BG380 laser stopped working (UPDATE, pg.3, got it back)

[Sonny Crocket]

Yesterday my dealer got in three of the new BG380s. I got the last one (they sold the first too as soon as they came in).
Compared to my Ruger LCP it is a helluva lot nicer. Better sights, better trigger, only slightly taller. It shot great in the 150 rounds I put through it. The laser only required a slight adjustment in elevation to be dead on.
A few times the last round in the mag would not fully eject, but other than that no issue in reliability. The laser worked fine the whole time too.
I put it back in my range bag, drove home, and met my brother as he was getting off work. I took it out to show it to him and the laser wouldn't come on.
I took the laser out to check the batteries, put it back together, nothing. Went to Walmart and got some new batteries and still nothing.
Any ideas?
I just got off the phone with S&W and they haven't heard of any issues with this, plus they are closed through next week. Called Insight and left a message but haven't heard back from them yet.

 

[ladder13]

The factory is off for 2 weeks, after that, I'd call and get a RMA and send the gun back. They'll fix it for sure.
I'm not touching one of these things until all the issues get resolved.

 

[xzhync]

Did you try pushing the solenoids on the side of the laser itself...with it removed? if it works like that then try removing and repositioning the rubber buttons in the dust cover.

 

[Sonny Crocket]

Did you try pushing the solenoids on the side of the laser itself...with it removed? if it works like that then try removing and repositioning the rubber buttons in the dust cover.

Yep, still nothing. I was just fooling around with it again a minute ago. There must be something internally wrong with it.
The lady from Insight called me back. I told her what was going on and she thought the batteries were in wrong. But it stopped working before I ever took the laser module out for the first time. The new batteries won't work either. I tried different orientations with the batteries just to make sure and still nothing. You also have to make sure, when reinserting the module, that you hear a click before you tighten the screw down. I found this out on my own, but she mentioned it also as being a possible reason.
She said she would check with the tech people about a possible solution and would call me back.
She also said its a misprint in the owners manual about contacting them with issues. Your supposed to go through S&W even with laser issues. I'm sure as "simple" as this thing is it would be easier to just replace it than fix it.

 

[jd3772000]

I held one of the bg380's yesterday. The guy at the shop said they couldn't sell the one they had because everyone didn't like how HARD it was to activate the laser. When I held it, I could not activate the laser with my index/trigger finger at all. It took all the pressure from my other hand thumb to get it to turn on. Possibly a switch issue?

 

[gunlovingirl]

I held one of the bg380's yesterday. The guy at the shop said they couldn't sell the one they had because everyone didn't like how HARD it was to activate the laser. When I held it, I could not activate the laser with my index/trigger finger at all. It took all the pressure from my other hand thumb to get it to turn on. Possibly a switch issue?

That must be a problem with that particular gun. I have arthritis in my hands, and I have no problem activating the laser with my finger.

 

[Loco Weed]

My laser likes to stay on. If I tuck it into the factory carrying case, it goes on. If I put it into my pocket holster, it goes on. Free of the cases and holsters the switch works just fine, just what I would expect it to be. I have doubts that I'm going to get reasonable battery life out of it.

 

[SMSgt]

Electronics will fail when needed most.

 

[Sonny Crocket]

My laser likes to stay on. If I tuck it into the factory carrying case, it goes on. If I put it into my pocket holster, it goes on. Free of the cases and holsters the switch works just fine, just what I would expect it to be. I have doubts that I'm going to get reasonable battery life out of it.

That sucks. I read through the manual and it states that if left on it will shut off after 5mins.

 

[Goffman]

laser buttons

Did you try pushing the solenoids on the side of the laser itself...with it removed? if it works like that then try removing and repositioning the rubber buttons in the dust cover.

Xzhync, how do you remove and reposition the rubber buttons for the laser?

 

[Loco Weed]

That sucks. I read through the manual and it states that if left on it will shut off after 20mins.

