Just purchased this nice looking steam loco yesterday, 6/26. Love the sound, stays on track perfectly, runs good except that it stalls frequently on my Atlas Custom line turnouts, and occasionally on curved track. I think this is caused by the short wheel base with limited contact with rails for power pickup. Tapping it usually gets it going again, but it is annoying and I don’t want to put up with this. I bought a short wheel base 4-6-0 as I felt it would negotiate #4 turnouts and my 20 inch radius curves better then say a 4-8-2?
Any suggestions? I hate the hassle of trying to return, especially as I purchased it at the Galesburg Illinois Train show.
It sounds like track work is the issue. DCC is sensitive to electrical interruptions. Many DC locomotives have flywheels on the motor which helps keep the loco moving with a quick interruption. Put the same loco on DCC and it will hiccup at a bad spot. The computer chip on the decoder does not like any interruptions.
I also installed extra pickups on the tender so all eight wheels pick up- power from the track. I have the Spectrum 4-6-0. I did the same with my Spectrum 4-4-0.
Ok, had to metion the track because you did not say anything about other locos running ok.
I assume this loco is factory DCC equipped. You did not say if you bought it from a DCC seller, i.e., read brand new or if it was converted by someone. This issue and the track issue has occurred in DCC forums before.
I bought my 4-6-0 DCC ready and installed a Micro-Tsunami without the PC board. I have pickups on the six drivers and all the tender wheels.
Is the two pin connector firmly seated at the loco as that connector is what picks up track power at the loco and sends it to the decoder?
Four of four Spectrum ten wheelers run through Atlas number 4’s and 6’s without any electrical issues here, which would seem to rule out the short wheelbase theory.
Check the pickup path for all wheels, starting with the wheels themselves.
I seem to remember some black crud on at least one set of tender wheels, straight from the factory.
Also, a bad solder joint or loose wire might be artificially shortening your wheelbase even further than stock.
The loco was new out of a factory sealed box yesterday, with factory installed DCC/Tsunami sound decoder. Are the tender wheels supposed to “pickup” power in addition to the 3 loco drivers? If so, they are not! If I very gently lift the loco ever so slightly off the tracks and leave tender on the tracks, the loco stops dead. I have cleaned the track, and checked the track where the loco stalls to be sure the track is tight and level. The loco will run a while and just stall. Seems that if I run it very slow, for example speed step 15, it is more likely to stall. If I run at speed step 50, less likely to stall. All my joints are soldered, with frequently spaced track feeds.
Jeffers_mz, you mention solder checking solder joints & wire, are you referring to the loco? There are two plugs between loco and tender, no good way to check, plugs are seated ok. Without going back to the layout, I believe one plug is 2 wires, & other is 3?
Some Bachmanns pickup the left rail with one truck and the right rail with the other truck. I think some pickup one rail with both trucks. Look under the tender. You will see fingers that should be against the metal axle. And another thing, messing with DCC I strongly suggest getting a digital voltmeter. The ohms option allows you to check for continuity.
One connector has two pins for loco pickup power. The four pin connector sends power to the motor and headlight. With an ohm meter, check for continuity between the six drivers and tender wheels.
If you remove the two plugs, pry them gently out with a jewelers screw driver. Any pulling on the wires and you will break one loose. With the two plugs removed, there are small metal tabs on the plug. Looking at the TWO pin plug put one probe on a metal tab and one on the tender wheel to find continuity. I have done the above a few times when installing decoders.
Rich
I just check my PC and I found this I had recorded for my 4-6-0.
Richg1998 & Jeffers_mz, many thanks for the help. I really appreciate it. The tender picks up with one truck on left rail, other truck on right rail. When the unit stalls, it seems that tender pickup was temporarily lost. I slight increased tension on the wipers-fingers on tender axles that seemed to help a bit? I will mess with it some more tomorrow and let you know what happens. I do have a digital meter. I need to take a break from this for a bit.
Most Spectrum steamers pick-up current from all drivers (the two-connector plug feeds that back to the circuit board in the tender) and from both trucks - the left rail on one, the right rail on the other. Which truck picks-up from which rail isn’t necessarily the same for all locos, though, and is one of the reasons why not all Bachmann tenders are interchangeable. It sounds to me as if one of the tender trucks is not doing its job - remove the tender shell and look for a poor joint on the wires that lead from the trucks to the circuit board.
Pop the wheel sets out of the trucks and increase the tension in the proper direction so all the fingers will contact the axle when the wheels are put back in. Bend the truck frame just enough to remove the wheel set. Make sure the fingers are on the same side of the axle they were on before adjusting.
Make sure you’ve got the locomotive cab apron working properly. You need to set it all the way up, put the engine on the track, then reach in with a small screwdriver or something and bring it down to the tender deck. Otherwise, it’s very easy for it to get stuck under the deck, lifting up the tender front and screwing up the electrical pickup from the tender. Also make sure the engine to tender connections are plugged in good and tight.
Problem definately is with one of the tender trucks power pickup and continuity, most likely the rear. I talked to Bachmann who advised against taking apart which will void warranty. I spoke to dealer where I bought it, he is willing to exchange for same or different model loco, or full refund. I am leaning towards exchange to a larger loco, perhaps 4-8-2 Heavy Mountain. Thanks for all the help.