The motor in my new Broadway Limited Paragon SD40-2 buzzes when running long hood forward. The loco also pulses down the track in reverse but runs perfectly forward.
What a bummer.
Suprise, suprise…another I–have-a-problem-with-my-BLI-unit thread.
David B
LOL[:D]
If I had the ba***, I’d change my motor out with a mashima I’ve got in an old Athearn GP-38-2.
Just about all of my BLI stuff pulses in reverse. Probably dont know how to run smooth backwards. Particularly the ones with the dummy couplers on the front.
I prefer Proto for thier fine manners, I can always add helpers to them.
Boy o’ Boy, I can’t wait to get a new piece of equipment! And when it doesn’t perform 110% right out of the box, I can post my complaint here! Wowie! I’m Stoked! I guess an email or phone call to BLI will have to wait until I hear ten or twnenty more people complain about something that a manufacturer has done and something only they can fix.
On second thought I want to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars, producing products for people who don’t care about the manufacturers at all and slam them on a public forum before I get the chance to set things right. Yea, that’s the ticket.
Contact their customer service, they have always resolved my problems quickly and efficiently.
One of our locomotives has its transmission or can motor in backwards. I say this because any of my BLI’s that is noisier in one direction is so when backing.
Oddly, my Lionel Challenger is noisy in reverse, too.
Hmmmm…
I have a helpful answer!! when the new QSI decoder chips are avaliable for the SD40-2 fit one to your loco, I’ve just upgraded my J Class BLI and its as smooth as glass now
Ken.
Hi Jerry,
I just wanted to let you know that I love my BLI SD40-2s , all three of them despite their less-than-perfect performance. I feel that by sharing my experiences with the group, I could get honest feedback from others who have had similar problems with theirs. This way I can ascertain whether mine is a common problem or just an isolated one.
10 minutes or so before posting “My new BLI BN #6334 SD40-2” I called BLI and spoke to Bob in the parts dept. He advised me to send it in and he will replace it.
Also, I joined the Broadway limited forum this morning and posted the problem there as well. You can find it in HO forums titled “New Here”.
I’m sorry that my post touched a nerve as you’ve made it clearly obvious that it did. I hope that you and I could become friends in model railroading as that’s the reason I joined this group.
Ted,
Please feel free to cut and paste my response to your PM.
Jerry
Gladly Jerry.
Here it is…
Hello Ted,
Thanks for your thoughtful response to my sarcasm. Iwasn’t intending to target you personally, it’s just that quite a few posters on this forum find it easier to take it public before contacting someone who could actually make a difference, rather than stir up a hornets nest of “me too’s”. I wish I would have known that you had actually done that, I wouldn’t have responded like I did.
With a forum with as large a readership as this one has, common sense isn’t always used, and me being the scarcastic wit, I think I am. (I am the only one who thinks so, btw.) I like to throw little shots in where I see an opening. I’m sure it really does the harm the manufacturer when their investment in our behalf turns and bites them. Especially when they actually try to help their customers. I am a small dealer and after knowing many of the mfrs personally, I know that customer service is a big priority. Most of thes guys are train people through and through and want the same performance, quality and reliability that we all want.
I just wish I would have known about your positive experience first, rather what seemd like an uninformed slam.
I haven’t gone back to the post this morning, so I don’t know what was said and as usual I’m speaking from the ignorance of not catching up before responding to your very nice PM.
If you are interested in weathering your models or have done some and want honest critiques, please sign up to the model weatherers forum at modeltrainsweathered.com It’s the flashing yellow sign on the home page. You need to register, but it’s simple to do and we have a great bunch of talented weatherers.
Regards,
Jerry
Jerry Jackson
Well, that was a refreshing exchange between the two of you instead of a potential flame war.
For what it’s worth, I, too, like to post and ask questions about less-than-properly-behaving new purchases, and not just about model railroad goods. In my experience, too many manufacturers are not up front about any shortcomings about their products and don’t really offer candid help --too often it’s “send it back and we’ll replace it,” without discussing the merits of the customer’s call. Which ultimately is their call and is fine eventually, but when you’ve spent $$$ on a brand-new item, it’s disappointing to have to ship it back to the manufacturer and wait days if not weeks to get it back.
And oftentimes posting here will get you the benefit of the collective wisdom and experience. Often there are easy fixes, or your problem gets validated by others’ experiences and it’s always nice to know that it’s not you or your engine specifically, but a general problem with the product, which the manufacturer may not acknowledge.
Hyun,
Thank you for your empathy and complete understanding of my mind set. I am disappointed but BLI will eventually make it right as they have done for me many times before.
Afterall, it’s not a Maytag.
So you continue to purchase BLI products even though you have had “many” problems with them in the past? Am I the only one in thinking that this is a little strange?
Personally I will never buy a Ford again…even WITH the great service. When I buy something, I expect it to work as expected. If I have problems with it, I will think twice about buying from the MFG again.
It seems to me that BLI has a HUGE quality control problem. Tis a shame that you have to BUY the upgrade chip to make something work properly.
I will never, ever heistate to purchase an Atlas or Kato product. They have NEVER given me any issues and they work as advertized. But when it comes to Proto, BLI and the like, I tend to tread carefully. When I DO purchase a BLI product, it wont come with their sound system. I install my own.
David B