I have a pair of Life-Like 0-8-0 locomotives. Both have the same problem - they hesitate or stutter when running either direction.
I have cleaned the driver tires with alcohol and a Bright Boy and I have coated the tires with Rail-Zip in efforts to improve conductivity with no success. I have replaced the plastic clips that hold the wires to the female plug in the tender by soldering these conections.
When I remove the tender, and make connections to the grey and the orange wire pins in the locomotive’s c onnector, the locomotive runs well even if it is up-side-down in my maintenance cradle. This hints that the problem is within the required connection between locomotive and tender.
I am aware that the tender itself does not provide pickup and that adding this pckup is a possible solution.
I had similar problems with my 0-8-0 when I converted it to DCC. I went and added the pick-ups to the tender wheels and that really didn’t help. I then decided to add a tsunami decoder and for whatever reason, that fixed the problem. Some decoders are more sensative to power and it’s pick-ups that others i guess. Either way, adding a Tsunami decoder (and the speaker) fixed the problem. Now she runs smooth as silk.
My 0-6-0 came with no decoder, and I had a friend install first a DSD 100 LC, which I didn’t like…it made the drive groan…so he installed a Tsunami. It is a now a quiet and reliable little beast. If you have pickup problems, or cut-out when running, your steam -driven dynamo/generator would go through the spool-up sounds, the whine rising in pitch, each time. Is this what you hear, or does the loco simply stumble but the sounds stay clean and consistent? This is important.
Buying the 0-6-0 tender online solved everyone of my problems. The 0-6-0 tender contains the extra pickups for the tender trucks. I swapped the shell and all my “dropouts” were a thing of the past.
This is probably the first run of the Proto 2000 0-8-0s. The 2nd run came with additional pickups in the tender do deal with the hesitation problems.
I agree with DG. If you can purchase an additional tender online then do that. Couldn’t you also add more/purchase additional pickups for better continuity?
My 0-8-0 is DC did the same thing. I got it back when they first came out. I added tender pick ups and it has run smooth ever since. Its easy to add pickups but you would think Life Like would have not have over looked this on a small steam locomotive. Bruce
I’ll have to check that out, I bought an 0-8-0 when they first came out and DC or DCC it runs just as described - intermittently!! Really like the look of it, even the cost of a new tender would be worth it if it makes it run good.
I have installed two wipers - one for each side of the tender as shown in the posting of “hminky”. THEY WORK!!!
The switcher now creeps along without any hesitation at all. In looking at his posted pictures, I thought that I would l have to replace the factory-provided, rib-backed wheels that were in the trucks. I could not find any flat-back ones in my supply bins, but I proceeded anyway. Amazingly the technique provides flawless operation.
Now I am off to add another one to each truck so both sides of each truck pick-up power. This is quicker and cheaper than a new tender. Now, putting in decoders is worth it for these very nice looking (and now nice operating) locomotives. My yard crews will enjoy this during the next session.
A heartfelt “Thank you” to each of you who responded.
If anyone bought a replacement tender to get one with wipers, I would be happy to take the old one(s) without wipers off your hands for a reasonable price. I am talking about the clear vision one. Please contact me. Thank you.
I really like Harolds idea using those Kadee brass springs and it can be used for most any tender pickup addition. I did not know about Harolds method before and added pickups more like what is shown shown here. http://www.nmra.org.au/Hints/Pickups/Pickups.html
This too is a simple method but is more specific to the P2K 0-8-0. My 0-8-0 has run really well since adding the tender pickups. It even clunked through the cheapo insulated turnouts that I had on my old Timesaver without hesatation. Bruce
