Hi, my first post.
I have an old Athearn Iron Horse set with an Athearn DCC ready GP38 locomotive. I took it out yesterday to run it after long storage and at first put on the Bachmann EZ track it ran ok but slower than usual. I have the Athearn DC grey power pack and has been flawless. I had to throttle the dial all the way up to get the engine up to half speed. It was lagging a little. then it just kicked in at full sped after about 5 min. While slowing down the engine to reverse, the (motor) stopped running. When I throttle up the power pack I only get the lights on front and back and they do respond to the voltage. Question? The wheel contacts look dirty but not sure since I didnt clean them prior to running. Or, would this be a motor issue? Your thoughts any ideas of what to toruble shoot? Thanks
Welcome.
It sounds like a motor disconnect. Remove the shell and check all the connections. Also clean the track and wheels. Especially where the track joins together.
Pete.
If it is DC (DCC ready or not), it could just be dirty wheels and dirty track. Also, you might want to do a full service if it's been idle for a while, including lubricating the gears, universals and motor shafts.
Simon
thanks everyone, will do all of the above and follow up. I think its the dirty wheels but ill check under the hood.
Could be the old tease on the gears got thick. And once warmed up a little it became more fluid. Might need a cleaning to rid the old grease and replace with fresh. Especially if it is the factory grease. Happens a lot with old postwar lionel and the ancient factory grease. But occassionally with other scales as well. While under the hood check the grease condition
shane
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
It's also possible that you burned up your motor by trying to run at full throttle against the drag in the drive train. After you remove the cab, do a sniff test and see if you can smell smoke or a burnt smell from the motor.
Joe
Check the motor brushes and, if you can, determine if the commutator needs to be stoned and the slots cleaned out.
If you do not own a multimeter -- even one of the cheap models from places like Harbor Freight -- now would be a good time to get one and learn to use the various features. You can very simply make up specialty 'leads' for different situations, not just be limited by the ones that came in the package.