The Script: Once the Mendocino motor has been stabilized on the magnets, it should independently run under a regular light bulb. For this particular project, a fluorescent light bulb will not work. It is impossible to know which direction the motor will want to spin, so you need to try it both ways. Some motors will spin one way, some will spin another. Try spinning the motor both ways under the light to see in which direction it will accelerate. If it does not accelerate in either direction by itself, it might be a good idea to double check your wire placements. Keep in mind that all four ends of the wires need to be stripped of the coating. This allows electricity to transfer itself from the ribbon to the wires. The wires on opposite sides of the block should be connected. To be sure of this, use a multimeter to make sure that electricity will run through the wire to the other end. Perpendicular sides of the block should not have connected wires. If the wire placements are wrong, use the sodering iron to correct this error. If it still does not work, try switching the wires on the same circuit to opposite sides. Sometimes this simple adjustment will cure your problems, and enable the mendocino motor to effectively run.
Links
solutions to problems getting the motor to accelerate
The wiki site