chambered it will not move the hammer!! I have cleaned it as directed on this site ane tried two different brands of ammo .
It is frusterating for it to operate fine empty or fire fine in single action mode but no double action sucess!!

Thank You
idler

[BorisThespider]

Sounds like it may be failing to go into battery. Try pushing the slide forward with your thumb to see if it moves. Also, does it work in single action with a round chambered? As in, cock the hammer and pull the trigger? If not, I would definitely think failure to go into battery. But I'm no expert.

How about the stupid questions - What type of ammo are you using? Did you properly clean the pistol (99% of the time they don't work is because of the cosmoline)?

Even if you have cleaned it, you should check out the advice for getting rid of the hidden cosmoline and do that first. Cosmoline is great for long-term storage, but it does get into all the little nooks and crannies and muck up the works in ways you might not expect.

Only after that would I suggest doing any other tests, especially with live ammo, for fear that you'll damage the piece because of the cosmoline.

Good luck!

[idlerwilly]

HI,
Thanks for the reply.
It shoots and feeds normally in single mode. Empty gun fires in double action mode. Gun is cleaned as recomended. With a round in the chamber and hammer down it will not cock the hammer, the slide is fully foreward and I tapped it with a rubber hammer to make sure it is in battery.

Thank You

Idler

[idlerwilly]

HI,
I forgot to say I used brown bear and S&B ammo, both fired normally in sa mode.

Thank you

idler

[Curly1]

Check this thread for any clues.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1045

this one too viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4144

[BorisThespider]

HI,
Thanks for the reply.
It shoots and feeds normally in single mode. Empty gun fires in double action mode. Gun is cleaned as recomended. With a round in the chamber and hammer down it will not cock the hammer, the slide is fully foreward and I tapped it with a rubber hammer to make sure it is in battery.

Thank You

Idler

Let me ask you this - how are you getting to DA mode? I assume you load the magazine, put it in the gun and pull back and release the slide. Then you drop the hammer safely. Do you slingshot the slide or slowly guide it forward? If you don't slingshot, do. If you load the first round in any other way, stop.

Will the same round fire in SA after it will not in DA? In other words, you pull the trigger and nothing happens, so you cock the hammer and it works? I'm trying to rack my brain, but I have limited knowledge of the inner workings of the P64. The monkey wrench in the troubleshooting is that it only does it when there is a round in the chamber.

How about this - can you duplicate the failure without a round in the chamber? Maybe try pulling the slide slightly out of battery, try it with and without an empty magazine in the gun, and any other slight adjustments you can make to duplicate it without a round in the chamber. The idea is to reduce a variable and focus on the problem area. Obviously, your ammunition is not the problem, so we're trying to see what having a round in the chamber changes on your pistol.

Have you tried these other things:
DA with no more rounds in the magazine?
DA in the middle of the magazine?
DA with no magazine (just the round in the chamber)?
DA with any of the above, holding the gun upside-down or gangsta?
DA with any of the following, holding the gun upside-down or gangsta?
DA with no round, fully loaded magazine?
DA with no round with empty magazine?
DA with no round with no magazine?

Finally, is there any other difference between having a round in the magazine or not? For instance, does the SA trigger pull feel exactly the same both ways?

That's about all I can come up with. Bear in mind that I'm not a P64 expert like most of the guys here, but I do enjoy troubleshooting.

[Gary2112]

No gunsmith here, but get some snap caps and try a magazine out with them. My gun has DA with a snap cap in the chamber just fine. When I shot some live rounds the other day, the DA didn't seem to work. I just tried some snap caps again and it works fine.

Just curious if my issue was a fluke, or if yours will act the same. We may have the same problem.

[juniustaylor]

I do believe that the last time something like this happened it was something to do with the disconnector. I think it was sensitive or something and just with the round being in the chamber caused the slide to be open somewhat that it was engaging the disconnector and not allowing DA fire. I do believe that was the deal. If that is the problem, you would basically have to finely remove material on the disconnector until this problem was resolved but normal decocker function was still retained.

With a round in the chamber, the slide is retracted a bit. I can't remember the measurements but I had made a note about it somewhere on here on another person's post. It has been quite a while back. I gave the measurements that mine exhibited with and without a round in the chamber.

I found the post, the amount the slide is retracted when the chamber is loaded is 0.58mm.
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4171

I will have to see if I can find the posts about the gun not working in DA with a round in the chamber.

[juniustaylor]

Have the chamber empty. Pull the trigger every couple seconds just so you feel resistance so you know the DA is working. Then, lightly pull the slide back while pulling the trigger and see if the trigger goes limp. Take the grips off and watch the disconnector and how it affects the trigger bar. Same thing, chamber empty, pull the trigger just so you feel resistance. Pull the slide back slightly and see if it affects the disconnector. If you had an empty case, it would be best. You could then load the pistol with an empty case and see how the disconnector is in relation to when the chamber is empty. All with the grips off.

You could try cleaning the chamber as has been suggested by Norm a couple times on various topics like this. Try another ammo too!!!

Go here and go about 2/3 of the way down until you get to the picture JAGGUY posted.
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4295

[idlerwilly]

Hi all,
After many disasemblys of the p 64 I finally found the problem. The disconnector was too long to allow the trigger bar to engage the hammer notch to fire in double action, with a round in the chamber ( either a fired round, an unfired primed case with the bullet pulled, or a normal loaded round)!
I decided to file a little off the disconnector where it meets the trigger bar . This action caused the trigger to move the hammer a little way. I carefully ermoved alittle off the disconnector until the hammer went bach to the single action position.
I fired 4 primed emptys double action and all went well. My next move will be to go to the range and try it out. I believe this has solved my problem. If it is the solution, then this gun never worked in double action since it was new!!

Thank you
Idler

[Curly1]

Sounds good, give us a range report.

Makes you wonder how it got past a firing test assuming they tested them all.

[idlerwilly]

Range report!

I shot 50 rds.( with an #18 hammer spring) of s&b ammo da. and sa worked fine .
I had 3 failures to feed or jambs ! Ammo or the gun?

Idler

[Curly1]

Possible limp wristing on those few rounds but I would continue to run more rounds thru it to see if it shakes out.

Pay attention to your grip to insure not limp wristing.

Have someone else fire it also.

[Dwight]

Maybe lubricate the magazine with some silicone spray? Rounds or a follower that gets hung up can cause a failure to feed properly.

Dwight