Push-Start a Comatose Furby

We've all been there. Invert. Jiggle. Shake. Slap. Nothing. When a Furby goes comatose, there seems to be no hope of getting him or her awakened. This Instructable will show the steps to take Furby apart and push start him back to life. This has worked on my own two so far and will likely work for yours, as this seems to be a common problem. After a lot of experimenting and battery changes, I determined the cause for this state is improper parking of the motor that drives furby's mechanisms. Just like a fine industrial robot, Furby cannot start his program properly unless he is parked in the home position. Read on and be sure to look at the photos, and hopefully bring your old friend back to life!

To do this instructable you will need:

A comatose furby (won't wake up or reset)
A hobby knife
A small phillips screwdriver
A small flat screwdriver
A hot glue gun and glue stick
A sewing needle
Thread to match the color of the back of furbys ears.
Scissors
4 Fresh AA batteries

First before continuing on, if you haven't done so insert fresh new batteries into Furby, turn him upside down and press the little reset button on the bottom. If this doesn't wake him, remove the batteries, and secure the battery door so it's not in your way. Now check the base of the furby and note it's position. If properly parked, furby should be leaning forward as to sleep. If the base isn't extended from Furby's bottom, this Instructable is for you. Toh Loh is a Rainbow Furby. After an extended period of storage, he has entered the comatose state. Note his position sitting flat on the table. Also note the dazed and confused look on his face. (Yes, I'm looking for his other eyelash).

Using a sharp hobby knife such as an X-Acto #11, cut the stiches that attach Furby's ears to the skeleton as per the photo. Then gently slide the ears off. You do not need to remove the ears from the body, just the moving skeleton parts. Once the ears are loose, remove the extra thread you just cut from the back side of the ears by gently working it loose and out.

Furby's fur is held on with a plastic zip tie that is sewed into the cloth so you cannot see it. We will try to remove this without damaging the zip tie because it will be very hard to replace and conceal if we don't. Using a small flat screwdriver, lift the back side of the zip tie up and over the lip on the base of the furby. We're not using the screwdriver to "pry" the zip tie, just lift it over the lip so we can push it upward. Once you get the tie worked around the first corner, it should come off fairly easy. Just keep working your way around. Once it's loose, don't get too impatient to remove it, look at the next step!

There are two plastic "hooks" that help hold Furby's fur on, one under each ear slot. Just pinch the fur and pull it down until it unhooks and comes free. The knife handle is just used as a pointer in the photo, do not use a tool to unhook! Once the fur is free from both sides, gently pull the zip tie ring up over the ears, turning it inside out as you go. Be careful not to break the plastic ears! Your furby should end up looking like the one in the second photo of this step. Now gently pull the faceplate off. It should come right off, it's held on with hot glue. Remove any extra hot glue residue from the fur and the body.

Now that the fur is off, be sure to put it in a safe place. Using the small phillips screwdriver, remove the 4 screws that are holding Furby's right side on and put them aside. Don't loose them! You do not need to remove the left side to push start Furby unless you just want to. (Just go ahead and remove the two screws holding the left cover on too, you know you want to see Furby work from the inside anyway) Once the screws are out, gently pull the side cover outward about one inch. Remove the back rub actuator (white plastic in the photo) and set it aside so it doesn't get lost either. Once the cover is loose from the body, reach inside and very gently pull the microphone from the cover. It's just pressed into the hole with its foam surround holding it. Now gently slide the ear skeleton through the slot and set the side cover aside.

Now take a good look inside Furby. Ingenious! While you're admiring the workings, remember that all of Furby's actions are made possible using only one motor! Remember the old Stompers 4x4 vehicles? See these at http://www.stomper4x4.com These toys used 1 (2 if you had a big rig) AA battery to power an odd looking square motor. Furby's motor is located in front just behind the left cover. Looks like a stomper motor doesn't it! Cool! Now note the position of the cam (marked with a yellow arrow) on the big gear on Furbys right. It should be pointing downward to lift Furby off his base and lean him forward. Chances are it isn't. It's time to put Furby back in park. Put 4 fresh AA batteries in Furby and secure the battery door with the screw. Now set Furby on the table.

Now the fun part. Note the small gear laying horizontal just under the yellow arrow in the picture. Both of my furbys' horizontal gears were black. Using a small flat screwdriver, carefully turn the gear to the right several times until the cam on the back gear is towards the down position. Be careful not to damage the teeth of the gear. Don't turn the gear to the left just because it's closer to that direction, it has to turn the proper way, even if its several turns on the black gear. Once the cam is pointing downward you should start to notice a pulsating responce from the motor as you turn. Don't give up, it takes several responces from the motor before it actually wakes up. You're almost there! Keep turning the horizontal gear to the right until the motor fully kicks on and goes through a range of motions. It's resetting it's home position. After a few seconds of the motor moving, Furby should awake with his usual audible yawn. Now's the time to explain to him why he's naked and assure him that all will be well.

