Thread: Help With a FCG Motor

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Hi Everybody,
I have a FCG who has a little hitch in her giddy up and I could sure use some help trouble shooting it! When the crank arm makes the circle, right at the point that would be at about 11 o'clock (if you're looking at the motor from above and it's going counter clockwise) the arm/motor seems to jerk or slip a bit but only for a a few seconds. It gives the FCG the look of a modern dancer being yanked, not an ethereal spirit floating for that few seconds and it's frustrating me. I've tried flying her without a counter weight and with a counter weight of varying weights but nothing seems to make much difference or smooth out the movement. Otherwise, the motor seems to be running fine, it's not making any unusual sounds or over heating or anything. We've been using the same motor for her for 5 years and it's always had this problem but each year it seems to get a little bit worse and more pronounced (or I'm getting pickier and more of a perfectionist each year.. or both..)

If anyone has any suggestions I would sure appreciate any help you guys can throw my way! I'm not wildly motor savvy but I'm also not afraid to learn and to try anything anyone might suggest so please fire away with any thoughts you might have or things I might experiment with.
a million thanks in advance!

Camile, is the motor stuttering or is the shaft/arm coupling slipping? Have you tried manually holding the arm while the motor is turning without the ghost attached?

I agree with Soundman. Check to make sure the motor shaft is running fine, and double check your connection points on the arm attached to the motor. It could be that it's binding up. The smallest burr can cause this problem. Good luck.

Thank you so much for your quick replies, Soundman and Piraticalstyle!!
I checked all the connection points and the motor shaft and that all seemed fine. Next, I gave the motor and arm a test run without any weight at all and it ran fine. So next, I attached a water bottle to the counter weight until the counter weight was heavier than the ghost and ran it and poured out a little bit of water at a time until the weight was just enough to equal the ghost minus a smidgen and enough to make it run smooth. Then I swapped out the water bottle for a bit of metal of the same weight and voila- she runs perfect!!!!! Thank you so much for helping me think through all the things I should be looking at! Having your help really made a huge difference! Thank you!!! !!!
Now she looks more like a ghost and less like a lost member of Martha Graham's dance troupe! You guys rock!!