I have an Intermountain F3AB consist - HO scale. When I first bought it new a few years back, I installed a Loksound Select Decoder (sound) in the F3A and a Digitrax DZ143PS non-sound decoder in the F3B. Recently, I notice that the F3A makes a "whining" sound - - not a screech or whatever, but a whining sound when in motion.
Any ideas, thoughts, comments?
Rich
Alton Junction
Rich,
Is turbo somehow engaged on the Select decoder? Does it get louder the faster you go? Or does it sound more like a mechanical whine? Maybe the motor bearings?
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
tstage Rich, Is turbo somehow engaged on the Select decoder? Does it get louder the faster you go? Or does it sound more like a mechanical whine? Maybe the motor bearings? Tom
Pre-V5 ESU decoders would have a noise associated with the BEMF that was annoying with some motors. Try turning the BEMF off completely and see if the noise goes away. Set CV49 to 18 to turn it off and CV49 to 19 to turn it back on.
That will either answer that aspect or not.
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
richhotrain I wonder if I could post the sound?
Make a youtube vid with your phone
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
BigDaddy richhotrain I wonder if I could post the sound? Make a youtube vid with your phone
Mark R. Pre-V5 ESU decoders would have a noise associated with the BEMF that was annoying with some motors. Try turning the BEMF off completely and see if the noise goes away. Set CV49 to 18 to turn it off and CV49 to 19 to turn it back on. That will either answer that aspect or not. Mark.
richhotrain Mark R. Pre-V5 ESU decoders would have a noise associated with the BEMF that was annoying with some motors. Try turning the BEMF off completely and see if the noise goes away. Set CV49 to 18 to turn it off and CV49 to 19 to turn it back on. That will either answer that aspect or not. Mark. Thanks, Mark, I will try that. Rich
Thanks, Mark, I will try that.
This winning was there right at the get go of the install?
woodone This winning was there right at the get go of the install?
I hear a whining sound around here sometimes.
I think it’s saying “I wanna go to Florida”.
maxman I hear a whining sound around here sometimes. I think it’s saying “I wanna go to Florida”. Funny. The whining I hear is "It's freezing" Rich. It sounds like a motor or truck bearing run dry. Just a drop is all you need. Don't drench it. Might as well do the B unit too. Pete
Funny. The whining I hear is "It's freezing"
Rich.
It sounds like a motor or truck bearing run dry. Just a drop is all you need. Don't drench it. Might as well do the B unit too.
Pete
wrench567 It sounds like a motor or truck bearing run dry. Just a drop is all you need. Don't drench it. Might as well do the B unit too. Pete
Last evening, I was reading up on how to remove the shell which is pretty straightforward, so I will do that today.
Use a good quality oil. Look for the motor bushings to lube. Will only take a small drop. Too much oil will just attract dirt & grime.
F3s are Roots engines, not turbo; the whine is different and would be masked by the exhaust note at speed.
Check the commutator and brushes.
It occurs to me that this might be laminate noise if the decoder is using a high PCM switching frequency. You might detect this with the motor out of mesh with the drive but connected to the decoder for test -- load the shaft with something like a fingertip if needed.
There was some problems with a humming/wine noise with some of the early ESU selects. But the OP said it did not do this frome the start, so I would be looking for a dry bearing (bushing) some place. Might even be in the worm drive bearings.
I went down to the layout this morning to take a video so everyone could hear the whine. I put the loco up on rollers so it would run in place, making it easier to shoot the video without chasing a moving train. Wouldn't you know it, no whining.
So, I removed the rollers and let the loco move forward, pulling the passenger car consist behind it. Wouldn't you know it, it whined.
Nuts, I did what I hate to do and that is to remove the shell. That is one of my most dreaded model railroading tasks. But, I got the shell off without damage. I ran the loco on the mainline without the shell. No whining.
Upon closer examination, I noticed that back when I installed the Loksound Select, I added a piece of electrical tape around the back of the speaker baffle. Why I did that, I do not recall. I removed the electrical tape, replaced the shell, and the whining went away. So, my guess is that it was vibration, not a mechanical whining.
Ah, hoist by your own petard.