# Spirit Animatronic not moving



## smr31 (Oct 12, 2021)

Just got the Spirit Sam (Trick 'r Treat) animatronic and it was working after unboxing and setup, of course now I'm getting situated for decorating and it's no longer initiating any movement. You can hear that the controller box is receiving power as there's a brief "pop" of the speaker, Spirit essentially said they would need to replace the control box, but don't anticipate to get any more in at this time and gave me return options.

Any advice on troubleshooting?


----------



## corey872 (Jan 10, 2010)

Welcome to the forum! Without knowing much about it, I would say 'all the usual suspects' come into play:

If you're using a 'wall wart' power supply, double check that it is putting out correct voltage
Also be sure any wall outlet used isn't controlled by any dimmers or electronic switches/timers
If you're using batteries, double check that they all have good charge
Ideally both checks above done 'under load' / while the prop is on so you get a good valid reading
If you can't check the voltage, possibly switch from one supply to the other - batteries if originally running the wall wart or wall wart if originally running batteries.
Guess no fuses are involved, either in the power supply, cord, or prop itself (would be somewhat rare)

It seems this prop runs on an IR sensor and has an input for a step pad, can it trigger by either one of those or 'no movement' from either?
Remember the IR sensor will need a clear line of sight, so make sure no clothing/accessories are blocking it, also they tend to be most sensitive to objects moving 'across' the path, rather than directly toward/away from the sensor.
Guess nothing is binding and the prop is free to move? Sometimes they may need to return to a 'start' position for the next cycle and if they can't do that, may remain 'dead'.

If you run through all that and still no-go, I'd probably start taking it apart and looking at the guts. I've had terrible times with thin wires popping loose or 'cold' solder joints on boards. So possibly a simple fix like that. Of course any circuit board component which appears charred or burned would also be suspect!

Guess if none of that works, possibly post up some pics, maybe an eagle-eyed member can spot other issues.

Hope this helps.


----------

