Hello everyone again! First let me thank everyone in advance for all the help with all my posts. To start I run my trains in DCC. I have never gotten rid of my dc locomotives because it is what I started off with. On Occasion I remove my Digitrax DB 150 and hook up the old MRC transformers to go “old school” railroading on my layout. When I ran some of my Rivarossi locomotives on my layout, I found that a couple of locomotives run for a little while (about 5 minutes or so) and then slow down and stop with the throttle on full. My thinking is that the motor is weak and needs to be replaced. Is my thinking correct or is there another problem I need to address or how do I check to make certain. Thanks.
When was the last time these locomotives were lubricated? Have you tried running them ‘off track’ by jumping MRC transformer track power directly to tender wheels and see if they run longer?
I didnt put track power to the wheels, I lubricated them some time ago, though, I got them out to run them and do just that as well. My Rivarossi Southern 4-6-2 #1401 PS-4 and My Rivarossi B&O 2-10-2 Big Six S-1 the rest of them run fine with a few running sluggish but still running until I run them for a while.
If you have a multimeter check the current draw. If the current goes up as it slows down most likely something is binding and increases with more running time. If there isn’t an increase in current maybe the motor brush springs are weak.
What motor do the have round or squared off a bit?
The Brushes could be worn badly, the Rivarossi brushes are 2mm diameter and a 2mm or .078” diameter 8B pencil lead refill will work as a brush, actually they work better than the Rivarossi brush.
