P2K 1st release BL2 dying a slow death?

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Hello All-

My BL2 is dying a slow death.

When I first got it this August It ran just like a Proto engine should–fast, and quiet.

In September, it started to get a wee bit noisy. I had it sit on a display cabinet for the next 2 months.

In November, I took it out of the cabinet, and ran it again. It was still a little bit noisy, like when I put it away.

In the beginning of December, it sounded like a new Athearn–noisy, but still quiet. I also noticed that it ran a lot slower than when I got it.

Tonight, I put it in service again, with 3 old Binkley heavyweights (they are heavy for being a passenger car) and It was just horrible. It runs, by itself, slow. If you have a MRC TechII, it runs tops by it self at about 70mph, as when I got it, it ran 120. I can push down, just a little on the engine with my finger, and it barely runs at all.

With the passenger train, it runs at about 43mph tops. The motor sounds like you have 10 of the Binkleys passenger cars behind it.

The only option I can think of, without screwing around with the engine too much, is a re-motoring project. Can anyone recommend a good motor that will fit the BL2, with the same gearing? I believe the motor is a suped-up Athearn, if I am correct. Should I buy a Athearn replacement?

Thanks for your suggestions.

Phil

2

I don’t want to sound too obvious, but have you lubricated the mechanism since putting it in service? A little LaBelle might do the trick on the wheel bearings & in the gear train as recommended by PK2.[2c]

3

In addition to the very sage advice to lubricate the drive mechanism, have you read about the cracked gear problem with the early P2K BL-2 and other models? If not, search under the topic “cracked gear” and see if your loco suffers the symptoms.

Contact Walthers and they will send you replacement gears for free.

4

The engine did indeed have cracked gears when I first got it in August. I got a replacement set from WKM, and installed it.

I have to get some of the LaBelle lube, as I have heard everywhere that you need to lube the engine (I have never lubed an engine before).

I’ll see if that might take care of the problem

Now it’s doing something new. When I run the engine, it runs like it did brand new, and it pulls the cars with no problem. But, after 7 secs of running, it goes slow again. Then, 10 secs later, it runs fine. It does this constantly. I have a similar problem in a P1K F3 I got in a train set, except that only does that when the engine goes backwards.

Any thoughts? Maybe I should scrap the engine? (Just kiddin’)

Phil

5

If you really want the BL2 to run well, try swapping the trucks with a newer P2K GP7 or GP9.

I did and mine runs like a dream.

Jon

6

Your experiences are beginning to sound like a wiring problem more than a locomotive problem. How many feeder wires do you have connected to your track, have you soldered your rail joiners, and what gauge of wire are you using for the main power bus?

7

Clean track? Clean wheels? Good internal wiring connections?

If it is an orginal BL2, how old is it and has it been lubed in all that time?

Lots to look at before sending it to the scrap line [:D]

or to be re-motored.

8

To answer a few questions… When I forst got the engine, I took the motor off the chasis, and cleaned the armature with alcohol, as it was dirty when I got it. then I re-soldered the connections.

I then took the gears off the axle, and swapped them with a Athearn S12’s gears. I did not replace the wheels. Wait- that might be the problem…

Maybe the gears are slipping on the axles, because I replaced only the gears… hmmm. I really doubt that could be the problem, but how could a small miniscule crack in a gear cause the engine to thump so bad, it derailed itself…

My layout right now is a 15x6 foot oval on a sheet of plywood, with 36’’ radius (I believe I got it to 36’', as track is not exactally my specialty). There is one feeder wire connected to a MRC TechII single throtle transformer (Or power-pack) and the “block” wire is connected to a Atlas DC block system, and that in turn is connected to another MRC TechII single throtle transformer.

Phil

9

I just stole a replacement gear set from my brother and tried it. The engine runs alot smoother, but still has the same problem.

I think I have found the mystery. When the engine is running slow, the wheels are slipping. The motor has no torque at all to pull anything. In comparison, my Walthers SW1, with un-touched motor, can pull…

3 Binkley passenger cars (heavy)

1 Kato Business Car

4 very heavy custom ballast cars

3 cabooses

2 cranes

2 crane tenders

2 flat cars

1 Ambroid B&M plow

…at a pretty good clip.

The BL2 barely creeps at all. It just slips. Is this a weight issue, or a re-motor issue? Is there a weight kit for a P2K BL2?

Phil

10

When you say “Atlas block system” what exactly are you talking about? Connectors, Selectors, etc.? Some are made to just use the hot wire from the power pack, some use both the hot and ground wire. Haven’t used them in a long time, so I don’t remember which is which.

I also confused as to your wiring as you describe it. Do you really mean to say you have both Tech II’s hooked up to the Atlas box, using the hot wire from each, with the output of the Atlas box going to the track? This would let you use either Tech II to power the particular block you have the engine on.

If you cleaned the motor with alcohol, you might have well washed out the lube in the end bells of the motor. Give them a light oiling when you lube the rest of the engine.

How did you put the new gears on? Did you use a press of some kind to evenly distribute the force on the gear so it would go on the shaft straight? If the gear is cocked, that would give you some of the things you describe.

11

It’s a Atlas Selector, which works like a block system, where you can turn blocks on/orr.

I only cleaned the part where the 2 metal magnets (Magnets?) meet the piece of copper.

The gears I replaced were the axle gears. I popped the cover off the bottom of the truck, took the wheel out, and put the new wheel in.

Phil