TargetTalk postings regarding the Walther FP

Original question by Bill A

Got my Walther FP out last week and have been shooting it a lot since then and remembering how much I like this pistol. I know that Walther no longer supports the gun and that some people have been stuck with "dead" guns because no parts are available for the electronic trigger system. Anybody know why the pistol flopped? Workmanship is--as you'd expect from Walther--first rate, the trigger's easy to adjust, balance is (for me) great, sights are excellent, etc., etc. I bought mine quite a few years ago used and have always been happy with it. Of course I do have some anxiety about what will happen if something does go wrong. . .

What's the story? Seems like the gun deserved a better fate.

Among the answers were the following posts:

From Fortitudo Dei:

There was a major design flaw in the electronic board which I suspect was frying the transistors. Walther refused to acknowledge the extent of the problem and offered little support. A number of different versions of the circuit were tried, but the problem kept re-appearing. Walther pulled the pistol from its line-up, refused to offer any support and won't release the schematic diagram of the circuit which would at least give an electronics technician something to go by. My understanding is that the inscriptions on many of the components were removed or covered (a common practice among manufacturers of specialised electronic boards to protect the intellectual property of the design), so it is difficult to even know what parts were used. Though as you say, the mechanics of the pistol are first rate, the boards were manufactured by an outside contractor and it seems Walther fell down in terms of montoring quality control.

From Claudio:

I bought one of the latest Walther FP Pistols with the latest electronic board in 1990. I liked it very much until I had problems with it. I bought a spare board, thinking that if the first one goes, I could send it out for repair. The latest board was supposed to be good.

My first board faulted in the first year and died in the second year and my second board faulted in the same manner. I returned the pistol to the Canadian dealer, he tried to repair it, and it went to Walther in Germany twice and Walther USA and back to Canada. It was gone for more than two years. There were no more boards available, so no one could repair them. Some dealers still have new Walther FP that are not working, as they gave the boards to their customers under warranty. If I knew years ago that pistol manufactures fix pistols at World Cups, I would have given my Walther Free Pistol to my friend that attended years ago. Walther would have fixed it for sure.

Walther in Germany left their customers and their dealers without any support. I sent Walther in Germany many correspondences. They told me they had no more parts and no schematic diagrams, as their supplier owned the rights to them and the supplier went out of business. I just can't believe or swallow that story. Any young electronic engineer could draw up a new electronic circuit.

The problem with the Walther electronic boards was that they were high voltage and triggered the firing pin. In my research, I found three different types of boards out there and all of them have component part numbers and I found an electronic place in Germany that sells most of these parts and I will try to fix mine. Other Free Pistol electronics only tripped the sear and were very reliable. There are some Walthers still working but it’s probably because shooters don't shoot them very much and some that have always worked.

One of the easy problems was that the FP had to be cleaned up of any grease or oil. Others had bad connections on the board and most might have had one or both of the power mosfets breakdown (that's what I think mine has). I have heard that some had faulty wiring but all my wires tested good for continuity.

There is an engineer trying to design a new board for a friend of his and he is going to keep me informed. The Walther electronic boards work similar to a 9-volt camera flash unit or a 9-volt strobe unit. I am into electronics but I am not an engineer (damn I should have taken the engineer's course many years ago).

Does anyone out there have a digital picture of an FP-N V1.1-8850 Walther electronic board? Can someone take a digital picture of their board (even in the pistol), it would help me out. One board has one power mosfet in backwards and I need a digital picture of this board. The power mosfets can be seen after you remove the battery and plate. I suspect that both power mosfets should face the same direction but I want to make sure before I replace them.

Well, I won’t be buying any Walther Pistols of any kind and unfortunately I bought a few before I had the Free Pistol problems. We should form a Dead Walther Free Pistol Society and sue them for selling lemons.

From jbshooter:

I've just purchased a used Walther FP free pistol with the electronic trigger. It's mechanically elegant but misfires about one shot in twenty - feels/sounds as if there is not enough energy behind the firing pin (leaves only a shallow impression in the rim). Does anyone know if the firing pin has a spring behind it or does it use an electric solenoid or coil? I have the exploded diagram from Earl's but can't answer my question. Does anyone know if there are any trigger weight or travel adjustment screws on this pistol? Does anyone know if there different width front and rear sights available at the time the gun was available? Mine has a 3mm front sight. Lastly, can anyone email a copy of the manual for the FP?
 

