All,
Here's the problem:
I have a HO Bachmann Climax with a TSU-750. It runs about an inch then stops and does it again and again and again. Often I have to tap it or nudge it to get going. It won't run consistently until it has warmed up a while. I have cleaned (and recleaned) the track. Cleaned the wheels, and the back of the wheels for the pickups and have seen no improvement. I have the decoder in the tender mounted to the back of the solid metal coal load to dissipate heat. I don't believe it is a heat issue since the decoder immediately restarts and wants to move the loco again.
The loco will idle all day long but when I want to move it it will start and stop.
Any insight?
Thanks!
What DCC system do you have? This sounds like a classic having the same loco selected on more than one throttle issue, you're trying to make it go witht he one you have in your hand and somewhere else it's selected with a speed of 0 so it keeps stopping.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
It is is not a throttle issue and you are sure you have all wheel pickup, look below.
I use the 750 and usually a larger capacitor helps. Some have gone as high as a couple thousand micro farads. I have had similar issues with the Micro in some steamers.
The capacitor that comes with the 750 is only for sound. The stay alive or keep alive issue has been discussed extensively on the Yahoo SoundTraxx forums.
Below is a link you might want to click on. This guy is on the Group and has done a lot of research on this issue.
http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/mainnorth/alive.htm
I suspect it has a lot to do with the decoder brand.
I am using a couple LokSound Micro decoders in two small two truck diesels and nothing like this happens to me.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
If it can't roll more than a few inches on clean track with clean wheels without adding a big keep-alive capacitor, that's a worthless decoder. I still say the issue is the loco was not dispatched and is still active in the Zephyr. You don;t need two throttles for this to happen. Easy to check - lookin the back of the Zephyr manual for the instructions on resetting the unit with OpSw 36.
If the sound stops too, it's poor pickup. You didn;t say that the frist time
Clean wheels or not, there's probably no power getting from one truck to the decoder, making it only have a very short 4 wheel pickup span. Make sure the pickups are clean as well as the wheels. Pull the decoder and check continuity from each wheel on one side to that decoder wire, and then check the other side. Also, on most Bachmann locos there is a capacitor or two in parallel with the motor. This should be removed for best operation with a decent DCC decoder (and PWM DC systems like the Crest Train Engineer). It's supposedly to help stop rf interference, but it also interfers witht he high frequency drive of good decoders and can cause erratic operation.
Sorry about the lack of info.
I recieved a message from Soundtraxx and the fella there said he suspects its a pick-up issue. He said his experience shows that this loco has notoriously bad pick-ups. I was suspecting this from the get go but I thought I would ask to see if anyone else had issues. I did chack the capacitor, it is wired correcly and seems to be working. I re-cleaned the wheels and did some adjusting to the copper pick-up. Boy are they flimsy.
The loco seems to be working better on my test track but when I move to my temporary layout it still has lots of issues until I feverously clean the track ahead of it. I have to prod it around the table once or twice but then it will make it on its own. It really hates the life-like powerloc turnouts that I have on my temporary layout, can't wait to start laying some real track..etc.
So now this issue is getting better but I just noticed while cleaning that the front truck spins freely. I guess this is the dreaded gear failure many have written about. I love this loco, such a shame.
Oh well.
Anyway thanks to all for the help an suggestions.
Birdog
Dave at NWSL is working on the HO Climax gear issue and hopes to have replacement gears in a few weeks. Go to the site and email him. He does answer email.In an email from Dave, he told me this and will be working toward new gears for the ON30 Shay. The Bachmann stuff comes out of China. Need I say more?
Don't do a rant on this Bachmann gear issue. There have been many.
With the pickups, make sure where the wheels slop a little from side to side that a contact is not losing contact with the wheel. I have not seen the pickups on the loco so that is just a guess.
That is fantastic news on the gearing. I will definately shoot him an email.
Yeah no rant here just a frustrated logger or two. I have seen some of them...wow....
The wheel sets sit in the truck pretty snugly so not really any slop.
Andy