Engine runs poorly. Cleaned wheels and electrical pickup plates with track cleaner. Did not help. Any recommendations to improve operation?
DMK
Time to start tinkering. Could be electrical but also could be mechanical.
What make of engine? I have a brass tank engine where a small wire is expected to rub on a wheel tread for pick-up. I soldered a small brass shim to the end of the wire and adjusted the tension of the wire. It helped.
I also have old Mantua/Tyco all metal tank engines where the brass bearing sleeves got dirty and worn. Just by switching them around you can help things.
Is it an open frame motor? How does it run if electrical leads are placed directly on the motor brush mounts? If the motor is removed does the chassis roll freely?
Brush tension, dirt on commutator surface, sometimes even fuzz build up on the brushes has been noted.
Dave Nelson
Exactly how is it acting
Sadly they were never very good in that regard. A super cap on a decoder would really help.
Agree, or else metal frogs, powered and reversible if necessary.
Still, I’d like to know what the real mechanical limitation is. I loath not knowing why something mechanical doesn’t work as designed. I also believe that whatever the fault is should be relatively easily fixed, barring machining a new part because a critical one is so badly worn and out of specs. I’d rather look for a full replacement.
Tracks must be clean, and nearly planar, or else you get suspended metal tires that won’t contribute to power pickup, especially at critical times.
Metal tires must be clean. Rims clean, their wiped surfaces clean where pickups rub, and of course the pickups must make good solid contact.
Solders and wires are in good order. That goes for insulation as well.
The motor is in good condition. Doesn’t need new brushes, magnets…whatever.
There isn’t intermittent power transmission along the entire rail system. Loose joiners are not letting you down, especially under poorly supported lengths of tracks that wobble and flex due to the weight of the locomotive.
The output from the main controller is constant and changes according to control manipulation reliably.
If there’s a decoder involved, all connections are fully seated…nothing popped off over time on the main board, no tether backed out or never fully seated in the first place.
The above will cover 99.9% of all intermittent running in our hobby.
Comments from other forums warned that these loco were poor even when new. It is an Atlas 0-6-0 made in Yougoslavia. It will be a back burner restoration project.
DMK
In N scale, right? I thought the old ones were made in Austria, but that doesn’t change the facts. I had one of those, and it ended up in my spare parts bin.
Simon
Guys,
I know that we beat this issue to death but I was curious of the workings of this little engine. I removed the shell from the frame and the motor from the frame. The worm gear was sitting too high to engage the drive gear. The worm was way too small to drive this engine properly. I will need to flat sand the bottom of the motor mounting frame so that it sits lower in order to engage the drive gear. Also, install a larger worm gear. Pictures attached.
DMK
We cant see the pictures.
Sounds like you found the problem though, hopefully you got it to run correctly.
Charles