How to repair your Big mouth Billy Bass singing fish (1999 models)

This was my latest fleamarket find. So I did a video of how to restore it. I hope this video helps anyone that is looking to repair their original big mouth Billy Bass.

[@ItsVideos]

When you replace a 10T with a 9T, each rotation of the motor does 10% less movement of the mouth, so the mouth moves slightly slower, and at the end of each audio phrase the mouth still is moving (very briefly). Close enough though. Very informative video. Thanks.

[@lakewi44]

Happy to help.

[@MoesvideosYT]

Yay! A singing fish video! Great job restoring him! You could custom him.

[@SkyfoxProductions]

Sorry Im Late! I am the person in the call with lakewi4! Good job fixing him! It was amazing doing this video with you!

[@stclairstclair]

I'm a retired mechanic and repaired my split gear instead of buying one, The gear is an interference fit, like a power steering pulley the hole on the gear is slightly smaller then the shaft, I removed the gear noting it's height position on the shaft, I ground a small flat on the motor shaft, and scratched the inside of the gear with a mini scroll-saw blade, JB Welded it with the regular long curing mix, Billy has been singing in my front hall for 3 years now working perfectly!

[@lakewi44]

Excellent! That’s great to hear!

[@furbygirlyt]

Thanks for making this video I don't have any of these singing fish yet but if I get one and it ever needs fixing this video will help!

[@onebadcar]

Before: Mouth and tail broken but the head worked After: EVERYTHING WORKED

[@connorsanimatronics4203]

Thank you for this video it helped me fix my fish

[@lakewi44]

You’re welcome! Glad it helped you!

[@RoboticalHalloween]

I just used the video to learn how to fix my Christmas billy bass’ tail. it’s actually not as difficult as I thought it would be

[@theericfreeze1493]

You can fix it anywhere. I'm going to fix a singing fish at school.

[@alejandradz174]

Lol😂

[@wickedness_666]

"I wanna know, can you help me? I wanna know, saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! Take me to the river, drop me in the water, take me to the river, put me in the water."

[@aronthomas222]

lakewi44 I have a question about one of my billy bass I was working on one and I put pressure on the circuit board and it cracked in half would that be fixable

[@BJ_MOYLE]

aron thomas actually just salvage another billy bass with a broken mechanism by using the circuit board from that and put it in the one you are fixing.

[@lakewi44]

it is totally fixable. you just need another circuitboard

[@aronthomas222]

@@lakewi44 so you couldn't just solder the original circuit back together

[@lakewi44]

aron thomas If it’s completely snapped in half, you can’t fix it

[@lakewi44]

aron thomas it would need a whole new circuit board. Transplant a new circuit board to it.

[@quinero]

I love sings fish

[@Collector4ever]

Pretty sure My billy bass head turn motor is broken. Replaced the gear and doesn’t work. Tried a single 6V battery connection with it and it doesn’t turn. Is that fixable?

[@TheNationalSecurityAgency]

I don’t know why, but I love these stupid fish.

[@lakewi44]

Me too. They’re so cool and neat

[@scottchristian4549]

Hi, enjoyed this video as well. I have a question hopefully you can answer. In jockeying the chassis around while it was apart, a blue wire from the on/off switch broke loose from the PCB. Unfortunately I hadn't grabbed a pic of the board yet to know where it came from. No place was obvious. I tried looking around on the web for a picture. Lots out there, but they evidently used different types of boards throughout production. Most examples I found are rectangular (like the one in this video), but the one in mine is L-shaped and there are scarce examples out there. Do you have one? Or have you ever seen one? The fish will work with the red button, just not the motion detector until I get this fixed. I have pics if it would help. Thanks!

[@giorgiojlawyer4693]

Hello, im trying to fix my 1999 billy bass, head doesnt come up and tail and body barely move; i opened it and i noticed that the gear is broken and is pretty loose around the shaft, so that is surely the problem. So changing the gear should fix the head and even the tail and body? What if it only fixes the head and not the tail? In that case do i have to change something else to make the tail work correctly? Thanks!

[@lakewi44]

Hello, Yes replacing the gear should fix it. There are three motors inside for each movement. One for head, one for mouth, and one for the tail

[@giorgiojlawyer4693]

@@lakewi44 I just ordered 2 gears for head and for tail; they are 92A type gears, 9 teeth and 5.5 mm diameter, are they ok for 2 mm motors? will they be good? Thanks a lot

[@bellabeasophia]

I just purchased this at a thrift store for 1.99 Will gift to my brother in law's mancave. Everything but the mouth moves, so I really appreciate this helpful video . I also gifted him BUCK the animated deer plaque but the mouth doesn't move. Do you think it is a gear that needs to be replaced?

[@lakewi44]

Most likely. If it doesn’t move properly, it’s either a 10 tooth gear or belts.

[@bellabeasophia]

@@lakewi44 Thank you 💫💓

[@rarar.5475]

Wow great video! That definitely takes a lot of patience, I have the McDonalds one and it doesn’t work. 😩

[@lakewi44]

Patience is the key!

[@keithkuhn6404]

any idea where I can find dual C Battery Spring Plates. These seem to be very rare.

[@lakewi44]

Your best bet would probably be one for spare parts. That’s usually where I got mine from.

[@keithkuhn6404]

Yes, your suggestion is the most practical. I did evidentially find one site that had the dual spring / plate contacts that will fit the center two battery slots (very cheap BTW), but such is very rare.@@lakewi44

[@streetlightingcollector9343]

LOL I tried pliers on the motor and I ended up slipping and tearing a wire off of the motor😂😂😂 it's fixed now although the capacitor ripped in half. Is the head motor capacitor needed? Cus it currently is working without it

[@lakewi44]

It should be OK without it. The capacitor will just give it more power.

