Ok, so a little lubrication seemed to have helped. Those noise is greatly reduced. I ran the locomotive for about 20 minutes and it seemed okay. I am going to give it the week of off and on usage and see if the problem returns. I am still not convinced that the entire issue has gone away since there grinding noise is still there....just less.
Thank you to everyone for your assistance.
Listen it's brand new if you have any doubts what so ever send it back to Athearn. They are super nice in the customer service department and even if it is something that generally could be your fault which doesn't sound like the case they more then likely wouldn't charge you. If your start removing this and modifying that and making tweeks etc. and it still doesn't work now what?
On the other locomotive was it one of those annoying little black clips that held the wire to the side frame of the truck or to the board it self? If so and even if it wasn't these are an Achilles heal of Athearan locomotives. If your comfortable with your soldering skills, solder all the connections after discarding those little sleeves holders r what ever they call em. I like Athearan products I think they are a good value for the money but on everyone I buy thats the first thing to get done.
What it sounds like to me, in regards to the original grinding issue, is that the motor magnets are dragging on the motor core. Athearn's molds for this motor are quite old, and they don't seem to be as tight as they used to be. To see if this is the case (and to fix it), try the following:1). Remove the shell.2). Loosen (but do not remove) the 4 screws that hold the motor down (under the fuel tank).3). Put the chassis on the track and run it gently into a bumper post (screw, thumbtack...whatever), then accelerate to full speed.4). Gently hold each end of the motor (the black plastic ends) and slowly twist one way or the other. Try moving up and down as well as side to side. The grinding sound should stop at some point (or get worse...then twist the other way). What you're looking for is a "sweet spot" that all noise almost disappears. You may even have to gently twist the "gold" part of the motor as well.5). Once you get to that point, stop the loco.6). Now you need to glue the black plastic ends of the motor to the "gold" part. I use and recommend 5-minute epoxy. Apply it liberally without making a mess, and avoid all moving parts and the two copper contact strips on the top and bottom of the motor. Let this set.7). After the glue has set up, gently re-tighten the 4 screws under the fuel tank. Not so tight that you mess up the alignment, but snug enough so the motor doesn't flop around.8). Put the shell back on.Now your loco should run well without the grinding sound...or at least with the normal Athearn growl-y sound that they all have.
Athearn does have great customer service in my experience.
To lube an Athearn, there are 6 bearings in the "high speed" drive train area. You have two bearings on the motor, one on each end behind the flywheels. You'll need a needle point oil applicator for this. Then there is the two bearings on either side of each worm gear. These are found on the trucks and are square in shape on the outside. These can be accessed without taking the worm covers off by using the needlepoint oil applicator. If these are dry, they will make a high pitched squeeling sound.
On the "low speed" side of the drive, you have the wheelset bearings. If these are dry, they will make a lower pitched squeel. These can be accessed by turning the loco over and oiling just a tiny bit behind each wheel where the square shaped bearing is penetrated by the axle.
To lube anything else will require you to remove some parts. The lower truck plate that's between the wheels can be snapped off with a screwdriver. This allows access to the wheel gears. Lube these with a teflon or moly grease, then snap the cover back on.
To get more into this would require one to drop the trucks out of the chassis. Not hard, but try everything else, first. Then let us know.
For lube, I like Labelle. Get this and you'll be set for a long time:
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/430-1001Good Luck!
Paul A. Cutler III
I'll see if I can give this a try too. I agree that I need to isolate where the sound is coming from.
Yes, it does look like photo #2.
http://www.mcor-nmra.org/Publications/Articles/Athearn_TuneUp.html
I am now rethinking whether I should send it back to Athearn or not. My big problem is that I am not 100% sure where I should be lubricating and where I should not be lubricating. The people at Athearn were very helpful over the phone but it was tough to follow exactly where I should lubricate and where not to. Can anybody be super specific and guide me? I am still learning the names of the components so layman's terms for the different parts would be best.
