I have had this engine for some time, and understand it needs some breaking-in. I have let it run about 40 smph around my outer main for over an hour now, sometimes letting it run in reverse. It has about 1.5 hours total.
It still hesitates and stumbles from a dead start. I have the chuff synched at about 30 scale mph and when it is slowing, the synch works as you would expect. The problem, for me, aside from the hesitating start, is that it doesn't seem to want to climb a transition that is good for all my other engines and keep the chuff rate in synch. When leaving my yard and commencing its climb out on the main, near 2% where this phenomenon happens, I can give it more and more throttle but it won't speed up until it has run about four or five feet. Meanwhile the Tsunami is chuffing like a machine gun, completely out of synch with the drivers. Eventually the engine decides it will play and it moves into synch with the chuff rate. I have had the engine appear to stall at one point where I had to give it a nudge, while the decoder chuffs rapidly.
What's going on?
-Crandell
Crandell
I dont know about the J but some of my other Spectrum steamers had the drive gear come loose on the motor shaft. Both of those were belt drive. I pulled the flywheel off and super glued the gear to the shaft. So far they have worked without issues.
Pete
I pray every day I break even, Cause I can really use the money!
I started with nothing and still have most of it left!
Thanks for your reply, Pete. When this happened, did you find that the engine would eventually get up to speed and run well, even with the slipping gear? Did yours have a sound decoder, and did you experience the rapid chuff with slow driver rotation?
Yes, David, I got a sweet deal at modeltrainstuff that I couldn't pass up on a Spectrum J. Maybe I should rethunk.
Is it possible that a slip like that could develep and ever get the engine up to speed? I would think the universal would just get worse quickly with the inevitable wear associated with such slipping.
Have you had to deal with this?
the factory CV settings are all out of whack for the J
and several need to be tweeked ot get it to run right.
here is the entire list with the settings I used
CV VALUE
1=3
43=1
83=155
141=64
2=0
44=4
84=164
142=64
3=10
45=128
85=173
143=0
4=10
46=16
86=182
145=0
7=80
47=0
87=191
146=96
8=141
49=1
88=200
147=0
10=255
50=1
89=209
177=25
11=0
51=1
90=219
178=50
12=1
52=2
91=228
179=10
13=0
59=3
92=237
180=10
14=3
60=4
93=246
181=255
16=0
61=0
94=255
182=255
17=194
62=0
95=128
183=255
18=94
63=20
105=0
184=255
19=0
64=160
106=4
185=42
21=0
66=128
112=0
186=64
22=0
67=9
113=0
187=255
23=0
68=18
114=4
188=102
24=0
69=27
115=0
193=15
25=3
70=36
116=90
194=28
29=38
71=45
128=255
195=4
30=4
72=55
129=255
196=3
33=17
73=64
130=92
197=31
34=18
74=73
131=90
198=31
35=8
75=82=
132=48
209=255
36=4
76=91
133=32
210=255
37=16
77=100
134=16
212=255
38=32
78=109
135=32
213=20
39=0
79=118
136=128
214=10
40=0
80=127
137=128
41=16
81=137
139=128
42=128
82=146
140=64
River Eagle, thanks. I assume you mean that this would apply to Bachmann's own version of the Tsunami? I have a full version installed by my usual guy. I also did a full, hard, reset prior to fiddling with it the first time. Someone on another forum mentioned that CV29 may be interfering some how, but I input a value of 34, so that shouldn't be the problem.
My first instinct was that a gear was slipping or a driveshaft end was loose, essentially what David suspects. My installer took a look at it and said it worked fine for him, and that it probably needed a good break-in. He also stated flatly that he has given up on Spectrum because they aren't great quality. He has just sold a Consolidation he couldn't get to work for love or money.
Yes one had sound the other did not. The one with sound has the Soundtraxx 280LC decoder. If you mute the sound you can probably hear the motor whine and the loco just barely move. On both of mine the drive gear was between the flywheel and motor. I had to pull the flywheel off to glue the gear. The gear drives a coged belt that drives the third driver. Crappy system if you ask me. I would have been happier with a brass worm gear. If they sit for awhile (1 year or more) the belt takes a set and the locos lurch for awhile untill it settles out again. The 2-8-0 lurched so bad and wobbled side to side so much it would derail on a straight track let alone a curve. Last Spectrum I will ever buy.
David, thank-you for your kind offer. I may take you up on it, and I will contact you off-line for your specifics if I have to get help. I'll try to run it for a bit and see if it settles. I suspect this was a shelf sitter for maybe four or more years, maybe on two or three shelves until someone saw Crandell coming , and that it may have the kinked belt that Pete describes. I like the engine anyway, not knowing much about its prototype (I have read that the Bachmann version lacks some fidelity), and wouldn't mind if it did the trick for me.
Pete, I can't recall muting it to hear what it does, but it would be an obvious thing to do now that you mention it. I'll give it a try.
Cracked gears, kinked belt drives, shorting BLI's that Ken drives, expensive brass engines that need hours of shimming and tinkering to run on 34" curves, ...I wonder now if the guys who tell us we should be building all our own stuff were right all along!
selector River Eagle, thanks. I assume you mean that this would apply to Bachmann's own version of the Tsunami? -Crandell
River Eagle, thanks. I assume you mean that this would apply to Bachmann's own version of the Tsunami?
Yep, these are for the Bachman OEM Tsunami