Now that Furby is awake, give him time to recover while watching his motor run. Incredible isn't it? As fun as it is to watch, you need to let Furby go back to sleep, so let him rest for awhile. Now that Furby is asleep, gently pick him straight up, and holding him upright, remove the screw holding the battery cover and open the cover. Try not to wake Furby! Now remove a battery so he doesn't wake up during the reassembly process. If you removed the left cover (I know you did) put it back on by gently slipping the ear through the slot and aligning the screw holes. Insert the two screws that holds it in place. Now insert the right ear through the ear slot of the right cover. Now lay the cover on the table, and gently push the microphone back into its holder. Then insert the back rub actuator into the right cover slot. The long tab on the actuator goes up. Now align the actuator to the left cover while placing the right cover back onto the Furby. Proper alignment is shown in the last picture on this step. Once everything is in alignment, insert the four screws that holds the cover in place.

Now using your hot glue gun put a small 1/8 inch bead of glue along the bottom of the faceplate's mouth. Careful not to get glue anywhere it could get caught in a gear or mechanism or matted into Furby's sensative fur. While the glue is still hot place the face back onto the Furby and align it. Make sure the optical sensor lens (above Furby's eyes) is flush in the faceplate and there is no fur caught in between. Hold the faceplate on untill the glue sets good. Now place a small bead of glue between the head and very top of the faceplate again making sure not to get glue in any moving parts or fur. (See Arrow) Hold the faceplate in place while letting the glue set.

Now move the ear skeletons so they are pointing straight up. Gently roll the fur back onto the head while inserting the ear skeletons through the holes. Now pulling only from the back of the zip tie, slide the fur down onto the body. Don't try to "roll" the fur back into place, the zip tie won't let it. Instead make sure the zip tie end is the first to go down the body pulling the rest into place. Once you have it down to the bottom, hook the fur back under the ear slots on each side.

Now using the flat screwdriver again, push the zip tie back down into it's groove in the same manner you removed it. Try to get it over one of the back corners first and work your way around to the front. Be careful not to twist the fur around the zip tie while pushing it into place, so your furby won't look distorted. Once you get it back in it's groove and everything looks good, slide Furby's ears back onto the skeleton, making a note of the little hole in the skeleton and its position.

Push the ears on until they touch the head at the ear slot. Now thread your sewing needle using the ear colored thread and pull about 8 inches through the eye. Cut the thread 16 inches long and tie a knot in the end securing both strands together. Starting from the back of the ear, push the needle through the fabric and feel around until you get it through the little hole in the ear skeleton. You can feel if your in the hole by trying to move the needle around. Pull the thread all the way through until the knot stops at the back of the ear. Now insert the needle back into the front of the ear, and pass it through above the hole, towards the head to hook the thread behind the arrow shape hook on the ear skeleton. Pull the thread taught. Now insert the needle back where you started on the back of the ear, back through the hole in the skeleton. Keep looping the thread in this manner until enough thread is looped to securely hold the ears on and resemble the original stitching. Try to keep the thread straight and neat, and use the same holes in the fabric each time to create a factory appearance. Once the loop is strong enough, stop stitching with the needle on the back side of the ear. Push the needle through the stitch on the back of the ear and back through the loop to make a knot, then using scissors, cut the excess thread from the back of the ear. Be careful not to cut the knot! Repeat with the other ear, making sure both ears are even and the stitching looks the same.

Now replace the battery you removed while Furby was sleeping, close the battery door and secure the screw. Furby should pop back to life and will be happy to see you. Don't worry, your furby will soon forget this traumatic experience, and most likely so will your children. Don't forget to keep good batteries in your furby as a prevention of this problem again. Remember if your furby seems to want to go back to sleep when you first wake him, hold down his tongue and jiggle him upside down, then release the tongue to wake him. Pictured here are my Rainbow Furby Toh Loh and my little girls Tiger Furby Doo Moh, both recovering coma patients and both happy to see each other. If you don't have a Furby, keep in mind my little girl bought her furby from a yard sale for a quarter, probably because it wouldn't wake up. I hope this Instructable will work for you and I hope you will be able to enjoy your furby once again. If this Instructable helps you please comment and tell us the name of your brave and lucky furby. Have fun!