And the battery life is supposed to be three hours. I thought the owner's manual said it turned off after five minutes. At 20 minutes it would only give me nine cycles of in and out of the holster before the battery is dead. I'll have to watch it closely.

 

[xzhync]

The rubber buttons on my BG just pop out. You can either push them out from the inside, or pry them out with your fingernail from the outside (doesn't take much effort - just wedge your index finger nail alongside and pull). Now, maybe they should be glued in, but if so, then mine aren't. I have found that on the inside of the rubber button there is a tiny rubber post which is supposed to push on the solenoid of the laser. It is not well centered and can be pushed to the side easily. I believe if the buttons are inserted in a way where the post is "off-center" then it doesn't push as well on the solenoid, thereby making it harder to activate.

 

[Sonny Crocket]

And the battery life is supposed to be three hours. I thought the owner's manual said it turned off after five minutes. At 20 minutes it would only give me nine cycles of in and out of the holster before the battery is dead. I'll have to watch it closely.

Your right, it is 5 minutes not 20. It states after 5 min it will start flashing and if you don't hit the button in 20 seconds it will shut off. I was going on memory when I typed before and got it messed up, sorry.

 

[Sonny Crocket]

Got a call from S&W this morning. He said he received an email about my issue with the laser. I'm guessing that the lady from Insight sent it to them. Shipping label is enroute to send my BG380 back to get the laser in working order. Thats customer service, just hate having to use it already.

 

[TazTJ]

I had the same issue with the laser. Messed around with the laser for around 5-10 minutes tops, stopped working. Field stripped and removed laser, replaced batteries, still wouldn't work. Called Insight, they said to call S&W. Called S&W, they sent a call tag, they received it this Tues in the morning, shipped back to me Tues and I had it Thurs, laser working for the time being. I hope to get out and shoot it today!

 

[Sonny Crocket]

I had the same issue with the laser. Messed around with the laser for around 5-10 minutes tops, stopped working. Field stripped and removed laser, replaced batteries, still wouldn't work. Called Insight, they said to call S&W. Called S&W, they sent a call tag, they received it this Tues in the morning, shipped back to me Tues and I had it Thurs, laser working for the time being. I hope to get out and shoot it today!

Sweet, hopefully mine will go that quick too. I'm more worried about mechanical problems with the pistol itself cropping up later than the laser. At least it will still shoot for now.

 

[Goffman]

TazTJ, that's an encouraging report on turnaround time. I shipped mine to the repair center on Thursday. Maybe I'll get it back this coming week.

 

[ccbricker]

Same problem. Bought the BG380 and had to wait for a couple of weeks before I could get in the range time with it. Laser worked fine before I shot it. Went to the range and after 35 rounds the laser just quit working. I took it home and pulled it out to see if the batteries had worked loose. . Laser is dead as a doornail. Sent an email to S&W to return it and pulled the Kahr PM9 back out of the safe for now. I will follow up with SW's response.

Laser aside, for the few rounds I ran through it I like the gun. Recoil was easy to manage and it was accurate for me.

 

[Sonny Crocket]

Shipping label came in the mail today so its on its way back. Will report again when it returns.

 

[VBVAGUY]

Same problem. Bought the BG380 and had to wait for a couple of weeks before I could get in the range time with it. Laser worked fine before I shot it. Went to the range and after 35 rounds the laser just quit working. I took it home and pulled it out to see if the batteries had worked loose. . Laser is dead as a doornail. Sent an email to S&W to return it and pulled the Kahr PM9 back out of the safe for now. I will follow up with SW's response.

Laser aside, for the few rounds I ran through it I like the gun. Recoil was easy to manage and it was accurate for me.

Before you send your BG380 back, is it possible for you to post pictures comparing the size of the Kahr PM9 and your BG380 ???

