What could cause my button to stick?

[willij08]

Hope everyone's having a good Friday! My problem is this:
I have an AR mech mod by tac mods usa. It's a bottom button mech mod that I paid $180 for. I'm running a Tobh clone with a .4 resistance coil up top.

When I bought the mod it worked well, then the button started to stick and sparked on rare occasions. I switched out the spring for magnets. It still stuck. Once, I vaped outside at night and could see my pinky light up from the sparks.

Yesterday I took the button assembly apart and scrubbed each part with isopropyl alcohol to see if I could clean it, but to no avail. The sparks have lessened, I think, because I changed out my coil for a higher resistance build, but the button keeps sticking. Has anyone had this problem and fixed it? I'll post pictures of the switch parts in a few minutes.

 

[ILoveNorCal]

what battery are you using? also, you don't have one of the magnets backwards, do you? (I know, dumb question-- but I'm in IT, I have to ask the stupid questions)

 

[willij08]

Wow! Quick reply! I'm using a Sony US18650VTC3 30A 18650 battery. Also I put the magnets in right hahaha

 

[Craybee]

sticky fingers? my button sometimes sticks when i get pig gristle all over my fingers from eating then vape afterwards. mind the gristle.

 

[willij08]

AR Mod button assembly - Imgur
Here's the pictures of the button assembly.




Also the gristle is now minded.

 

[ILoveNorCal]

AR Mod button assembly - Imgur
Here's the pictures of the button assembly.




Also the gristle is now minded.

A vaper and an Imgurian - you seem okay in my book.

It's hard to tell from the picture. could there be a metal bur on the button post that it's getting hung up on.

also, just to clarify it is getting stuck on, right? not getting stuck so you can't fire it?

 

[ILoveNorCal]

also, I'm no expert, but I feel like sparks are a bad thing.

I've had my Nemisis for a while and I've never seen it spark [although I did see my coils catch fire last night as I was dry burning]

 

[willij08]

Right. It's getting stuck in the on position.

I'm just scared it might stick, keep heating the coils, and i won't realize it's heating until the battery vents. And sparks are a bad thing with any electrical device, which is why I'm going to stick with my mvp until I get this figured out.

ALSO! I just remembered that the whole thing is cerakoted. This is like a heavy duty paint sprayed on the mod, and a few specks got inside the button. Do you think the sparks could be burning cerakote from some arcing going on down there?

 

[ILoveNorCal]

Right. It's getting stuck in the on position.

I'm just scared it might stick, keep heating the coils, and i won't realize it's heating until the battery vents. And sparks are a bad thing with any electrical device, which is why I'm going to stick with my mvp until I get this figured out.

ALSO! I just remembered that the whole thing is cerakoted. This is like a heavy duty paint sprayed on the mod, and a few specks got inside the button. Do you think the sparks could be burning cerakote from some arcing going on down there?

I don't know if Cerakote burns (once it's dry) but I do wonder if the the cerakote added a little extra thickness to the button and/or the inside of the button well. Correct me if i'm wrong but the AR has a recessed button, right? so you figure it the outer octagon is 22mm wide (random numbers, not accurate, just for example) and the button is 21.5mm wide, you have .5mm spacing. then you add the cerakote taking away from the .5mm spacing and then maybe the inner octagon twists just slightly inside the outer one and gets stuck.

I'm just theorizing possibilities here.

also, on a side note, how long ago did you get this thing?

 

[willij08]

You're correct, and that sounds about right, but I'm starting to think it might be the magnets.

Because they're a bit smaller than the inner diameter of the upper button part (pic 4), they push each other to opposite sides of the inner button. This causes the pin to angle just enough that it catches against the side of the upper button part, and friction won't let it move back to the off position. I'll try to glue the magnets in the center to see if that works.

edit: I got the mod about 2 weeks ago, replaced the spring after 2 days. Sparks were really firing around day 10. Cleaned day 13.

 

[avlis]

Try to change the magnets to the smaller ones that usually go in the hammer type mods, the ones for the nemesis are to big and float around the post or get cocked a little sideways.

 

[ILoveNorCal]

the magnets seems like a smart idea. but seriously, i'm still worried about these sparks. I wish someone who knew more than me would chime in and answer that.

So did you add the cerakote yourself? or did it come that way? I assume adding cerakote would kinda void your warranty. In which case, contacting your vendor for a non-sticking, non-sparking replacement is probably out. no?

 

[willij08]

The mod comes cerakoted from the factory, so luckily no voided waranties!

I called VaporHub today to see if they had a solution to the sparking and they said it's caused by the cerakote. During the coating process, some of the buttons get drops of cerakote inside the main piece, and that can cause hot buttons, sometimes even arcing. They said to try to sand the specks off with a dremel.

I plan to use sand paper and some acetone to remove the specks tomorrow, and I'll update once I finish.

 

[ILoveNorCal]

The mod comes cerakoted from the factory, so luckily no voided waranties!

I called VaporHub today to see if they had a solution to the sparking and they said it's caused by the cerakote. During the coating process, some of the buttons get drops of cerakote inside the main piece, and that can cause hot buttons, sometimes even arcing. They said to try to sand the specks off with a dremel.

I plan to use sand paper and some acetone to remove the specks tomorrow, and I'll update once I finish.

i'm interested to hear the results!

 

[willij08]

Sorry I took so long!
So I cleaned the inside of the button out with acetone and a dremel tool. It's nice and shiny inside now!
Sadly, that didn't work. It might have even made it worse. I did find out that it's arcing where the octagon points come into contact with the sides of the main assembly. I'll upload a video of the arcing sometime tomorrow.
VaporHub emailed me a while ago saying they'd replace the part, but I just found it and responded, so we'll see how that turns out!
In the mean time I'll just puff on my MVP2 I guess...

 

[willij08]

Here's the video:
AR Mod button problems - YouTube

 

[ILoveNorCal]

wow. that thing really is arcing! Hope they'll still replace the piece for you.

 

[willij08]

Update time! VaporHub mailed back a replacement button and it works perfectly, for now.
If your button is sparking just contact them and they'll send a new one.