[@streetlightingcollector9343]

@@lakewi44 ok. Thanks for help!

[@lakewi44]

@@streetlightingcollector9343 I’m happy to help!

[@Bag3l]

My daughter just started collecting the singing fish, we bought One “new” and it the head still moves but clicks really loudly...do you think we need a new gear or a paddle? I hope you can reply and thank you for your help. I’m not good at doing any repairs but I’ll try for my girl with the help of your videos

[@lakewi44]

I would start with the gear on the motor. I think that might be your problem. If you look closely on it you will see a crack. Count the amount of teeth on the broken gear and order accordingly. They usually take a nine or 10 tooth. the gear size is for a 2 mm motor shaft. If you have any questions just ask and I will do my best to respond

[@christophercruz5891]

I have a special billy bass that has a tail that doesn't move but the thing is it won't stop singing, even with the switch in the off position. I ended up blocking the motion detection hole

[@jihadrudolph8817]

I can’t get the old gear for the head off please help

[@bamasam2002]

how much will you charge to fix mine? just ound cleaning out dads estate

[@lakewi44]

Sorry, I don’t do repairs

[@frankthetank6621]

I got one for my grandpa and mine does the exact same thing I was wondering how much would you charge to repair my singing fish. Thank you

[@lakewi44]

Sorry, I don't do repairs. But this video should hopefully help you get yours up and running again.

[@frankthetank6621]

@@lakewi44 that's alright dude no problem I was just wondering cuz it doesn't make sound anymore but the fish still moves is there a way to fix should I just change out the speaker?

[@lakewi44]

@@frankthetank6621 Sure. Go for it!

[@SumProject18]

It only takes me about 5-10 minutes to do gear repairs, I cut the stitching and stretch the rubber, that's probably why

[@lakewi44]

You don’t have to do much ripping or anything, just stretch the skin around the motor holder!

[@trevorcollins495]

What kind of gear do I need for big mouth billy bass head

[@lakewi44]

Either a 9 or 10 tooth gear

[@trevorcollins495]

@@lakewi44 what about buck the amatied trophy head where it will move sure to side and up and down

[@CheeseE.ChuckYT]

@@trevorcollins495 10 tooth

[@anatolychokler6702]

How to reprogram to play my favorite song?

[@TheLiqui]

Amazi g job on the restoration! I'm getting a bilky bilky bass soon, and I kind of skipped through the video lol sorry. But can I have the amount of gears I need (ex. What type of gear does the mouth take?

[@lakewi44]

what you would do is count the teeth on the original gear that’s broken and order accordingly. I have a pinned comment down below that shows you where to get one

[@lakewi44]

It’s either 9 or 10 teeth. Count the teeth on it. Same goes for the tail and head

[@TheLiqui]

Ok thank you, i don't know why I didn't think of that lol.

[@lakewi44]

@@TheLiqui yeah. Happy to help!

[@TheLiqui]

@@lakewi44 no problem! Also, do they sell Whistle peices on ebay too?

[@MAGA2024.]

Hello the body of mine don't move, any idea on how to fix?

[@lakewi44]

This video should be able to help you kzbin.info/www/bejne/noSlmn14qLiFjNk

[@MAGA2024.]

@@lakewi44 thx i checked the mecanism and it is not broken, mouth ands tail are working fine, but the body itself should fold except it does not :(

[@keithfeder4978]

Hi, the wires came loose inside Billy bass singing fish, please I need help to rewire it back, any one willing to help?

[@lakewi44]

I sent you pictures through messenger. Please check your private messages.

[@rossmoodley9407]

​@@lakewi44pls send me those pics

[@benwilliams2469]

Who was you fixing this for a fan or your nephew or brother or friend or what

[@lakewi44]

I fixed this for myself

[@Countrykid2958]

Turns out I didn’t even HAVE that gear on the motor

[@lakewi44]

That happens a lot with me. I wonder if they were removed by the previous owners

[@Countrykid2958]

@@lakewi44 yeah I got him at a thrift store

[@RealPixelDude]

We found a melted billy bass and the plaque was melted as well as his tail not functioning and his mouth never moved

[@lakewi44]

Pixel Dude Wow. Must’ve been pretty humid

[@blakesheward1225]

@@lakewi44 hi there

[@lakewi44]

Pixel Dude Can he be fixed?

[@blakesheward1225]

@@lakewi44 hi there man

[@RealPixelDude]

@@lakewi44 yeah but we have disasembled him and we have lost like 2 screws

[@kevinowens8282]

How do you get the motion sensor to work?

[@lakewi44]

First thing I would try is to switch it to the on position on the back. Also you may be able to clean the motion sensor by using a little bit of rubbing alcohol with a Q-tip and clean out The spot where the motion sensor is on the inside

[@kevinowens8282]

@@lakewi44 I did that. It still doesn't work. I also pulled the sensor out and tried cleaning it and putting it back.

[@lakewi44]

@@kevinowens8282 Are the wires connected? When you open up the back of the plaque, does it have the wires connected to it? Some fish may not work too well if the lighting is not good or if the wires are not connected

[@kevinowens8282]

The wires are connected. I tried shining a led flashlight into it and then move my hand in between the flashlight and sensor. Still nothing.

[@alejandradz174]

@@lakewi44 hello! I watched this short on YT showing how adding some lead to the sensor fixed the problem, they just took a no.2 pencil and wrote on it :) you think this is true? I just bought a lot of 10 fish and im so excited to start fixing them yay!!!

[@richardgermain7118]

The videom would be ok without the extremely annoying background voice!

[@lakewi44]

Thanks for commenting! Will definitely consider that in the future!

[@BradenTheBeaverHTF]

That’s a walmart exclusive

[@ebeauch123]

sUpErBrYsOn