What's the commutator look like? All covered with black gunk? Usually ozone is a result of a lot of arcing at the commutator/brush gap. Remove your brushes and springs (carefully!), clean the lot of 'em in contact cleaner. Spray your commutator and blow the residue out. Repeat. Make sure the motor bearings aren't dry, one drop of light oil will do. Put the brushes and springs back in and try it. Hope this helps.
Lou
A little CRC 2-26 sprayed on the commutator wouldn't hurt either. Just spray a little on, turn the motor by hand a few times and wipe off any access with a bit of a paper towel.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
I have cleaned the commutater with a pencil eraser before. You might want to take a toothpick and add a touch of oil to it. Just a touch, not a drop.
Will
wholeman You might want to take a toothpick and add a touch of oil to it. Just a touch, not a drop.
You might want to take a toothpick and add a touch of oil to it. Just a touch, not a drop.
Motor brushes are graphite, which is a dry lubricant -- so there's really no need to put oil on the commutator.
cacolewholeman You might want to take a toothpick and add a touch of oil to it. Just a touch, not a drop. Motor brushes are graphite, which is a dry lubricant -- so there's really no need to put oil on the commutator.
Absolutely correct a better idea is to either clean the commutator with an eraser or contact cleaner.
Contact cleaner will act as a lubricant without effecting the brushes.
Modeling the Motor City
AN eraser works well - just blow out any crumbs that might get left behind. I just use the one ont he end of a pencil but you could also cut a smaller sliver out of a big one. Do this by hand, don;t try to run the motor and touch the erase to the commutator while the motor is operating.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
If it's running well I wouldn't worry about the little hint of ozone. It'll eventually be so low you won't smell it at all. After a good break in the loco should run fine if everything is good.
Try this. Remove the motor from the chassis. Attach power clips from a DC power pack to the power connections on the motor. Now turn the power up so that the motors spins quickly. With the motor on submerge the motor in a bowl or glass of water. Let it run for a few minutes. This will 'seat' the brushes on the commutator.
While running the motor under water may seat the brushes (never heard of it myself) it will cause the ferrous metal in the armature to rust and may cause the shaft to rust in the bearings.
Micro Mark makes a fiberglass brush that can be used instead of an eraser: http://www.micromark.com/MINI-BRUSH-WITH-FIBERGLASS-BRISTLES,6557.html
just run the thing back and forth while the motor is turning to "true" the armature.
jeffrey-wimberly While running the motor under water may seat the brushes (never heard of it myself) it will cause the ferrous metal in the armature to rust and may cause the shaft to rust in the bearings.
Not if done properly. This is an old slot car trick for improving the performance of motors. Look it up. Give the motor an dip in alcohol after the water break-in to remove the water and clean the motor.
Silver Pilotjeffrey-wimberly While running the motor under water may seat the brushes (never heard of it myself) it will cause the ferrous metal in the armature to rust and may cause the shaft to rust in the bearings. Not if done properly. This is an old slot car trick for improving the performance of motors. Look it up. Give the motor an dip in alcohol after the water break-in to remove the water and clean the motor.