Also, what is the best lubricant to use?
My RTR Via P42 had a similar problem when I got it. Wouldn't run very well out of the box & sounded like a blender. Emailed Athearn, they said "ship it to them". I said forget that, took the body off, checked out the trucks, & they looked lubed, that is until I disassembled them. They were bone dry. Lubed them up & haven't had a problem with it since.
Gord
Brought to you by the letters C.P.R. as well as D&H!
K1a - all the way
Thank you to everyone. I spoke to Athearn about it yesterday and they have recommended that I take it to the nearest hobby store so that they can take a look at it and let me know if I should send it back. They suggested lubricating 3 main areas but to me it already looks lubricated. Doing more would just be super messy (I can't see how any more lubrication would help beyond what is already there). Thanks for all of the ideas everyone! The Go Train locomotive is running very well again.
I am having problems wiring a PPW-Aline HO F40PH with a BUEHLER motor. There is a red wire and a black wire attached to the BUEHLER motor. The PPW-Aline F40PH chassis is similar to an ATHEARN chassis although Athearn does not produce an F40PH model. I would like to get this F40PH running well. I would also like to wire a headlight to the PPW-Aline chassis so that the locomotive will light up while it is running. I have a KATO HO F40PH circuit board with lights and a HO BACHMANN Amtrak F40PH shell. I would like suggestions or ideas on how to properly wire the PPW-Aline F40PH with a BUEHLER motor. David Briel An Amtrak fan
jfmooreOn the GP38-2, with the outer case removed, I still get the extreme grinding noise. It still happens at any speed and it is difficult to determine where this noise is originating (front, middle or back).
Does the motor look like this? I just got an Athearn RTR AMD-103 (modern Amtrak diesel) for Christmas, which has this type of motor. It also made a bad grinding noise, and I found that the two long clips holding it together were fitting very loosely, causing the motor to not hold together and allowing the magnets to contact the armature. A quick bending of the clips, and the motor works great now. If it's not that, than I don't know where else to look besides the worms.
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jfmoore problem is that the CN GP38-2 emits a horrible and very very loud grinding noise at any speed.
Jamie, with the engine being new I would not think it would be lack of lube. But, on the other hand I have a few $200.00 plus engines show up with no lube on the gears. With it being new, and if Hobby Shop is close by I would take the engine in and see what they think.
But, if it is a long drive, try lubing the motor bearings, worm gears and brass bushing that hold the wheels. I have a Athearn SD 45-2 that needs lubing ever 20 hours or so or it makes a whirring sound.
Cuda Ken
I hate Rust
RedGrey62An old practice is to clean the gears and gearbox in mild soapy water then apply Pearl Drops toothpaste and let it run for awhile. The Pearl Drops are slightly abrasive and will clean up any small burrs. Then rewash everything, let it dry and reassemble, then add plastic compatible lube such as LaBelle.
Ah, the old toothpaste trick! Have used it, successfully, from time to time, myself. I prefer the REMBRANDT brand as it seems a bit stickier. A drop or two of BRASSO, applied with a q-tip can solve more stubborn issues.
Once the issues are resolved, a thorough wash/lube is a good idea.
jfmooreAthearn Iron horse Express set (ATH1076) including the GP38-2 locomotive.
Generally the old blue box Athearns were noisy, I believe the noise comes from poorly designed two piece drive train. I am not familiar with the locomotive in the set, it may not even be a "blue box" loco, trainsets are usually the cheapest of locos.
Take the shell off and see if it looks like the drive train in the second picture in the link below: Let us know.
The "blue box" series of Athearn locomotives are robust but noisy, some lube may make a difference.
As another posted, Athearns can be a bit noisy. But since it still growls when you have the shell off, it may be some burrs in the gears.
Athearns are fairly easy to disassemble, I would pull apart the universal drive, and put it back on the track to see if it is truly the gears or (hopefully not) the motor making the noise. If it's quieter with the unversal joints disconnected, then I would take the trucks apart and inspect the gears.
