STAR FNC disaster

Fiach Dubh

I was going to be putting up a review tonight for the STAR FNC Model 7000 that arrived today. I picked it up from gunnerairsoft in their sale. I loaded up the midcap that came with it to put a few rounds through it to get an idea of performance. Flipped it to semi and fired off a few shots, no problem there. Went to 3 shot burst and fired a few times, seemed fine. Handed it to my brother so he could try the burst mode, he got about 3 or 4 burst off then it stopped firing. Nothing at all, the motor wasn't budging.

I pulled the mag and turned the hop off. I checked to see if it had a jam with a cleaning rod (6.03mm barrel) barrel was clear. Next step was the battery, tried my Intelect 9.6v with the same result. I was thinking the fuse was gone but here's the trouble, before I even put a battery in I pulled the trigger a few times to feel the draw. In all fire modes the trigger made a light click when pulled, since the failure it doesn't. I'm thinking at this point either something has gone in the mechbox or the trigger group has had it.

STAR don't provide a manual with this AEG and the one they have online is hopeless for finding out how to perform a takedown. No guides on the net either, I've been checking for hours. This also has a custom gearbox so most aftermarket parts won't be compatable. At this point I'm a bit snookered

Has anyone experienced similar problems with STAR AEG's?

Puding

have experience with star enough to know i have a loe hate relationship with them , the fnc is a bit of a rare beast i;ve acually i;ve been searching for reviews myself tonight

the gearbox is polyma and you will be hard pressed to find a replacement, the 3 round burst is a mechanical feature of the gearbox is not a chip like TM efforts



have not come across any takedown guides im afraid

NakedDex

Don't star use microswitches on their triggers rather than straight contacts as would be traditional on aegs? I was sure they did on most of their gear. That would explain the clicking noise as the microswitch is sprung back to the contact.

Puding

the m4 and the m16 is a switch the fnc is older thought, all i;ve ever read about it is that its a mechanical switch compared to the tm so it could well me a micro switch, looking at the fnc does it not take down like an m4/m16?

Fiach Dubh

Interesting about the micro switch idea, it would certainly explain the clicking. The FNC's take down is complicated since it's based on the FAL, M16, AK47 and Galil :eek: It has a couple of pins in the receiver one at the front and back which don't seem to want to budge. If I could just get the mechbox out I'd have a good chance of chasing down the trouble.

Puding

it is a bit of a hybrid of designs

i don;t think i've even seen a picture of the gearbox or it taken apart before

Fiach Dubh

There's a video of the gearbox firing on it's own on youtube. I haven't seen even a picture of one stripped either. FN AEG owners don't seem as willing to impart their wisdom on the community unlike AK and Armalite owners :mad:

Puding

fnc owners are rather rarer

NakedDex

If I'd heard about that Gunner sale a tad earlier there'd be one more right here. I've been thinking of getting one for a long time and fabbing an AK5 body kit for it to match a Swedish loadout. When I got there they were all gone.

As far as I'm aware the box is Star's take on the V2 box and uses a microswitch rather than regular contacts. That in turn controls the motor directly, and consequently the 3 round burst is mechanical. In the TM versions, 3 round burst has it's own wiring I think. I read that somewhere but it may have been as a mod to get 3 round burst rather than as stock.

Puding

its a strange mix as it also has the motor attached? im only going by the youtube video thoughtm the details of the
trigger are unclear,

NakedDex

It is pretty unclear from that alright. I reckon not many people have opened Star gearboxes on their rarer units like FNC's (commendably, Star aren't afraid to do the unusual stuff) because parts for them are virtually impossible to find unless you have a donor aeg. You might find it very hard going to get a take down of it. I don't think I've ever even seen a Star exploded parts diagram, and I've owned 3 Star rifles already.

Masada

yeah as dex said, Star slmost always fit micro switches in their guns, that would explain the clicking kinda noise when pressing the trigger. have ya tried removing the motor and seeing if it'l move outside of the grip?
if that doesnt work, try routing power directly to the motor on a spare battery, it might just be a matter of getting a rotation on the gearbox to reset it.,

bullets

I got the Star L1-A1 and had a similar issue.
Seemed to be something with the way the fireselector
switch enaged.

For me it would not fire on single fire, I could rotate the fire selector
switch to auto and it would fire fine. Back to single fire and heard
nothing from the motor at all I just heard what sounded like a microswitch
being engaged.

I ended up rotateing the switch
360 degrees in both directions and fiddled with it a bit and problem went
away.

~B

Stercus Accidit

Ye know the story with any fire select aeg, spin the motor and gears too much or too little and you end up in some middle ground in the mechanism where it has neither reset nor is engaged, considering this happened on 3 shot burst, my guess would be the three shot burst mechanism has reached its dissengagement position but hasnt reset to work again.
Similar to a jam on semi that is solved by a quick switch to full auto.

If it were me, Id go at the three shot burst mech and gearbox first.
Knowing you Fiach, this is probably fixed already

Fiach Dubh

*Update*

I hooked the FNC up to a continuity tester and I'm now sure there is a circuit break. The only two things it can really be is either a blown fuse or a knackered trigger group. Unfortunatly I still can't get the receiver open to get at the gearbox and wiring.

Fiach Dubh

*Update*

Resolved. Gun is now sorted thanks to the lads at Eirsoft

Will get a review up soon.

Puding

nice, glad to hear you have it sorted i take it the reivew will have a take down guide:D

Shiva

Puding wrote: »

i take it the reivew will have a take down guide:D

God no !! If everyone knew how to do it, Richie'd be out of a job !!

Masada

LOL.,


was a pleasure to work on though, i love getting stuck into the rare and unusual guns instead of looking at the same old M4 kinda stiff all the time.,

megjur

Help! Just bought a Star FNC and am having the exact same problem on the second day I've had it. Please, what was done to correct the problem, or should I just send it back?

Masada

It turned out to be a jam in the trigger as far as i can remember, it requires the gun to be stripped and gearbox removed etc., its not the easiest gun to open either.,

Kjelstad

megjur wrote: »

Help! Just bought a Star FNC and am having the exact same problem on the second day I've had it. Please, what was done to correct the problem, or should I just send it back?

Take a small allen wrench or even a paper clip and insert it in the hole behind the grip. It will reset it.

As far as takedown goes I have no clue

bullets

I still have the same/similar issue on my Star L1A1 (Not the FNC)

Fires on semi for a few shots then stops, No motor noise at all no grinding gears,
trigger feels harder to pull slightly and you can hear what sounds like a micro switch.

If I flip the trigger to the auto setting (which is not supposed to exist) it works fine.
Flip it back to semi and I may or may not get 1-2 shots or else just nothing at all.

Anyone know what the problem would be?

One of the days I may attempt to strip it down, but not any time soon.
My knowledge of the innards of AEG's is Nil.

~B