My most unknown quantity is a Powerhouse 4-6-2 that is an old metal-bodied loco. Not many people have seen these, so I wanted to test the stall current before spending money on a good decoder.
I determined the 15 V position on the power pack. Set the multimeter lead in the 10A jack (the only setting on which the loco would run).
Stalled the motor and read .86 with the multimeter set to the 10A mark.
Does that sound right…about .86 amps stall speed. I think that is the only reading can come up with.
I think this is correct. The motor is a very smooth Cannon can motor.
That sounds about right to me. How much current does the loco draw when running at normal speed on the track?
I reads about .11 to .13 at slow to moderate speeds.
I’d say you got it right.
This is about what I get on my engines; you seem to have it correct.
Powerhouse by Oriental. It was one of the first attempts by a company to get a higher quality, non-brass, locomotive to the HO market. I don’t know why they didn’t do better. I have a 2-8-2 and a 2-4-4-2.
How did you stall the motor? Mostly just currious.
860mA sounds exactly right for that loco.
Less than 1 Amp sounds right, especially for a Cannon can motor, which is a very good one. The only additional precaution now is to make sure the motor brushes are isolated from the frame; not the entire motor, just the brushes.
If your meter has a tone generator for continuity checks, check for a tone between the motor brushes and locomotive frame by touching one probe to each of the motor contacts. There should be none. If your meter doesn’t have a tone, use the Resistance setting. The meter should read close to infinity.