From Richard H:

have an Walther Electronic FP too, and mine works too.

Try a fresh battery, when I first got mine I had a similar experience and found it was a low battery. I figured that if it fired and there was a mark the battery must be fine, wrong, after full free pistol match where every shot took two times to fire, I changed the battery and the problem went away, so each match gets a new battery, and I use the other batteries for practice. The battery drives the pin forward so low voltage equals lighter strike. Don't use 9V rechargeables either they're voltage is too low to work reliably.

Another thing make sure not to tighten the screw on the battery door too tight, others here in Canada have found that the screw is too long and if you really tighten it in pushes on on on the components on the circuit board, this too could be part of the legend of bad electronics.

From Raymac:

The firing pin (36 on your diagramme) is operated by the electronic coil(34) there is no spring behind the firing pin. There is a small return spring (35) in front of the firing pin. The force of the firing pin is dependant upon the power in the coil. There was a change in the firing pin design after serial No.2100 which I believe was a lighter pin with longer travel. The trigger had a weight adjustment but I think that was the only external adjustment. The rear sight blade was available in sizes 2.8, 3.2 and 3.4. There was also a half-round rear blade. There was only one front sight blade. I dont think there ever was a printed manual for the FP but I have a specification sheet that was supplied with the pistol. I have the exploded diagramme and factory parts list if you need it. The FP was a very advanced pistol when it first appeared. The electronic trigger system boasted the fastest lock-time of any firearm on the market. There was no need for trigger adjustment because there was no mechanical parts to it. there was no possibility of it going out of adjustment. The falling-block style action was a proven design previously used in target rifles. The sights and grips were of excellent quality. There was two different length barrels available 240mm and 300mm. The sight radius was adjustable. Too bad the factory did not support the failure of the ecectronics with their customers or their dealers who were left holding the bag.

From Randy:

In as much as I was unable to find a gunsmith who wanted to try to fix the Walther Free Pistol, I thought I had nothing to lose by giving it a try. Since I worked on communications equipment in the Marine Corps back in the early 70s, the technology looked familiar. I do have to say that I remember very little about what I was trained but I wanted to at least try.

The following is just my opinion based on tearing this one pistol apart and fixing it. My experience with this one pistol leads me to think that the boards are getting blamed for a lot of the problems and they are not the problem, board failure is the effect. Based on the readings of my pistol, a good board should have about 88 volts DC at the large capasitor terminals after the circuit charges and the green light comes on. Where the design flaw is is at the leads to the large coil that makes the firing pin function. The wire is not very flexible and it must flex each time the breach is opened and closed. The stiff wire rubs against the frame removing the insulation and/or cutting the wire. I was lucky, my wire was cut which stopped the pistol from operating. One wire was cut but the other had perfect circle of insulation removed right where it hits the frame. I think what happens to some guns is the insulation is just removed on both leads, creating a partial short on the steel pistol frame. The impact on the primer is less but could still fire the pistol--you would not know anything is wrong. You continue to discharge the 88 volts across a very reduced load which would increase the current and damage the board. When boards were available, you could replace the board, the gun would fire again (at least for a while) and you would believe the problem was board failure and it would likely happen again if the cause wasn't corrected. The other thing I noticed today is how much harder my shell casings were hit. Now I did clean the firing pin shaft but I don't think it would make that much difference. It looks like more voltage is getting to the firing coil. Walther would have never fixed this problem by changing the board design, that is not the weak spot I found. By splicing in more flexible 24 gauge wire, enclosing wear joints with shrink tubing and allowing a little more slack in the wire; it appears the wire is not as stressed and hopefully the problem avoided. The biggest change for me was my "gun parts" came from Radio Shack, Harbor Freight, and a model train store. :)

Again, these are my opinions so please decide for yourself. I did want to share what I found in hopes it may help other FP owners. Thanks to everyone who responded and I hope this helps someone else.