Man I need help. Yesterday i cleaned my Atlas DCC U23B's wheels as I always have. I used a dampened paper towel with alcohol on the tracks and ran it in place. NOW....from 0-1 speed steps there is a crunchy, not in time, sound and it jerks like crazy! Once past speed step 3 or so Its smooth as can be. The sound is fine. I have noticed that there is a delay now between my Digitrax Super Empire Builder Cab imputs and the engine. The worst was yesterday evening when i had it running with at 25smph with the top off. I tried stopping it to take it apart and slowly scaled the knob to 0 and the dang thing kept running at a snails pace for a good 30 secs.I took the trucks off(plastic covers with metal connections) and wiped them clean. I took the axle gear box covers off, pulled the axles out...kinda gunky, but not bad at all...The axle gears had no sign of chips, splits or broken teeth. THEN, I unhooked the worm drives so they'd spin freely and set the engine on the tracks only to find that the jumpiness appeared to be in the can motor. This is a very wierd case and I'm pretty upset because I'd rather have a tree on the layout fall over due to the $$$ lol!What are my options people?
Well, in the most recent issue of MRR magazine, Tony Koester in his Trains of Thought column asks, "What did you do last"?
You indicated that you cleaned the wheels as you always do, and then the problems started.
So, did the cleaning process cause the problem? Did you get ballast in the gears? Did grit come off the wheels and into the drive train? Did you knock the wheels out of gauge or out of round Did you damage the gears? Did a wire come loose? Did you somehow damage the decoder?
If it ran fine before, then the cleaning process did something wrong. I know that you said that you started looking at several of these issue, but you are going to need to look again and look closer.
Don't know what else to say.
Rich
Alton Junction
I have not. I don't even know what BEMF is or does.
Hows that done?
The motor is out right now, but i just held it while running it with nothing attatched. Same jerkiness at slow speed. I put my finger on the fly wheel for resistance and it got worse. It went almost demonic. Spun a bit faster and rougher.
I guess what you need to tell us is if, when you had the motor removed, it was still being powered through the DCC system. If it was, then what I'd suggest is that you disconnect it from the decoder and power it from a variable 12 volt DC source. If it runs smoothly with the DC source, then we can conclude that you have a decoder problem. If it hesitates with the DC source, then there is a motor problem.
I would remove the trucks and then move them over a surface that will allow the wheels to roll and see if there is any binding. I use a paper towel for this.
Also make sure all of the truck parts and gears are in place and not loose.
Ken G Price My N-Scale Layout
Digitrax Super Empire Builder Radio System. South Valley Texas Railroad. SVTRR
N-Scale out west. 1996-1998 or so! UP, SP, Missouri Pacific, C&NW.
I am going to look the gearboxes today when I get home to ensure alignment. I'm hoping that it just needs to air out.
HOWLR I am going to look the gearboxes today when I get home to ensure alignment. I'm hoping that it just needs to air out.
Yes, you should look at that stuff again. But I thought that you said the motor ran poorly when disconnected from everything else. If that is the case, then either the motor is bad or the decoder is bad. Did you run the motor with straight DC to see if it behaved properly?
No I havn't. I don't think I have a DC power pack. Is there a way to do it without buying something?
The word Crunchy, isn't one that is usually good. Check the gears and as noted earlier for a piece of ballast or a broken one.
Springfield PA
Can you connect the motor to another decoder and see if the problem is still there? Do you know someone with a DC powerpack that you can use to test the motor on straight DC? It definately sounds like the motor or Decoder is the problem.
-Bob
Life is what happens while you are making other plans!
I am going to check the gearboxes now. If I don't find anything I will have to take it to my hobby shop to run on DC. I'll let ya'll know if I find any rocks.
No rocks...its the motor. More spefically I think its a brush in the motor. One of em has a chip in the side.
I used the magic wand to reset cvs. Those are great. it smoothed the thing out. The motor is catching on a broke or chipped brush. Anyone know where to find an Atlas U23B motor? I think a U30 one will fit.
HOWLR No rocks...its the motor. More spefically I think its a brush in the motor. One of em has a chip in the side. I used the magic wand to reset cvs. Those are great. it smoothed the thing out. The motor is catching on a broke or chipped brush. Anyone know where to find an Atlas U23B motor? I think a U30 one will fit.
Are the brushes on the motor replaceable? If you're not sure, call Atlas and ask them. I see they sell replacement brushes/springs for $2: https://secure.atlasrr.com/mod1/searchresult.asp
HOWLR
I suspect that you have found the problem with the chipped brush. It is possible that the added stress of cleaning caused the brush to break but I rather doubt that. It is more likely that the crack was there and the cleaning was the proverbial 'last straw' that broke the brush's back (pardon the pun).
Replacing the brush is in order, obviously, but I would suggest you look at two other things:
First, where did the chip go? You don't want it to rear its ugly head again so its best to have a very careful look to see if it is still in the works. The fact that the motor ran on after you tried to stop it could mean that the chip is in there somewhere causing shorts which the decoder is trying to overcome.
Second, I would have a close look at the commutators (the copper bits that the brushes make contact with on the motor shaft). If the motor continued to run rough after the chip came out then there could be some damage there too. If that is the case you might be lucky enough that you will be able to resolve that problem with some gentle filing, but if the commutators are broken they will just eat the next brush too. Best route there is a new motor.
Please understand that I am not an expert here but the speculation is too hard to resist.
Good luck. Let us know what you find.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
That would sure explain the erratic performance at slow speeds. That obviously required some work on your part to discover the chip in the brush. If the chipped brush is the problem, it should be replaceable. Contact Atlas Customer Service. There should be no need to replace the entire motor.