No whirling sound coming out of your gun.

Whether you have been shooting all day, or pick up your gun for the first time in months, and notice that your motor is not running (not even at a low speed), chances are that your batteries’ lives are over. The Nerf N-Strike Elite Hail-Fire requires four AA-sized alkaline batteries. Replacing the used batteries with new batteries should give your motor a fresh kick.

The batteries need to be securely placed in the holder. Check to see if the metallic sections of the positive and negative terminals are making connections to those of the battery holders. If this is still not working, you may need to get a fresh set of batteries.

Check to see if all the batteries in your holder line up with the positive and negative terminals labeled in the holder. Flat (negative) ends of the battery should be in contact with the working springs in the holder, and the raised ends of the battery (positive) should touch the coils snugly.

If you can see or feel any damage on the motor, replacement of the motor is an option.

If wires are cut/damaged, replace the wires in the disassembling process.

You have a dart stuck in the bottomless pits of He- errr, your gun cartridge.

Look inside the cartridges of the gun and identify the dart about to be retrieved for firing. If the spring inside is damaged in any sort of way, replace the spring.

Look inside the cartridges of the gun and identify the dart about to be retrieved for firing. If the dart looks imperfect or damaged, replace it with a working-condition dart.

Check the cartridge. The cartridge should be loaded with the open-end slid in first. The orange tips of the darts should face the surrounding blue shell of the gun.

“Ready, aim, FIRE!… Let’s try that again… FIRE! Why isn’t anything happening?”

Check to see whether you have any ammunition left in your cartridges. If not, load each cartridge with a number of darts to your heart’s desire.

Pull the trigger when you want to fire. When the gun does not fire, you may have not pulled the trigger far back enough. When you want to shoot again, pull back, this time with a greater force.

If that does not work, you may need to replace your trigger.

Many factors can contribute to a non-functioning motor. Battery problems, bad electrical connections and physical damage can all harbor in. Each individual fix can be catered to separately, or you can replace the motor completely.

If you are pulling the lever and the cartridges of the gun are not rotating, there may be a jam in the junction of the lever and the parts that dictate the rotating mechanism.

Making sure you do not press the trigger, carefully peek through the barrel and look around for obstructions. If you are able to identify an obstruction, remove the shell of the gun (to reveal the barrel) and remove the obstruction.