I have an HO Proto 1000 F3 A&B unit set that I recently got serviced. It will run a little bit and then the wheels will apparently start slipping. I am trying to run it slowly. When it stops, and I increase the speed, I can hear the motor speeding up, but it stays in place. This does not occur in uniform places on the track, so I do not think it is a track issue. It also occurs in both forward and reverse.
Do you think there is a part that needs to be replaced?
What kind of service was done? Maybe that will point us in the right direction.
Is it both the A and B unit? Can you run them separately to see if they both do it? Are they pulling anything?
Does it make a clicking or clunking noise? These units were notorious from cracked gears, so that’s a possibility.
You have to take the shells off and watch to see what’s going on under the hood, so to speak.
Thanks, and duh, I should have tested them separately before posting. The B unit is running fine. The A is stopping and starting. The slippage was the B trying to push the A while it was stalled.
I don’t have a permanent layout right now, but I do a fairly elaborate winter layout under the tree each year. The engines have been in my closet since January, and I took them in for routine cleaning and lubrication.
I have had these for several years. They typically run great.
Check the A unit wheels, if you can easily rotate the wheels with your thumb the axle gears need to be replaced.
I use Athearn ATH60024 gears stocked at my LHS. Make sure you gauge the wheels properly after replacing the gears.
Mel
My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
Bakersfield, California
Turned 84 in July, aging is definitely not for wimps.
Yup! Definitely sounds like a split gear issue. You might be wise to order enough replacement gears to do both locomotives, as many of the Proto locos developed that problem…the B-unit might be next.
Wayne
Thanks all! The A unit wheels do not rotate easily. But if you think the gears are the issue, I will order some.
I have an F7 A unit from Athearn, and another Proto 1000 F3 A unit of another railroad. To get me through the holidays, I will run either the Athearn, or switch shells on the Protos.
Honestly, I’d make sure the wheels are clean. The A-unit may be stalling from dirty wheels, not bad gears. CHeck that first.
Will 99% isopropyl on a Q-tip work?
Sure. if you can get power to turn the wheels it’s even better.
I put my loco on some spare track with power leads, dampen a paper towel with isopropyl or denatured alcohol, place it on the track, put one truck on the towel, hold the loco, and apply power. The wheels will spin themselves clean. I turn it around to get the other truck clean.
This guy uses Goo Gone, but basically the same.
I have several Proto 1000 units, and they run great.
I’d take it apart before I started ordering parts. Split gears you can see. It could be gummed up bearings in the driveline, which are easily cleaned with alcohol.
If the wheels are slipping it can’t be cracked gears because the drive axle slips inside the cracked gears instead of spinning the wheel.
The crack in the hub of the gear may be very tiny. I’ve done a few gear replacements in Proto 2000 hood diesels and the crack in the gear hub was very hard to see.
Frankly I’d run my locomotive round to a spot where I could hold it in place and watch the drive wheels. If all drive wheels spin then slowly add downwards pressure on the locomotive to see if any drive wheels stop spinning while others continue to spin. If that happens pretty much certain to be a cracked gear hub.
Walthers sells axle assemblies with gears pressed on to the correct gauge which are slightly handier than the separate gears Athearn sells. Both are pretty cheap, considering.
You mention your locomotive has just been serviced. Is there oil or grease on the drive wheel treads by any chance?
my first thought is contact issue somewhere in the truck or broke wire. I tend to think if the gear is broke, the b unit would shove it enough for it to grab again. But shock says it completely dies Randomly.
shane
Thank you! I just did this and it seems to be pulling the train very evenly. I will run it by itself at slow speeds in forward and reverse just to be sure.
Many thanks!
May as well clean the wheels on the B unit, too. And run the alcohol-dampened towel over the track, too, as long as you’re at it.
I use CRC contact cleaner and spray it on both the wheels and a section of track. Then I put the loco on the track and run it at medium speed while holding in lightly in place. Then I reverse the engine and repeat. I do about ten seconds in each direction. When I’m done, I wipe both the track and wheels clean with a paper towel and invariably there is a black streak on it from all the grime that has come off the wheels.
I have a wheel cleaner that essentially does the same thing but I need replacement cleaning pads and haven’t gotten around to ordering them.
I think any track cleaner would work but my choice is CRC.
Yes, I did both!
OK, I have one more follow-up question:
Since cleaning the wheels and track, the engines are running much better. When I run the A unit or B unit inividually, they run smoothly and quietly.
When I run them together, they run smoothly, more or less, but every once in a while I hear what I would describe as a “skidding” sound, for lack of a better adjective.
As they run smoothly individually, do you think there may be places on the track where maybe one engine is briefly pushing or pulling the other, due to either subtle changes in track grade or electrical flow?
I am using Bachmann track with the snap-together roadbed, as this is not a permanent layout.
Thanks in advance!
Watch the couplers between the units. If one locomotive is pushing or pulling the other you’ll see the couplers either compressed together (rear locomotive pushing the lead) or stretched (lead locomotive pulling the rear unit). Ideally you want the lead locomotive to slightly pull the following locomotive continuously to avoid the couplers “shunting” which can uncouple the consist.
Another way to check is to keep adding cars to the train to see if the wheel slippage stops. Running the consist in reverse can also indicate which unit is the pusher and which is the dragger.
^^^
Any ideas regarding my previous post about the two units running together?
Two engines, even the same model - same builder - are generally not going to run exactly the same. It’s quite likely one engine is going to be a little faster than the other, and/or one start moving before the other one.
Try putting the engines on the track, but not coupled together - keep them as far apart as you can. Then run them and see if one eventually catches up with the other one. On DC, it can be difficult to do anything about that difference, but usually if they’re close that is good enough to run them together.