I have a few motor questions for ya’ll. Maybe someone could help me out with these ones?
An Atlas U30C motor that I pulled a flywheel off (the old plier method) of to re-solder a wire that came loose. Unfortunately I gouged the flywheel and bent the shaft. I managed to put it back together and the motor itself runs, but is noisy and vibrates at road frieght speeds (about 1/2). I have ran it while holding an emery bard to the flywheel and it has helped a little, but it stil vibrates and is noisy. Is there a way to get this motor to run nearly as well as it did before? Or would I be better off with a new one, or putting it’s flywheels on a Buhler motor I have laying around?
I have one Athearn motor that runs fine, but one of it’s flywheels is loose on the shaft. Would CA work for keepiing it from being so loose?
Is the motor that came with the rivarossi U25Cs any good? When I turn the shaft by hand, it seems like it wants to “stick” in a few spots I have a few single-shaft can motors laying around (pulled a few from broken video game controler and one from a busted VCR) that spin very freely and seem to have the same sized motor shaft. Is there a way to pull the plastic socket off the rivarossi motor without breaking it?
Thanks in advance for any help or for at least taking the time to read.
I’ve also bent motor shafts on accident. With a lot of patience, the shaft can be unbent by pressing it in the direction opposite of the bend (do a little at a time). Just keep going until the shaft stays completely straight when you turn it. If you ever pull another flywheel, try using NWSL’s Puller. It’s only around $10, and it will work on shafts down to 2mm. Believe me, it is an extremely helpful tool!
CA (super-glue) will hold the flywheel just fine. Be careful not to get any in the motor’s bearing.
Which type of Rivarossi motor do you have? 3 types were used in the U25C. There’s the standard square motor (OK, but not great), the square ball-bearing motor (excellent runner, but sometimes needs adjustment), and the flat can motor (usually very good). If it’s the square motor, you may just want to replace it, because they’re riveted together and difficult to work on. If it’s the ball bearing motor (has a nut on the end), it’s probably just a little too tight and needs to be loosened a little. The nut on the end is for adjusting the ball bearings, but sometimes the motor case itself is assembled a little too tightly. If it’s the can motor, the plastic cap is probably misaligned. It can be adjusted by unbending the two metal tabs a little, and then gluing the cap in place once you’ve found its sweet spot.
I’ll give bending it back a go, but after I get (or even make) a puller to avoid messing the shaft up even more.
Alright, I’ll give it a go.
I think it would be the flat can motor then. There aren’t any rivets or nuts on it, just 2 metal tabs that hold the back cap on. I just tried meesing with the cap and it spun a lot more freely.
Following Darth’s suggestions on straightening the shaft, I would also recommend using a Sharpie or other method of marking the flywheel. Rotate slowly and hold the marker so that it just makes contact w/ the out of round. This will aid as a guide in the proper straightening.
Thanks to bogp40 and Darth Santa Fe for the help on the last one
But I have another motor related questions so I brought this one back as opposed to creating a new one.
I bought 2 sets of the kato N-scale brushes because the HO ones were out of stock. They looked the same based on the pictures, but when they got here was a different story. The brushes fit in the holes just right but the springs are too short.
To fill-up the extra gap, is it a good idea to stretch the springs or use more than one for each brush, or am I stuck waitiing for Kato to have more HO ones in stock?
How far would the springs have to stretch to be the right length? About the maximum you’ll ever want to stretch a spring is to where the distance between the coils is a little less than the diameter of the spring. If it’s too far of a stretch, then you can stack springs.
Does your motor not have the proper size springs already?
The kato N-scale brush spring is about half the height of the HO one, so I guess that stretching might be a bad idea. It doesn’t really need to go far to touch the clip, but it would have poor tension.
I had the right springs but 1 disappeared. Guess I’ll have to go hunt the other spring down or double up.