As I stated on another post that I was having trouble with my proto 1000 loco. I got it apart and lubed the gears and it ran fine for about a week. Tonite it started in again, power up and it sits there, I moved it by hand and then it ran but I heard a noise like a crack. It hesitated and ran but I hear the crack sound intermittantly and sometimes it stops and just whines. Is this the gear problem that has been discussed in the past? ( I haven’t been into my trains for a couple of yrs but I remember discussions on the proto 2000 gears) I lubed the gears again and it ran good but I am still hearing the crack sound. Do I need to get new gears, get rid of the thing or something else. Thanks in advance
Don’t know if this is still a problem, but I agree about the cracked (or split) gear. I have also found on the Proto units that it is easy to get the wire leads into the running gear when replacing the shell. This occurred on even my vaunted E6’s. It would run and stop. And wouldn’t sometimes move until I gave it very high current and then would literally take off. Cleaning and lubing (sparingly) and making provision for the wiring when I reassembled the units cured the problem. The RS2 was similar. I also had to carefully reset the square bronze axle bearings into the truck frames. If one of them slips off the metal guide it sits in, the engine will run, but not well, and will tend to derail. A clicking noise will accompany that also. Again, cleaning and light lubing and double checking the bearings when reassembling the trucks made all the difference. They run really, really well now.
I had a pair of Proto 2000 RS-3 units, and the cracked or split gears in the trucks is a possibility although it shouldn’t stop the locos from running. The square bronze axle bearings falling out of place were a real curse on one of these two units.
Now, I don’t know if the Proto 1000 RS-2 has the same design as the Proto 2000 RS-3, but these two issues ought to be considered by the OP.
You can easily check for cracked gears by opening the bottom of the truck and removing the wheel and axle gear assemblies. If the wheels turn freely you have a cracked gear. If the metal axle into the plastic gear is tight then you are OK. Check all four. From your description it sounds to me like you have electrical problem. The cracking sound maybe a short. If you have an NMRA gauge check to make sure the wheels are properly gauged. If they are tight the metal axles maybe be arcing inside the plastic gear. Having these same engines with these same problems (I posted this several years ago on this forum) I found my motors were at fault. Hopefully your situation can be more easily resolved.