Locomotive issues,

[Dazzler down under]

• Hi all, before i head back to the shop with my locos i thought id share my problems with you guys on the forum and see if we can find a solution.
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1) I have been a collector for years, collecting dcc sound, dcc, and dc locos, only recently have i set up a track that im preparing to make perminant so i can run trains and iron out any issues i have with the track and play around with my newly aquired RM setup ect. So i pull out my royal scot, bought 7-8 years ago but never run, before installing a chip i tested it out on a small analog track and to my disapointment it wouldnt run, power is getting to the motor, it turns no probs, but the wheels dont move, and i can manualy rotate the drive wheels with a finger all the way around. Hornby have said they will take a look but it could be months before they aquire parts to repair it. Is there anything i can do to see whats causing this problem?

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2) while ive had this track set up ive been running my Britannia clive of india with sound without issue, again this is a brand new loco, owned for less then a year and never previously run. So i unbox it and programed it about 3 weeks ago,  run it in for 30 mins  each direction at moderate speed, and everything has been great for the last 3 weeks, no dramas whatsoever, until lastnight when the thing just wouldnt run, the previous night id run it for about an hour, parked it in the fiddle yard, went to run it again lastnight and its dead, the sound still works but there sounds like no power getting to the motor. Its dead as a dodo. Any ideas?

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3) i have a black 5 with sound, it seems to be lacking power, all the sounds work ok but the loco is so sluggish it can hardly be run, it almost comes to a stop on radius 3 curves  at full tilt and full tilt on the thing and its still only half the speed of my other locos at half tilt. Again its a brand new loco never previously been run until 3 weeks ago.

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sorry if ive not given enough info, but if anyone has had any of these problems before and can offer me any advice on how to remedy them it would be greatly apreciated. Im trying to avoid sending all 3 locos back to the uk as hornby have no garentee on a time frame as to when they will be fixed, they said it could be months.i wanna avoid that if possible but it may also be my only option.

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thanks in advance for any help or suggestions.

[Fishmanoz]

1). You clearly have a drive train problem, something like motor not seated properly, worm gear slipping on motor shaft, worm gear stripped, gear on axle slipping or stripped.  You will need to remove the body and observe what is happening.  Also and irrespective, after storage for that long, lubricants will have dried out so you will need to oil them, sewing machine oil or model oil, not 3-in-one or WD 40.  Applies to your other locos too.  They say if you can see the oil, you've applied too much, use the end of an unbent paper clip to apply.

 

2). Check that it hasn't defaulted back to address 003.  Can happen if you've had a short on the track.  Can also check it on DC with decoder still in.

 

3). Start by lubricating and see how it goes.

 

If you still need assistance, I believe Hobbyco runs a repair service.

[Dazzler down under]

Hi Fishmanoz, thanks for your reply, the royal scot and the britannia will have to go to the shop but the oil seems to have done the trick with the black 5. Its still lacking some power but is running much better and handling the curves nicely.Ive just oiled up all my other locos and they are running beautiful. Just gotta solve the issues with the other 2 now. The thing that gets me is i think they should be pretty easy to fix and i have a busted up britannia that fell off the table in a newbie type incident a few years back cause track was too close to the edge, only the body is damaged the internals are all ok and the train still runs fine, i could use parts from it to fix the other 2 or at least 1 of them, if i knew what i was doing but i dont, its a bit frustrating knowing ive likely got parts to fix but cant do it. Maybe i should search youtube and see if theres a video on how to replace a motor and start learning but i dont wanna do it with these locos as they are still brand new.

[2e0dtoeric]

Due to the distance and cost involved in sending models back to the UK, have you considered going to your local market, boot sale, etc, and buying a really cheap 'scrapper' loco of any gauge or style, so you can take that to bits, see how it all works, and practice on it. If you can't repair it, what's a couple of dollars?

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As Fishy said, it is most likely a lubrication problem - I know it can get pretty hot down there in Oz, so that should be your starting point. Oils and greases do deteriorate faster in hot climates.

[Dazzler down under]

I have a busted up britannia i can use for practice Eric, what i need now is a youtube tutorial on how to strip all the running gear and rebuild it. Havent had a look yet but theres bound to be one somewhere on there, if not one of you legends should post one up like the thread Ray did on the TT Lol. Almost everyone on this forum would benifit from a thread like that.