 

[TazTJ]

My laser works nicely, but with the iron sights and the way the gun fits the hand, I didn't really need to use the laser. Plus, on an outdoor range in bright daylight, it wasn't really stand out visible; I had to look for the dot. Nice for darker areas to be sure, but this piece is pretty accurate for such a small gun with the irons!

 

[ccbricker]

Same problem. Bought the BG380 and had to wait for a couple of weeks before I could get in the range time with it. Laser worked fine before I shot it. Went to the range and after 35 rounds the laser just quit working. I took it home and pulled it out to see if the batteries had worked loose. . Laser is dead as a doornail. Sent an email to S&W to return it and pulled the Kahr PM9 back out of the safe for now. I will follow up with SW's response.

Laser aside, for the few rounds I ran through it I like the gun. Recoil was easy to manage and it was accurate for me.

Finally received a response from customer service at S&W from Wayne. He is telling me (with a short sentence) to call Insight to get this resolved. That may end up being the best way to go but for some reason it annoys me. I did not buy anything from Insight, I bought it from S&W. If you buy a new car and it gets four flat tires when you pull out of the parking lot you wouldn't call Goodyear. I expected better out of Smith.

 

[ccbricker]

Before you send your BG380 back, is it possible for you to post pictures comparing the size of the Kahr PM9 and your BG380 ???

Sure. As soon as I get the camera out I will take a pic and post it.

 

[Loco Weed]

Last I heard, Insight is referring everyone to S&W for warranty and service work. ???

 

[Sonny Crocket]

Finally received a response from customer service at S&W from Wayne. He is telling me (with a short sentence) to call Insight to get this resolved. That may end up being the best way to go but for some reason it annoys me. I did not buy anything from Insight, I bought it from S&W. If you buy a new car and it gets four flat tires when you pull out of the parking lot you wouldn't call Goodyear. I expected better out of Smith.

Refer to my posts, #1 & #4. Insight says its a misprint in the manual for us to contact them. The guy that usually answers the phone at S&W when I call sounds pissed at the world or something but has always taken care of me. They will take care of it for you. If he tries to give you the runaround I'd ask for a supervisor then see what happens.

 

[ccbricker]

Before you send your BG380 back, is it possible for you to post pictures comparing the size of the Kahr PM9 and your BG380 ???

Here are some pics of the Kahr PM9 and BG 380 along with a Kimber CDP Ultra for comparison.

 

[VBVAGUY]

Here are some pics of the Kahr PM9 and BG 380 along with a Kimber CDP Ultra for comparison.

Thanks I appreciate it. I have always liked the Kahr PM9 and you can see that the BG380 is a bit thinner, but I know that feeling it and the lighter weight of the BG380 makes a difference in the pocket.

 

[Sonny Crocket]

Got it back today, a little over 2 weeks turnaround. The paperwork did not state anything about the work, just the header and contact information with the body left blank.

Laser works but its extremely hard to turn on/off with both buttons. I thought they didn't fix it at first till I pressed hard enough and it finally came on. Seems to work fine otherwise and I can live with it knowing there's no chance it will come on by accident at least.

When I sent it back I mentioned in the accompanying letter that I'd like to get an extra mag. I figured they would charge me if any were available which I'd gladly pay for. To my surprise when I opened the box after signing off with the FEDEX dude there were not one, not two, but THREE extra mags (two had the pinky rest, one had the flat base) including the original I sent back with it. I now have four mags....SWEET!

 

[Copnomore]

Temp button fix

I have an idea. I don't have my BG 380 yet. Anyone interested in trying a button fix? Use some good black vinyl electrical tape and cut a dime or penny size circle with a razor. Try placing that over the buttons and see if that helps. If you try let us know how it works.

 

[mag318]

My Bodyguards' laser activates easily from either button. It takes a distinct push but the more I practise activating it upon drawing, the easier it gets. I carry mine in an Uncle Mikes pocket holster and it has never turned on in my pocket. I would think that if a user has any problem with the laser that S&W would just replace the whole module.