locomotive surges

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I just got my Athearn VIA P42.
The locomotive slows down & then speeds up by itself. [:(!]
It’s new out of the box & I’ve never had this happen to any other locomotive.
I’ve tried different power packs & locomotives. Non of the other locomotives did this including other Athearns & Proto’s with either power pack. [V]
The track is clean. There’s nothing apparently wrong with the wiring.
I think the locomotive needs a good cleaning myself but I was hoping for some suggestions before I tear it apart. [:(]

Thanks in advance! [:)]

Gordon

2

All locos need a break-in period. I would run it a few hours at various speeds and directions before making any assumptions. If after break in, the loco still surges, by all means take it apart, clean and inspect for motor slop, gear slop, other flaws such as part flash.

3

yeah deschane is right.

4

Thanks fella’s

I’ll run it tomorrow during lunch for a bit for the next couple of days

Gordon

5

I’m not really familiar with that particular model Athearn, but if it is not one of the newer Genesis engines it probably uses a steel strap across the top of the motor that extends to the front and rear trucks for electrical pickup. Throw that thing away and solder wires in its place and you’ll get much better operation. I opened up one Athearn where the strap had somehow slipped from under the L brackets that rise from the trucks and wasn’t even touching them. Needless to say, that loco didn’t run at all. Use good, flexible wire. It’s also a good idea to carefully remove the bronze strap from atop the motor before you solder to it, and be very careful that the motor bru***hat is held down by that strap doesn’t fly away and get lost.

6

It still sounds like it runs better than anything Bachmann could puke out.

7

Maxx,

It’s obvious you aint had a Spectrum engine yet. I have a J2 Heavy Mountain that is a sweet runner. It demands alot of care but will run for you.

8

Gordon

I agree, most likely it is a runin which is needed. Howerver, it may be that the locomotive was not properly lubricated or the gear train is misaligned . Were it mine I’d disassemble now and check on the lubrication, clean up any manufacturing debris, as well as replace the pickup strap with the suggested flexable wire connections.

Good Luck

Randy

9

I have a RTR Amtrak P42 that I needed to break in. Its good to do that with all engines.

10

The Conclusion:

After I took it apart, I noticed that there wasn’t a whole lot of factory lubrication on the gears. I lubed the gears using Labelle 106 grease & she runs fine now. At least on the dyno.
I haven’t run her on the track yet as it’s late & my layout is on the floor above my daughters bedroom & she’s sleeping right now.
I’ll run her tomorrow during lunch with my fingers crossed & let you all know how it runs on the track.

Thanks for the advice [;)]

Gordon

11

CP5415 ,

I was wondering, where can you get that dyno??? I would love to test my engines as i don’t have my layout up yet.
Thanks for the information in advance.

12

My “dyno” is actually a small box I put the locomotive on so that the wheels are off the table.
I take the body off the frame first before doing this.
To be honest, it’s a traveller’s q-tip box. I center the locomotive belly on it, clamp on a wire to the frame & them a wire to the metal strip (on Athearn’s at least) & turn the power on.
This allows me to see how the locomotive does & it worked good for my P42 problem.
The motor & truck spin freely. The locomotive didn’t vibrate off the box, even when I left it alone for about half an hour last night.
As crude as that sounds, it did work for me.
I can send you a picture if you don’t believe me. [;)]

Gordon

P.S.

I tried the locomotive on the track at lunch today & see ran fine.

THANKS for all the advice [:)]