[Kevin Sevcik]

Yes, there's an internal temperature limiter on the Jaguars, as well as an over current limit. It's possible to set these off without tripping the breaker, as the snap action breakers can often operate for a considerable length of time at up to 200% their rated current. However, when you do so, the Jag should flash a red LED, and shouldn't start up again until 3 seconds after the fault has cleared.

I don't know if it's the case with this year's FP motors, but some of the motors in the past have come with thermal overload shut-offs. This is a thermal switch integral to the motor that will kill power to the motor if it reaches a particular temperature. You can check if this is your problem by spraying the inside of the motor with cold-in-a-can, or an upside down can of compressed air. If you do this after the start-stop behavior begins, and it starts running well again, then you've identified the problem. Be careful to avoid spraying the brushes, as the thermal shock could crack them. Also, don't do this while you're still applying power to the motor, as the condensation might short things.

If this solves your problem, then you're pushing the FPs a little too hard or aren't adequately cooling them. Make sure you haven't blocked the cooling slots at the back of the motor, and see if you can open up and air path for the cooling slots on the front of the motor. Otherwise, reduce the load on the motors by gearing them down a little more. Of course, if it takes more than 2 minutes of continuously running for them to start acting up, you might just want to live with it, and resign yourself to cooling them down between rounds.

EDIT: Just found a thread declaring that the -9012 FPs do have thermal protection built in. So your problem is almost certainly with over heating the FPs, as opposed to overloading the Jags.