Interesting Failure Mode: Morini CM84 Electronic Free Pistol

[Gwhite]

Just a heads up for folks. I put a new battery in my pistol a few days ago, and it tested fine. I went to a match today, and after 10 sighters and 7 record shots, it stopped firing. It took me a while to figure out that it was the pistol & not me. I declared a disabled pistol, and popped the battery cover off. The front end of the battery had shifted upwards just enough that it was no longer making contact. i popped it back in place, and finished the match with no further battery issues.

The 15V battery I was using is a round "Exell" brand, which may not have as much support as the older squarish ones. If you are in doubt (as I was a few times later in the match), you can check that the battery is connected by pressing the test button. If the LED doesn't light up, you have a problem. I've been shooting this pistol for about 20 years, and never had an issue like this before. When I got home, I took a look inside, and at least on my pistol, there is nothing to block the front end of the battery from shifting upwards. I may see if I can figure out a way to do that with a piece of plastic or foam to avoid any chance of this happening again in the future.

[FredB]

Some grips for the 84e have a piece of stiff foam already installed, which keeps the battery in position. Most Morini brand grips have this, I think, but AFAIK the Rink grips do not. It's an easy fix. Also the Exell brand batteries seem to have rounder contacts than the previously available batteries, so they become unseated more easily. I did bring this to the attention of Batteries in a Flash, which sells them, and they said they would look into it. That was about 2-3 years ago. Oh well....

[FWB_700_Alu]

The exact same thing happened to me on Friday!! I have the Rink grip and found a piece of small foam in my Morini case ( did it come with the Rink grip and I just didn´t put it in???) The Morini still acted up. From some reason I would hear the "Click" but it would´t fire. I for some reason picked up my firing pace ( I don´t know why) and the problem went away. go figure....

I´m using a VARTA battery

[Gwhite]

Some grips for the 84e have a piece of stiff foam already installed, which keeps the battery in position. Most Morini brand grips have this, I think, but AFAIK the Rink grips do not. It's an easy fix. Also the Exell brand batteries seem to have rounder contacts than the previously available batteries, so they become unseated more easily. I did bring this to the attention of Batteries in a Flash, which sells them, and they said they would look into it. That was about 2-3 years ago. Oh well....

I have a Morini grip, which has a piece of foam in it, but it's too far to the rear to prevent this. Any further forward, and the electronics wouldn't go in. The place where you need the foam or some other block is above the front of the battery, on the electronics board. There are a host of ways to fix this, and I wouldn't be surprised if newer electronics boards had something to prevent the problem. I'll probably just cut a small piece of rigid foam to stuff in the hole.

I've been using Exell batteries for several years without a problem. I think if you install the positive end of the battery as low as it can go (towards the cover), it might be fine. I probably stuffed it in a little too far, which allowed it to slip up from firing/transport vibration.