Airsoft Action 05 - Jan 2012 | Page 46

TROUBLE SHOOTING? Gunmunki’s guide to recognising and solving the basic AEG problems that could ruin your shoot day DEAD GUN The most demoralising thing that can happen to any airsofter on a shoot day is a dead AEG. It won’t turn over. It’s simply kaput. You could possibly borrow from a mate (with the obvious risk of then breaking their back-up weapon.) Equally you could spend more cash on a hire gun for the day, or worst of all give it up as a bad job and go home. Or, you could try and fix it yourself! The first and simplest check is the battery. Is it charged? This does happen to the best of us, so bear with me. Sometimes you can tell if the battery is undercharged because you can actually feel the motor struggling to turn over in the handgrip. To test this fault, don’t wait to recharge your battery. Borrow a battery from a mate and while you’re there check your battery in their gun. If your battery is the problem, it’s recharge time. 046 January 2012 So, you’ve determined that your battery is fine, but the gun is still dead. What’s next? All AEG’s have connectors to the battery and may also have extra connectors in the neck of the stock or between the foregrip and main body, depending on how the wiring is set up. Occasionally, especially if a battery is dropped while connecting it, the connector or wires can be pulled loose. They may seem to be fine at first glance, but with a careful tug you could find that they have been disconnected. It may be possible to push the offending connector or wire back together. If not, you may need a replacement. New connectors are easy enough to purchase from electrical or vehicle repair shops and are quick to attach with the right tool or with a pair of pliers. Make sure that you fit the wires the correct way around into the connector. (Quick tip – use electrical tape to join internal connectors together so that there is less chance of this happening again.)