Pick ups

[Class 08]

Hi, I have a hornby class 50.  I brought it from new last year and all four wires that are soldered to the pick ups have come apart! Is this a common fault?  Also the loco hasn't really been used that much so I can't see how it would of been worn out from use. :(

[Fishmanoz]

I would not have thought it common and given it is less than 12 months old I'd be taking it back for repair under warranty, not fiddling with it.

[Hairy]

I have just discovered that my class 50 is only picking up from one bogie, tested with a 9V battery across the wheels. That makes two that we know of with pickup problems, so still not a common fault.

 

This will be the third time that I've taken it back to my local model shop, a good reason why we should support our local model shops.

 

The first time she went back was because she destroyed two decoders. the model shop replaced the second decoder and got her working after a fashion.

 

The second time she went back was because she was drawing too much current, which i think is why she destroyed the first two decoders. the model shop said that they couldn't do any more so that they would have to return her to Hornby. Not a problem, these things happen.

 

On her return she ran perfectly, so after a couple of hours playing trains she went back into her box.

 

Tonight I got her out of her box,(it's been a couple of months since I last ran her) started to run her only to find that she was not only struggling over points (electrofrog) but randomly stopping on other parts of the layout. Testing the track with a 0-6-0 tank loco running very slowly, no problems whatsoever, which prompted me to clean the wheels of the class 50, which is when I discovered the pickup problem, so it's back to the model shop again and probably back to Hornby.

 

It's only a model loco at the end of the day, so I can wait for the repair.

 

Chris

[RDS]

@Hairy

Is your track perfectly clean. IPA is ideal for cleaning both track and wheels, with a cotton bud. Do not use anything abrasive.  It is extremely unlikely that a loco that was working well when you put it in the box can have developed a problem. The only thing that does happen in storage is the lubricant dries up but even that should be alright after just a couple of months.

 

Is it possible that you have disturbed the wheel contacts whilst cleaning the wheels, as they are very fragile.

[Class 08]

I'll ring hornby customer services. I brought it from the website so hopefully they'll be able to fix it. Thanks for the replys :) 

[The Doc]

 I've had quite a few locos over the years where several of the pick-ups haven't been rubbing against the wheels properly, or where the very flimsy wires have become detached.  I can understand Hornby using thin wiring between steam loco tenders and main body so that the relatively light tender can move freely, but I think they could use something a bit stronger when connecting pick-ups on tank locos and diesels.

[Hairy]

Hi RDS,

Yes the track is clean, I use track magic to clean it. As I said I tested the track with a 0-6-0 tank loco which ran perfectly with no hesitation at all.

My wheel cleaning regime is to enable dc running in CV 29, put the loco in a service cradle, spin the motor using a 9V battery  and hold a cotton bud soaked in track magic to clean one wheel, turn the cotton bud around apply track magic then clean the back of the wheel. A new cotton bud is used for each wheel as they start to come apart if used for more than two wheels.

I discovered the pickup problem before I had started to clean the wheels. I tried the battery on all three wheel sets on one bogie with no movement, the other bogie has pickup from all three wheel sets, which to me suggests at least one wire has come adrift somehow. It is probably just a case of simply soldering a wire back on, but just in case it's a bit more involved, ( I had to dismantle a Bachmann class 37 to release a wire that was trapped under the motor housing from manufacture, as far as I could tell, took me ages to get the cardon shafts back into the motor), I'll leave it alone as it's still under warranty.

Thanks for the suggestion anyway RDS.

Kind regards

Chris