rgmichel Posted June 18, 2011 Posted June 18, 2011 I would be grateful for help with repairing a live steam A4, Dwight D. Eisenhower. it runs well in reverse, but has not power and is jerky going forwards. Does anyone have any ideas why this might be? Thank you!
rgmichel Posted June 18, 2011 Author Posted June 18, 2011 Apologies for the typos. It works fine backwards, but has no power and is jerky going forward.
Brightstar Posted June 18, 2011 Posted June 18, 2011 Hi rgmichel, Try reversing the wires on the power rail to test the controller and move the regulator in the same direction as you did when the loco ran backwards. The train should now run forwards. If the loco runs forwards ok, then there could be a fault on the controller. If it show the same symptoms as before try lubricating the engine at the appropriate points as shown in the hand book andd try again.Let us know what happens.
rgmichel Posted June 19, 2011 Author Posted June 19, 2011 Brightstar, these are good suggestions. Unfortunately, I know it is not the controller because I have other locos that work fine. Further, I oiled the bejeebers out of it, with the paperclip oiling method suggested by Hornby. It runs really well in reverse, which is the thing that really foxes me.
TerryB Posted June 22, 2011 Posted June 22, 2011 I had the same problem with my Mallard.I sent it back to Hornby .......who informed me that "The timing had slipped".Thanks to the excellent LS Repair Service,my loco was posted by myself on the Monday and back home on ther Thursday morning.
Go_West Posted June 23, 2011 Posted June 23, 2011 A4 problem yes if it runs backwards not forward but lots of steam and hard to ush and when it does go its very jerky then the forword valve timing is out but before you do anything check when cold that the wheels turn when pushed forwards and back wards with about the same amount of force. to reset the timing can be done with the engine sheel off and watch as you push the engine alomng the track to see the main gear with the drive pin fixed in it to see which ajusting screw it is pushing on then try undoing the locking screw a turn and the with the engine in steam turn the setting screw in half a turn making a not of the angle of the screw slot before you start if the engine run a bit better turn a half more and so on if not then turn it in the opasite direction. if you can get it up to speed then check the starting of the engine as this is the best test i find for valve timing as with a full size engine they used to adjust the valve events from starting to running to save steam and even these small engines will run on one setting but not start well. If you are happy with the set up then remember to lock the set screw again or if you have no luck send it back to hornby.I did do a picture of the setting up of this system which i could e-mail.
rgmichel Posted June 24, 2011 Author Posted June 24, 2011 Gowest, that is a great contribution. Thanks!! I am going to fiddle some more. Unfortunately, before I an do this, I need some other parts for this engine, because I renovated a Mallard with some parts from Dwight when I found Dwight was not working well. I need a steam whistle, and a engine/tender steam pipe. I am working with Hornby to find these parts. Thanks again for your expert input.
Go_West Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 rgmichel said:I can send just the steam pipe and spring no fittings if you get stuck rgmichel Posted June 27, 2011 Author Posted June 27, 2011 Thanks gowest. I would appreciate that, if you can spare the steam pipe. My email address is posted in these forums under "build your own live steam" discussion. We can continue the discussion about parts, offline. 1 month later... rgmichel Posted August 6, 2011 Author Posted August 6, 2011 Update on my Dwight D. Eisenhower. I cannot fix this loco until I obtain spare parts, which seem to have dried up. Right now, I am waiting on a tender heater, as the primary obstacle, as I have managed to obtain most of the other running parts I need. Other parts I need are in the "good to have" category, so my list of parts needed are as follows:twin whistle + screw X9268Tender Contacts X9196X9189 tender heaterBuffers for front of A4 bodyBuffers for rear of A4 tender.The most important of these is the tender heater. I think I can make the loco run if I had this. i am convinced the buffers must be the same as those in other non-LS A4 bodies, but I have not confirmed this yet. rgmichel Posted August 6, 2011 Author Posted August 6, 2011 Post a new reply... rgmichel Posted August 6, 2011 Author Posted August 6, 2011 I have had some wonderful support from people on this forum to the point where I have been able to obtain a good clutch of spares for my LS locos. I am particularly grateful to one individual who have pointed me to one very good retailer of spares in Kent, and one individual who even sent me spares from their own stock. The post above lists those spares I have not yet been able to obtain. Eric001 Posted August 6, 2011 Posted August 6, 2011 Hello Robert,Glad you managed to get some spare parts.If you can't get the spares you need to repair your loco you could send it back to Hornby. Even though you are in the States you could still get a quick turn round.I've not used the service myself but, from what I've read on the forum, the service is excellent.Surprised that EK models can't get what you want though. They seem to be able to get parts quite easily direct from Hornby.Eric rgmichel Posted August 6, 2011 Author Posted August 6, 2011 Yes, EK Models have been very helpful, but have had as little luck with some of the spares for LS as me. However, they did solve two of my spares problems, for which I am very grateful. 