I have 2 LL/P2K GP30’s that I’ve replaced the gears with Athearn’s and relubed. One draw’s 1/4 amp and the other 3/4-1 amp. I’ve removed the drive shafts and the 3/4 am motor still draws 3/4 of an amp. Both have LL China on the bottom of the fuel tank. Is 3/4 of an amp draw normal? I’m currently running DC bu the club runs DCC and expect to put in a decoder at some point since it has the pins for a plug in decoder.
3/4’s of an amp was normal with the old Athearn blue box locos of the 70’s. A motor in a modern P2K GP30 shouldn’t draw more than half an amp. Either the motor has a problem or there’s a problem on the board. My money is on the motor. But to be sure you can put power to the motor directly and see what the draw is. If it is the problem then it’ll still show high. If it shows normal the problem is in the board.
250ma is a normal value. .750ma is high. It could be shorted windings and definitely do what Jeff said.
The light board is a good thing. To throw away. [xx(]
My GP 30s took 40% throttle movement to get them going. After I pulled the boards and went with LEDs, they ran much slower and throttle response was improved.
Thank you both for your help! I’ll check the motor directly and see if the draw changes.
Brian
I finally got around to checking the draw of the motor directly on my GP30 and it is 3/4 of an amp or better, it actually seems to be increasing so I presume it is failing. As I recall from other posts Walthers doesn’t stock parts for this stuff. Is an A-line motor a drop fit? I’m presuming if one is it would be part #80321 the sw motor with flywheels. I tried some to get the flywheels off and didn’t have any luck. Is there a trick to removing the flywheels? I haven’t decided if I’m going to replace the motor or just find another GP30 off ebay, I run the risk of having the same thing happen but a GP30 off ebay is close to or a little cheaper than the A-line parts if those fit.
With a little patience bidding, ebay is likely the more cost-effective route. I have 4 P2K GP 30s from an early run and all are still going great, so odds of getting a bum engine are pretty low.
Athearn parts (including motors) are commonly available. K-4 comes to mind and there are others. Search E-bay for Athearn parts or Athearn motors. You might try replacing the brushes and cutting the brush springs in half to reduce the pressure on the armature. I also really like to pull the armature and glue the magnets to the armature shell…mainly to reduce noise but who knows what else may be improved.
George T. Galyon
Olde Newburgh Model RR Club
Olde Newburgh Model RR Club
No motor is a drop fit. A lot of it depends on your skills. On Athearns PPW sells a mount which you may or may not be able us use. The 80321 is used on Athearn SW frames. The tapered flywheels are needed for clearance with that application. The 70321 is used for most engines.
There are different ways to remove the flywheel. If you care about the motor, a flywheel puller from NWSL would be the best. If not you can wrap both flywheels with tape to prevent damge. Use a couple of pliars and twist in opposite directions. Once one loosens, remove it and use vise grips on the now exposed shaft and twist the other loose.
Athearn and Aline flywheels have always been a slip fit and Loctite is used for installation. P2K gps are considered to be Athearn clones so that may be why you cannot get them off. Once the Loctite is loosened, they should twist off. Another way is to use a V plate behind the flywheel and drive it off with a pin punch by tapping on the motor shaft.
I thought there might be some who are interested.
I have emailed both Walthers and A-line. A-line didn’t have a drop fit motor but was very willing if I gave them measurements to find something that would work.
Walthers had instock motors with flywheels that should be drop fit and are on the way, for $20 + $5 shipping.
I don’t expect to be able to get to installing it right away when it arrives but will post how that works when I can.