mmI recently picked up another FEF-3, this one from Rivarossi. It's one of the mid-90s versions with RP-25 wheels but before DCC-readiness. Its motor is definitely struggling and it arcs quite a bit, no smoothness at all despite cleaning out the old gunk and adding some grease and oil where necessary. Oddly enough, it runs better in reverse than forward but it still struggles regardless. I was told it was sitting for a long time, sitting where I don't know but it definitely preferes to stay put.
I've seen some threads here and elsewhere about remotoring various engines, Rivarossi included, but they are almost all from 2003-2009, recommending motors from Ebay stores that don't exist anymore. Would anyone be able to make a 12v DC motor recommendation? It's about 25mm in diameter and 30mm in length. If its a double shaft that's not a big deal with a rotary tool. Mabuchi seems to be the ones I come across most often but I'm not seeing a lot of literature on their usage in model railroading. Canon is the other one but I can't really pin down what is most recommended and available either.
Motor looks like this:
https://imgur.com/k2bs2SD
https://imgur.com/lY9fBZg
Any assistance is appreciated!
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Rich
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micktropolis mmI recently picked up another FEF-3, this one from Rivarossi. It's one of the mid-90s versions with RP-25 wheels but before DCC-readiness. Its motor is definitely struggling and it arcs quite a bit, no smoothness at all despite cleaning out the old gunk and adding some grease and oil where necessary. Oddly enough, it runs better in reverse than forward but it still struggles regardless. I was told it was sitting for a long time, sitting where I don't know but it definitely preferes to stay put.
Before you spend money on a new one, are you 100% sure that the motor is the problem and not some kind of bind somewhere in the rest of the drive train? The reason I say this, is I have a Rivarossi 4-4-0 "Genoa" that I thought had a bad motor as well. When I first got it, it had the same struggling problem and the motor would get hot. I went through the same process of cleaning and oiling, and it still had the same problem. Then, I decided to disconnect the motor from the drive shaft and turned the shaft with my fingers, which is when I discovered that it was stiff and very hard to turn. The wheels were in quarter, so I took it apart again, and discovered after some careful study that the cover plate which goes on the underside was too tight, making the axles very difficult to turn. You might want to try this before you buy a new motor.
Thanks for the suggestions folks!
I did double check the tightness of the cover plate, and it still was struggling after loosening it a bit, so I removed the worm gear that connects to the drive shaft so that the wheels could run free. Turns out, part of the valve gear was not sitting right so after an adjustment it runs much more smoothly.
The motor, however, is still stiff, loud, and slow speed leaves much to be desired. Just turning the unconnected drive shaft on the motor I can feel it struggle too. Going forward, I have to increase the voltage to the point where it lurches to a start, reverse is only a little better. So I think a new motor is still going to be necessary especially going to DCC.
I've gone ahead and ordered a few different 12 volt can motors within the size limits of the original to experiment. The drive shaft I'm thinking will be replaced with some flexible surgical tubing or, from what I've read here on the forums, RC fuel line unless I can file the round drive shaft of the replacement motor flat, like the original is and use the original drive shaft connection.
RR_Mel I have remotored 20 Rivarossi articulateds but not a 4-8-4. My preference is the Canon EN-22 if you can find one. The Faulhaber 2224RS would be a good replacement but they can be a bit pricy. When looking for EN-22 motors beware there are a bunch of 24 volt “Hobby Motors” out there. The 24 volt motors measure 50Ω or higher, the 12 volt motors measure under 20Ω.
I used a EN-22 for a Rivarossi Big Boy. I'm not sure how you would mount it, but they are good motors.
Gary