M4-S System troubles

[saintlycricket]

having a heck of a hard time with my TM M4-S at the moment, figured i'd see if anyone had any suggestions.

It was running fine stock and has been for probably at least a few years. Decided to throw in an FTK so I obtained a systema M100 kit from un company and an M120 Spring. Also becuase I assumed this rig would need more juice I ran the wiring to the back of the gun and am now running a magpul PTS stock with a 1600 mah Tenergy 9.6v battery. Anyway long story short initially the motor wouldn't pull the spring, we removed the bearing spring guide and put back in the stock one and it will now pull, however I can only get about 50 shots out on single fire before the battery is dead. I have checked any solder joints that I made and put heat shrinks over them to ensure that it wont ground out. The fuse isn't blowing, its just pulling a huge amount of power it seems to make it spin. We followed the shim guide in the FTK... Here is a list of my current parts

TM M4-S w/ Version 2 stock body
SystemA 6.04 mm inner barrel
Systema FTK 110 (but using the stock spring guide which is non bearing)
Systema M120 Spring
Magpul CTR PTS stock w/ rear wiring
Intellect 9.6v 1600 Mah mini battery
Stock EG1000 TM motor
G&G hand grip & foregrip

Here is a summary of the parts in the systema ftk , I believe it uses helical gears as well
http://www.uncompany.com/pageproduct...sp?prodid=2575
Systema Full Tune Up Kit for M4A1 M100 Standard Set
Suitable For:M4A1,M733
Details Content: Gear Set, Cylinder Head, Piston With Head, Spring Guide, Taper Spring, Tappet Plate, Reversal Stop Latch, Metal Bushings, Shims

[Styrak]

Shimmed badly perhaps? Are you sure the battery is FULLY charged?

[saintlycricket]

Well I ran the battery on the charger untill it beeped (TLP) then set it again incase it was running short, either way though it should be charged for more then 50 shots. Other thing I should mention is that its an NIMH battery not NiCd.. When you say shimmed badly though do you mean that it needs adjusting other then whats in the shim guide , or that I put them in wrong somehow?

[Cushak]

Once the mechbox is tightened up (with no spring, no piston, no motor) can you freely spin the gears with no metal-grinding sound, and without much play in the gears themselves? (about less than .5 mm)

If it's a tight shim-job the motor has to work that much harder, draining the battery faster. Although usually you'll be able to tell by the sound, when it's firing it'll sound slower, more "tired"

Also, try out a friends battery, if your pack came with a dud cell that could be it.

[pilotguy]

I had this problem some time ago back when I was running an AK that was heavily upgraded. Problems seemed to start when I went to a reinforced gearbox. Problem wasn't the actual box but the fact that I never checked the shimming properly. Also from what I have seen, the suggestion is that you close up the box and spin the gears and check for the gears to be turning properly and without binding and make sure nothing is grinding or scraping away inside. As mentioned above, make sure the box is closed up tight, without all the guts except the gears... By tight I mean, put all the screws back in and tighten it up. I've run into this more than once where you can hold your box closed and it spins fine, but as soon as you tighten down all the points it won't budge. A 9.6V 1600 MAH battery should not even be close to dead on a full charge with your setup after 50 shots. That motor is working way harder than it should be or again as mentioned above maybe the battery is shot.

[Styrak]

Originally Posted by saintlycricket

When you say shimmed badly though do you mean that it needs adjusting other then whats in the shim guide , or that I put them in wrong somehow?

Shim guides are useless, every mechbox/gear combo will be different.

[Sawstink]

Sorry guys, I'm new to airsoft, and not age verified yet for the site. I was looking into either a JG Star Dragon (Ikazuchi) or a JG M4 S-System Enhanced 2009, but I can't seem to find the latter anywhere on the internet for sale in Canada. Could you guys help point me in the right direction?

[Styrak]

Once you get age verified, you'll be able to access the classifieds and get nearly anything you want.

[saintlycricket]

Wow thanks for all the replies guys. Good news is I think my charger doesn't like NIMH packs , I ran it through twice and now i'm up to about 4 mags worth of shots... still not great, but better. Also if it helps I chronod it with .2's today and its running 365ish.

I think i'm going to try what you guys suggested with reshimming it tm. Only problem is the kit only came with the shims it recommends. Can you get 6mm shim kits from home despot or anything or does it have to be airsoft specific shims?

[yuhaoyang]

helical gears are hard to shim, if you havn't done many shimming sessions before, take it to a gun doc.

[saintlycricket]

not sure i know any in town . why is it harder with helical gears?

[yuhaoyang]

Sign up on edmontonairsoft, contact samuel, flatlander, ect ect. Helical gear teeth are at an angle, so you need to get it perfect.
Where in edmonton are you?

[saintlycricket]

Lol i've been on EAR for years, just havn't been on it lately. I think I might need to somehow find a shim kit first though. b/c if its not going to take what the FTK gave me I have no other shims

[saintlycricket]

Thank you to Zero on this one.
The taper spring was on backwards :P who woulda thunk the smaller end has to go on the spring guide :P

Problem is i still only get agbout 5.5 mags out of my mini battery, but thats to be expected. having a large one made of subc's made shortly. Thanks for all the help and suggestions guys

[Azathoth]

How old is that battery pack?

I think the problem is either 1 of these 3.

1. Battery is on it's last legs or you burned it out.
2. VERY poorly shimmed.
3. Horrible motor height