Hornby R3783 Terrier 'Southern' Running very erratically

[Stephen in Kerry]

My Hornby R3783 'Southern' terrier is running in a stop-start fashion, almost everywhere on my layout, and in places where other locos have no such problems.

It almost always needs 'a push' to start it from stopped, and only runs smoothly at above 60% speed.

I'm fairly sure that it's not the track, and I reset CV 10 to 0, as I heard that might cause stuttering motion, but it's not helped.

Is there any basic work I can do to try and fix it, bearing in mind that my technical skills with locos are limited?

Thanks for any suggestions.

[Going Spare]

The wheelsets will be able to move sideways to deal with curved track. As well as ensuring the rail surface and wheel treads are clean, also check the backs of the wheels and the pick-ups both for cleanliness and that the pick-ups are correctly positioned and maintain good firm contact with the wheel rims throughout that sideways movement.

[Stephen in Kerry]

Thanks Going Spare, I'll try and look at your suggestions.

[Stephen in Kerry]

I took the bottom chassis off and saw that one of the pickups was missing. I rang Hornby and they are sending me a replacement set.

[Scumcat 01]

I’ve had this problem there is no torque in the motor. My base keeper plate was too tight and stopping the wheels turning. It’s a pretty flimsy poor design really