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so today i dropped my locos off for repair, the guy looked at them for 10 mins and said come back tomorrow they will be ready to pick up, glad i didnt rush out and send them to the uk lol. so all that worry was for nothing. Id still love to learn how to replace motors ect myself though so i dont have to rely on anyone in future.

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also, while i was instore i wanted a few accessory decoders, the guy had the dcc concepts 8 way decoder that had been ruturned but there is no fault with them after being sent back to the manufacturer, he has 3 of them and he gave me 20% off the 3, only thing is they dont come with the instructions that slip in the back of the packet but i think ill be able to find a thread on here to help me install them so i went ahead and got them. 

[Dazzler down under]

And thanks to you guys for taking the time to reply.much appreciated.

[choralc]

If you type DCC Concepts into your web browser it should take you to their homepage and there with a little navigation you should find the pdf instructions for the particular product. If not there will be a contact box where you ask them for help.

[Dazzler down under]

Ok, so i got my locos back, turns out theres nothing wrong with my clive of india R2992xs, the guy took it home and it ran on his layout first go, when i picked it up from the shop  just to make me look even more like an idiot we ran it again before i left and it ran no probs, I get home, put it on my layout and would you believe it, its still not running, i know theres nothing wrong with the train, it runs, ive seen it go, so there must be something going on with the elite or railmaster. Ayone got any ideas i can try so i can get this thing running again?

[ff2nd]

Ok, so i got my locos back, turns out theres nothing wrong with my clive of india R2992xs, the guy took it home and it ran on his layout first go, when i picked it up from the shop  just to make me look even more like an idiot we ran it again before i left and it ran no probs, I get home, put it on my layout and would you believe it, its still not running, i know theres nothing wrong with the train, it runs, ive seen it go, so there must be something going on with the elite or railmaster. Ayone got any ideas i can try so i can get this thing running again?

The only thing I can think of is a phenomenon I have seen where the Elite occasionally "goes numb" on a certain number, i.e. it's just like it has a mental block, and can't see that number. It usually clears if you reset the Elite. Apart from that, will it work if you re-number the Britannia on the Elite?

[Chrissaf]

Since you seem to have eliminated the loco as being at fault, then I suggest a methodical logical approach to eliminate each part of your layout that could be the culprit.

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First of all as a starting point I would try a factory reset of the Elite controller (Page 68 of the Elite 1.41 manual). If that doesn't fix it, then leave the RailMaster PC switched off and try using just the Elite controller on its own. If that doesn't work, then get a short length of spare track and connect that to the Track A&B output of your Elite with your main track layout disconnected, still with RailMaster switched off. If that doesn't work, then it would seem to point towards the Elite (or the connections to it) being faulty. If the loco works on a separate individual track piece using the Elite, then that would indicate you have a track problem.

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If everything works just fine by using the Elite controller on its own with the RailMaster PC switched off, then that would infer the issue is RM related.

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If the diagnostic tests above seem to prove the issue is with the Elite and a 'factory reset' makes no improvement. Then before sending it off for a check up / repair I would try reloading the firmware into it. The latest 1.42 firmware and now Windows 8/10 compatible firmware installer is available from this Hornby site as a download.

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Basically, if a logical diagnostics approach is taken, then it should be relatively easy to find the component part of your layout that needs more in depth investigation.

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PS - Also make sure after a 'factory reset' that you change the Elite operation mode back to 'Standard' if it has reverted to 'Classic' mode. In fact, watch the Elite start up LCD display during the power up sequence and change the operating mode to 'Standard' if 'Classic' is shown (Page 67 of the Elite manual).

 

[Dazzler down under]

Ok guys we have nailed it. All problems sorted

 

1) Royal Scot has the white metal disease, solution is pending a phone call to hornby regarding their policy in this area.

 

2) Britannia had sound but no power to the motor on address 8, after changeing the address as ff2nd suggested it now works on address 20, so im experiencing that phenomena of the numb elite. I havent reset the elite as yet but if i have anymore trouble ill go down that path

 

3) Black 5 after lubrication is running a lot better, still not brilliant but much better then it was, it still lacks a bit of power on the curves but it no longer slows right down almost to a stop, she cruises around now. Its amazing what a little bit of lubrication can do,  ive done all my locos and they are running like a dream.

 

thanks to everyone who replied to the thread, you help and advice has been great and we solved 2/3 problems i was having here on the forum so a big thanks to everyone.

 

Dazz

[Fishmanoz]

Glad it's working for you Dazz.