I have a Proto SW8 with dcc and sound. The sound and everything is great but im having problems with the front truck. It seems the at whenever there is a deviation in the track (curve, high/low spots in the track,ect) it loses power and quits. Ive tried taking it all apart to make sure no wires were loose or frayed and maked sure there was contact with the wheels. To no avail, I have noticed that the front truck is very stiff and doesn’t “give” very much, could this be the problem and if so how do I remedy the problem?? thanks
Have you made sure the coupler has not gotten hung up somehow and messed up the front truck. I made a change for horn hook to kadee on my riv rs-3 and the coupler hit the body and caused the truck to rise in the back and lose contact and derail. It also was a little hard to rotate with the body on it.
Check that, If not see if any wires are hanging up somewhere when things are put together.
hope this helps
mike
The coupler is fine… it came with the knuckles already installed. No wires are visibly binding.
I can’t address the binding issue, but there have been threads about stalling problems due to the traction tires on these units before.
Re: Proto 2000 SW8/900 WITH SOUND & DCC ANY GOOD?### RE: PK2 SW8 performance
I purchased one of these last spring. It had the traction tires on one axle, and I felt that this was the likely problem with my own loss of power with this locomotive. I called Walthers and they shipped me a replacement axle free of charge. I changed the two, and have had much better performance…much better.
I have about a couple dozen Life-Like GM switchers, and none are sound-equipped units. And I’m glad I didn’t buy any of the sound-equipped SW8s. They have a different motor than the other SWs and they have traction tires. And if they are prone to stalling I don’t think they’re worth the fuss.
Whereas I, on the other hand, am quite taken with mine now that it is capable of passing through my yard unfettered, whether due to the motor (still the same) or the tire (changed). I look at it as a rather nice addition to my layout.
I have one that tends to stall as well, I’m going to try replacing the axle with the traction tire on it and see what happens.