Finally got a chance to test out a tender whistle I'd been working on. It sounded pretty good when on the workbench, but when installed (and thus turned sideways) it's now making quite a bit of noise. Not like a lube issue - something is hitting, but it's hard to tell if it's the impeller or the armature. I've tried pushing-n-prodding on the shaft from both the armature-side and the impeller-side while running but it doesn't change the sound. Any thoughts on possible suspects or troubleshooting techniques?
IT consultant by day, 3rd generation Lionel guy (raising a 3YO 4th generation Lionel Lil' Man) by night in the suburbs of the greatest city in the world - Chicago. Home of the ever-changing Illinois Concretus Ry.
JT - this one is a bit of a mystery. I would have pushed on the shaft also. The other possibility which you likely considered is the bearings/bushings are worn out and orientation is critical.
Regards, Roy
After some more thinking, I'm hypothesizing that it might well be a lubrication issue. If a bearing had too play, pushing on the armature should have changed the sound. And if the impeller was rubbing against the housing, one would think it would be more of an issue when turned upside down (i.e., where the impeller is being pushed towards the housing by gravity). I got the tender sometime in the mid-80s (as it didn't work then) and it could have been sitting for another 20 before that. May be that it just needs more oiling with everything having been dry for so long. I'm going to try that today.
It definitely sounds like a poor lubrication issue, more than anything else. If it had been sitting for a long time, it will surely need to be lubricated, which is a normal noise issue. I am assuming that the whistle is the vertical type mount that is screwed in on the side of the whistle. You need to add oil under the brush plate and armature primarily, and at the pivot hole where the armature shaft stick up through the brush plate. The hardest place is under the armature, which you can use a paper clip, with a drop of oil to apply, or get yourself a "pin oiler", that looks like a medical syringe, that can access under the armature. If you can lubricate both those spots, try to run the whistle for a short period of time, let it sit, to absorb the oil, re-oil near the armature some more, and then do it again. It should clear up most of the noise, but some whistles are inherently noisy, and nothing will cure a low level noise, but should quiet down a really noisy one.
Good luck.
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