1 month later... rgmichel Posted October 2, 2011 Author Posted October 2, 2011 Well, I eventually obtained the parts for my DDE, put em all in and started it up. At first I thought it was working fine, and I made very small valve timing adjustments and things seemed to improve, but something went wrong with the reversing. It just won't reverse now. Even after the whistle, it still goes in the same direction, as though the reversing valed does not work. I have another loco, a Mallard, that seems to have this problem too. There is something going on with the cam that drives the valve. There is a little washer underneath the gear that drives the cam, and I am not sure what it is supposed to be doing, but I don't think it is working right. I am going to take apart a working loco and look at the same part. Hopefully that might reveal something. Any suggestions are welcome. Thank you all for help with spares, and for help in adjusting valve timing. Very useful stuff!!!!! Archived This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.
rgmichel Posted June 27, 2011 Author Posted June 27, 2011 Thanks gowest. I would appreciate that, if you can spare the steam pipe. My email address is posted in these forums under "build your own live steam" discussion. We can continue the discussion about parts, offline.
rgmichel Posted August 6, 2011 Author Posted August 6, 2011 Update on my Dwight D. Eisenhower. I cannot fix this loco until I obtain spare parts, which seem to have dried up. Right now, I am waiting on a tender heater, as the primary obstacle, as I have managed to obtain most of the other running parts I need. Other parts I need are in the "good to have" category, so my list of parts needed are as follows:twin whistle + screw X9268Tender Contacts X9196X9189 tender heaterBuffers for front of A4 bodyBuffers for rear of A4 tender.The most important of these is the tender heater. I think I can make the loco run if I had this. i am convinced the buffers must be the same as those in other non-LS A4 bodies, but I have not confirmed this yet.
rgmichel Posted August 6, 2011 Author Posted August 6, 2011 I have had some wonderful support from people on this forum to the point where I have been able to obtain a good clutch of spares for my LS locos. I am particularly grateful to one individual who have pointed me to one very good retailer of spares in Kent, and one individual who even sent me spares from their own stock. The post above lists those spares I have not yet been able to obtain.
Eric001 Posted August 6, 2011 Posted August 6, 2011 Hello Robert,Glad you managed to get some spare parts.If you can't get the spares you need to repair your loco you could send it back to Hornby. Even though you are in the States you could still get a quick turn round.I've not used the service myself but, from what I've read on the forum, the service is excellent.Surprised that EK models can't get what you want though. They seem to be able to get parts quite easily direct from Hornby.Eric
rgmichel Posted August 6, 2011 Author Posted August 6, 2011 Yes, EK Models have been very helpful, but have had as little luck with some of the spares for LS as me. However, they did solve two of my spares problems, for which I am very grateful.
rgmichel Posted October 2, 2011 Author Posted October 2, 2011 Well, I eventually obtained the parts for my DDE, put em all in and started it up. At first I thought it was working fine, and I made very small valve timing adjustments and things seemed to improve, but something went wrong with the reversing. It just won't reverse now. Even after the whistle, it still goes in the same direction, as though the reversing valed does not work. I have another loco, a Mallard, that seems to have this problem too. There is something going on with the cam that drives the valve. There is a little washer underneath the gear that drives the cam, and I am not sure what it is supposed to be doing, but I don't think it is working right. I am going to take apart a working loco and look at the same part. Hopefully that might reveal something. Any suggestions are welcome. Thank you all for help with spares, and for help in adjusting valve timing. Very useful stuff!!!!!
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