Problem with 8480 Technic Space Shuttle

[drdavewatford]

Hi,

I'm not normally a Technic builder, but I couldn't resist picking up 8480 as I'm a huge space fan.

Problem is, having constructed the model I can't get any of the electronic functions to work - none of the motors nor the fibre optics.

As far as I can tell I've connected everything up OK, but no luck.

The contacts in the battery box looked a bit corroded so I even bought a replacement from Bricklink, but still no joy.

The batteries are brand new and inserted correctly.

Has anyone else had similar problems, and/or are there any known issues with the set ? Are there any common building mistakes with this set that people make ?

Advice and suggestions gratefully received !

All the best,

David.

[Silcantar]

Micromotors like the one(s?) in 8480 break often, I'm told. You may have a bad motor. I don't know about the fiber optics, but it's possible that's broken too. Seeing as you got it used (I assume, since it came out in '96), and judging by the condition of the battery box, it's not unlikely that they are broken. They are 14 years old, too.

[drdavewatford]

Thanks, Silcantar. I did consider this, but concluded that the likelihood of EVERYTHING being broken was pretty small to be honest. The set was indeed used, but in fair condition, and other than the little bit of corrosion on the battery box that I mentioned, everything else looks in good shape.

[CP5670]

Check if the motors work if you connect them directly to the battery box. It's quite possible that the micromotor is broken (the one in my 8480 suddenly broke down a while ago), but the regular, ungeared 9V motor is generally reliable. It also could be that one of the wires is faulty.

[DLuders]

@ drdavewatford: Recommend looking at this Eurobricks topic to try to get your Micromotor to work.

[mschol]

Hi,

I'm not normally a Technic builder, but I couldn't resist picking up 8480 as I'm a huge space fan.

Problem is, having constructed the model I can't get any of the electronic functions to work - none of the motors nor the fibre optics.

As far as I can tell I've connected everything up OK, but no luck.

The contacts in the battery box looked a bit corroded so I even bought a replacement from Bricklink, but still no joy.

The batteries are brand new and inserted correctly.

Has anyone else had similar problems, and/or are there any known issues with the set ? Are there any common building mistakes with this set that people make ?

Advice and suggestions gratefully received !

All the best,

David.

i have the 8480 and i dont have any problems with the building process or using the functions

however, personaly i think the Axles with the Axle Connector at the bottom are a little bit tricky (the fit just exactly, and there is not much room for error)

[allanp]

I have found the old 9v electric cables, like those included in 8480, become unreliable overtime due to corrosion on the metal contacts. It sounds to me like this is the most likely cause of your problems.

The polarity switches also tend to suffer from the same problem of corrosion over time.

Try connecting the ungeared motor to the battery box directly. If this works move onto placing a wire between the two. If this does not work you might want to try twisting the plug on top of the battery box and below the motor as if it were mounted on a turn table. If it works after that then you must clean the contacts. If this still doesn't work then you might want to try the usual trick of wiggling the wire as it comes out the contact block. If this works then you will have to cut the wire and re connect it inside the block, but be careful, the shuttle requires the lengths of it's cables to be pretty much exactly as long as they are so you might want to just replace them.

The micro motors are notoriously unreliable, if this still doesn't work when connected directly to the battery box, try applying some force to manually turn the axle, but not too much. If this doesn't work, as a last resort try dropping it from a meter high or so onto a tiled floor. If still no luck then you must either take it apart or replace it.

I wish you luck in solving this problem, 8480 is a truely awesome set. I bought one MISB about a year or so ago, built it, and everything works effortlessly. My old 8480 I had for christmas 1996 was showing the same problems as yours, but it all works fine now after only some cleaning of contacts.

[Blakbird]

With older sets, I often find that the battery box itself is the problem. First, check inside the battery box and make sure none of the contacts are corroded. Even if not, sometimes I have had to take apart the lower half of the battery box and clean the contacts on the switch. If the switch doesn't work, you get no power even if the motor is connected directly to the box. If you have an electrical tester, check for 9V right at the battery box with the switch on. If you don't get 9V, follow through those cleaning steps.

[hoeij]

You probably want to buy a multi-meter, costs about $10 or so, and measure everything to see if it conducts electricity or not. Without measuring you'll be guessing blindly and you'd have to try out everything. Even the motor itself should conduct electricity (a reasonable estimate is that it should measure somewhere between 30 and 200 Ohm, if your measurement anywhere in that range then that's a good sign).

[kostasm13]

I bought a used 8480 myself a few months ago and I have this problem also.

All the functions were working in the process of construction, but when I finished

the model nothing worked.

Anyway, I found a solution to my problem, I hope it's useful for you.

As you can see in the picture, I managed to have the red button pressed down all the time.

And I just turn the knobs on the two sides and everything works.

I hope you will fix this, because it's a great set with awesome functions!

[allanp]

I bought a used 8480 myself a few months ago and I have this problem also.

All the functions were working in the process of construction, but when I finished

the model nothing worked.

Anyway, I found a solution to my problem, I hope it's useful for you.

As you can see in the picture, I managed to have the red button pressed down all the time.

And I just turn the knobs on the two sides and everything works.

I hope you will fix this, because it's a great set with awesome functions!

Erm, that's how it's supposed to work

[CP5670]

I have found the old 9v electric cables, like those included in 8480, become unreliable overtime due to corrosion on the metal contacts. It sounds to me like this is the most likely cause of your problems.

The exposed contacts on the studs have generally been fine for me, but it's fairly common for the internal connection between the actual wire and the contact brick to wear out over time. There are actually two kinds of 9V cables, a type with glossy insulation used from roughly 1990-1994 and a second kind with a rougher material used from 1995 onward. The glossy ones seem to hold up better over time.

Anyway, I found a solution to my problem, I hope it's useful for you.

As you can see in the picture, I managed to have the red button pressed down all the time.

And I just turn the knobs on the two sides and everything works.

This is how the set is supposed to be built. If you don't have the button pressed down, that would certainly explain the problem.

[kostasm13]

This is how the set is supposed to be built. If you don't have the button pressed down, that would certainly explain the problem.

I found out about this later. Sometimes big problems have easy solutions.

That's why I posted my "problem". Maybe drdavewatford haven't considered this.

[drevim]

Guess I can say I'm lucky. After having bought, assembled, and broke down this set back in '96, I put it back together about a month ago, problem free. ALthough like was mentioned above, the gearing for the wheels are a real pain. Sadly I was missing one of the small rubber bands, but it didn't affect the function of the set, just means I have to be mindful of the forward/backward function.

The fiber optics do seem to be somewhat lackluster compared to what I remember, but they still fire in sequence, don't know if they can be "broke", short of snapping them in half.

[drdavewatford]

Many thanks to you all - some excellent suggestions and possible solutions for me to try out. I'm betting that it's probably an issue with the cables from the battery box seeing that *nothing* is working; a few newer sets (e.g. 7898 Cargo Train Deluxe) appear to have similar cables so I'll try substituting old for new and see if that sorts it.

All the best,

David.