An old practice is to clean the gears and gearbox in mild soapy water then apply Pearl Drops toothpaste and let it run for awhile. The Pearl Drops are slightly abrasive and will clean up any small burrs. Then rewash everything, let it dry and reassemble, then add plastic compatible lube such as LaBelle.
Good Luck
Ricky
If you feel comfortable doing so you can do as follows. First remove either the front or rear worm cover and take the worm and the drive shaft out of that end of the locomotive, keep in mind this will allow the truck to drop out so place it carefully on the track.
Then try and run it if the noise still persists remove the one from the opposite end and try it again with both drive shafts disconnected, that should pretty much only leave the motor and both flywheels turning. If the sound is still there look for anything rubbing on the flywheels. If the noise is not there when both drive shafts are removed then it is obviously something between the flywheel and the worm or something between the worm and the wheels inside the truck.
If the second is true i would spin the drive shaft connected to the worm and not the motor with my hand and try and feel anything binding.
I really think something is more than likely just rubbing in the drive line.
On the GP38-2, with the outer case removed, I still get the extreme grinding noise. It still happens at any speed and it is difficult to determine where this noise is originating (front, middle or back). I am not sure where I should really be looking first.... Nothing looks really out of place (although this is only the second locomotive that I have taken apart...the first was the F59PHI from above).
Thanks! On the F59PHI the 9 pin connector looked fine but there was one cable and looked a little off. I reset the cable and the unit has power again.
I'm now going to look at the GP38-2.
Thanks again!
As for your first issue, the older Athearns always were a little noisy. I personally would take the shell off and listen to it run. If it runs fine without that noise look for where something could be binding/rubbing when the shell i placed on it.
I would suspect your second issue with the F59PHI is that the terminating plug on the 9 pin NMRA socket came unplugged some how. I could be wrong but I would take the shell off and pull that quick plug off and put it back in and see if it works then. If I recall correctly you have to remove the couplers to get the shell off.
Others may have better ideas than I do on this issue but it is just my guess.
You could return the set for another one or you could check out this site first - http://www.mcor-nmra.org/Publications/Articles/Athearn_TuneUp.html
The other locomotive sounds like a loose connection. Remove the shell and check the wiring.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, my 6 year old and I are just starting out in this hobby. As a result, we are kind of learning on the fly (although I do read a lot and have done some homework to get us started). We are a few days into this new adventure and we seem to have stumbled upon some fairly significant problems with the locomotives we have. I was hoping that somebody could point me to some good troubleshooting steps.
Issue #1:
For Christmas "Santa" delivered an Athearn Iron horse Express set (ATH1076) including the GP38-2 locomotive. The hobby store raved about this set as a great starter for a 6 year old. While the track is nothing to really get all too excited about (I have a separate setup....still pretty basic, but not this basic). The problem is that the CN GP38-2 emits a horrible and very very loud grinding noise at any speed. Originally I thought that maybe the locomotives wheels were slipping but it seems like the sound is coming from inside the locomotive itself. This happens on both my son's track as well as mine and with and without any consists. Can anybody suggest what the best way is to troubleshoot this? Should I really take the locomotive apart since it is only a few days old (to us anyway, and thus perhaps still under warranty)? Does Athearn honour warranties directly or do I have to take the whole set back?
Issue #2.
My son was also given an Athearn HO RTR F59PHI Go Transit #601 Locomotive for Christmas by a relative as well. I've since learned that this particular model is not all that accurate, but that is not where I have an issue. My issue is that this locomotive was running just fine for a couple of days and now it gets no power at all. I have tried it on known working tracks and it does not seem to get any power whatsoever whereas when I put a separate locomotive on the track I do get power and movement. So basically I have a locomotive that is not getting any power whatsoever when there is power present. How do I troubleshoot this one?
Anyway, I have been searching the forums but it's been a little tough to isolate posts down to these exact models. Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you to anyone that can assist.
Jamie