#sync screw issues

It looks like the small tongs match up like your guide, but I just can't get him to find the home position. Here's what he looks like at the moment:

I would be super grateful for any advice! Thank you 😀

Clean the sync screw contacts, if you haven't already! Isopropyl alcohol or some contact cleaner on a cotton swab should work, just give the touching surfaces a good scrub. I've occasionally had one so corroded that I had to take a buffing wheel to it, but in a situation like that it will be visibly very corroded.

If it's still not working and you have access to a multimeter with a continuity testing mode, use that to probe along the various solder joints between the contacts and the circuit board. Furbies don't always have the best soldering and it sometimes breaks during shipping. The wires (green and yellow on your Furby) are also pretty fragile, and may have breaks under the insulation. It's not a common problem, but if someone previously did work on your Furby it's a good thing to check.

I forgot to mention! They also have somewhat stiff eyelids and ears, and sometimes their mouth stays open after saying something! I'm guessing these specific issues are related to one another. If you have any tips for these issues as well, they would be very appreciated!! Thanks again!

Hey so, i tried to adjust the sync screw as well as cleaned it on my adult furby, but im still not able to get him to do anything other than the wake up dance. Any ideas?

You may want to try re-seating the sync screw’s connector. I have instructions for removing this kind of plug right here (scroll down to the third image)! Just unplug it and then plug it back in- just moving it like that should scrape off any oxidation.

Or, “What does a correctly adjusted sync screw even look like?!”

When furbies do the wake-up dance (usually after putting new batteries in or pressing the reset button), they are searching for the “home” position. The motor runs in one direction, spinning the cam shaft until the nub on one of the gears pushes the sync screw contacts together. This makes sure that the furby is in the right starting position for all of the movements to be correct.

When the contacts are too far apart (the sync screw is too loose so they never touch) or dirty (something is blocking electricity between the contacts), the furby will keep spinning the motor until the batteries are removed, because it can’t find the home position.  When the contacts are too close (the sync screw is too tight so they’re always touching), the furby will stop the wake-up dance short, because it incorrectly thinks it’s in the home position.

I have some image references here, but it’s important to remember that the design of the sync screw area is WILDLY different between individual furbies, based on manufacturing date and factory. Your furby may look different, but they all work the same way.

This is what the furby should look like when it’s not in the home position. The nub on the cam is not touching the reader, and the contacts do not touch.

And this is what it should look like when the furby is in the home position. The home position reader slides up against the nub on the cam, which pushes the non-adjustable contact into the adjustable contact. This is what a correctly adjusted sync screw looks like. This doesn’t have to be terribly precise, and should be fine as long as the contacts touch.

If the sync screw is adjusted correctly and your furby still gets stuck in the wake-up dance, you may need to clean the contacts. Wiping the touching surfaces with rubbing alcohol on a q-tip or cotton pad should clear away debris.