FAMAS F1 brand new, not working.

[madbaz82]

Hi there,
I just got Famas F1 from Cybergun. Inserted a battery and... nothing. Ok, battery is flat let's charge it up. And... I've fried a stock charger as I've missed a fact it was US 120V version (at 2AM brain tends to go numb ) . I'm still waiting for a smart charger to be delivered, but I really wanted to check out the rifle asap and I charged the battery pack with different charger (output 9V, 1A) by following a formula: Battery capacity (mA)/charger output (mA)x 1.5 = charging time (h). So I've left it for 1h on charge.
Time for some shooting and.... still nothing. I've tried it with power supply (9V, 1A) connected instead of battery with same result. Looks like no joy this weekend. I'm a person with decent tinkering skills so... let's see what's inside . First, the wiring and connectors. All looks good. Next, motor. I've opened a gearbox, removed first cog to let the motor spin freely, and connected wires from 9V power supply to a motor. It turned couple times slowly then stopped, now, when I'm connecting wires (or battery) to a motor, I can see motor moving a fraction of a millimeter with a quiet click sound and that's it. Is Battery still flat and power supply too weak, or something is wrong with a motor?
Definitely something wrong with me though, I should be patient and wait for proper charger. But damage (if any) has been done, so please leave my stupidity without a comment.
What do you think might be a problem? Anything to worry about before smart charger comes?

[colinjallen]

Re: FAMAS F1 brand new, not working.

Knackered motor or hidden wiring problem; most likely the former.

[Darkmikey22]

Re: FAMAS F1 brand new, not working.

Why did you not send it back under warranty? plus have you taken it off safety, I know it sounds silly but have seen people not realising the safety catch is at the rear underneath and have to turn it to one side.

[madbaz82]

Re: FAMAS F1 brand new, not working.

Why did you not send it back under warranty? plus have you taken it off safety, I know it sounds silly but have seen people not realising the safety catch is at the rear underneath and have to turn it to one side.

About the safety: I'm not a complete moron ( just a moderate one ), I've checked if it operates on semi-auto and on auto mode. But it's ok, I'd ask same question trying to help somebody.
About sending back: When it finally came, it was like early Christmas (patience was not a factor - it never is) plus, there's no seals or anything on it so if I had a peek inside I could return it later. If it was a dry joint, cut wire, grease on contact or anything that can be fixed in 5 minutes, why not to check it out?

[dadio]

Re: FAMAS F1 brand new, not working.

i'd say its a battery issue , trying to run the motor from a 1 amp supply is never going to work and a 1 hour charge is not enough time , the other thing to understand is the very poor quality of the battery that comes with Chinese guns , i've had a few that were DOA with Chinese guns and yes the cybergun is a re branded china clone .

[madbaz82]

Re: FAMAS F1 brand new, not working.

i'd say its a battery issue , trying to run the motor from a 1 amp supply is never going to work and a 1 hour charge is not enough time , the other thing to understand is the very poor quality of the battery that comes with Chinese guns , i've had a few that were DOA with Chinese guns and yes the cybergun is a re branded china clone .

This is what I was hoping for but, I wasn't sure as I've read about a person with the same motor behavior however, it was fine before and it stopped working after an upgrade (battery was in good condition and fully charged).
I'd imagine if I need 4.5h charge with 300mA, charging time with 1000mA will be significantly shorter, but again, I was not sure as it is my first contact with ******* *****. So, I thought I'd better ask somebody who knows better.

[madbaz82]

Re: FAMAS F1 brand new, not working.

All right. Situation is clear now. I got proper charger finally. I've charged my battery on fast charge (600mA) for 30 min and then LED turned green. The motor in rifle made one full rev and died slowly.
But I didn't gave up yet. I've discharged the battery (it took 3sec. with my charger) and tried slow charge (300mA). I worked like a charm. Battery is fully chargeable, rifle fully operational. It was just flat battery. But apparently it is unusual because people from customer service told me right away to send the whole thing back for replacement due to faulty battery (spot-on daido )
Now it's silicone grease time and I'll ready for some shooting. Thanks for help everyone

[dadio]

Re: FAMAS F1 brand new, not working.

no problem I'm glad for you that it was as simple as that. I'd still recommend you get a good quality battery as soon as you can , it's a shame to have a battery go flat in game and loose time while it's charged so a second battery is a good investment even if the one you have is now working .

[madbaz82]

Re: FAMAS F1 brand new, not working.

Will do for sure. Planning already better motor along with 9.6V batt. I hope rest of it's guts will hold it.
Do you think stock spring will be fast enough for new rof? (Should start new thread but simple yes or no from competent person will do just fine for me)

Th... Th... That's all folks!

Humble Thanks.

[dadio]

Re: FAMAS F1 brand new, not working.

you might be stuck on the motor as it's unique to the version 1 gearbox but a genuine TM one might be better than the china one , you'l have to crono it but it's more likely over 350fps than under , the 9.6v battery should give a pretty good ROF as the version 1 gearbox also has a higher ratio as standard but it depends on the gearbox as i've seen them re designed in china to take standard gears so it will be a case of look and see what's in there .

[madbaz82]

Re: FAMAS F1 brand new, not working.

Right, so... I'll chuck in 9.6V 2200mAh, won't worry about the motor until it melts, then look for TM one, spring unchanged.
I've tested the rifle already. Very acurate, sights are brilliant, very stable for precise aiming.
On the other hand, I don't know if I'm really after faster rof... especially if it'd shorten life of some parts. 10 rps isn't that bad, at least it won't chew up through a full mag too fast...
Maybe I should go for descent 8.4, 3300mAh instead? it looks like it would fit but it will be veeery tight. Do you think I could squeeze it in?

cranestock-3_3_1-dims.gif

[dadio]

Re: FAMAS F1 brand new, not working.

9.6v wont hurt it at all and it will keep you up to modern standard's , the version 1 gearbox is reputed as almost indestructible , when i started 15 years ago all the rentals were famas and they just go on and on and on , i still have a soft spot for them , the reason that people don't modify them is a bit mythical in England , in the early days in america they all wanted 400+ fps and the little motor in the famas with its high gear ratio just would not pull a strong enough spring ,over hear at 350 fps or even down to 320 fps it works just fine but you know how stuff is in the way of urban myths on the internet ,it's a shame really .the only real fault is the creaky plastic.

[Stealthkiller]

Re: FAMAS F1 brand new, not working.

you might be stuck on the motor as it's unique to the version 1 gearbox but a genuine TM one might be better than the china one , you'l have to crono it but it's more likely over 350fps than under , the 9.6v battery should give a pretty good ROF as the version 1 gearbox also has a higher ratio as standard but it depends on the gearbox as i've seen them re designed in china to take standard gears so it will be a case of look and see what's in there .

From experience the tm motor does not fit . Although this gun is a clone , it is not compatable with the tm version on many counts ,

[madbaz82]

Re: FAMAS F1 brand new, not working.

Would short Lonex A1 fit then?