I have two Walthers P2K H10-44s that used to be my smoothest runners, bought them both at the same time about 3 years ago. In the last two weeks they have both started to run more roughly; slightly noticeable when they are running alone but a lot more pronounced when they are pulling 7 to 10 cars. It's almost as it there is something resisting their normally free motion. One of them has started squeaking a bit from the front truck as well.
So I am wondering if this is just a normal maintenance/lubrication issue, and if so, how to go about addressing that, but I've also been wondering whether the BEMF settings might have gotten messed up. The decoders in these sound-based units seem to take on their own settings every so often and need a factory reset.
Any suggestions to get these guys back to their normal smooth behavior would be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Charles Hostetler
Charles
Sounds like a maintenance thing to me. A regular cleaning and lubrication should be done to keep your locomotives running top notch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lU1N9k64HQ
Pete
I pray every day I break even, Cause I can really use the money!
I started with nothing and still have most of it left!
Pete,
Thanks for your reply. It was the suddenness of the onset of the jerky performance that was trying to mislead me, but as I looked at the decoder settings and ran the locomotives some more, and heard the squeal from inside the drive train I got convinced that it is a lubrication and maintenance issue. So now I have a learning opportunity; taking the thing apart looks like it will be a mild challenge.
I found this video useful as they were disassembling a newer P2K loco that appears to be built much like the H10-44s:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYkzmwS-sYg
There's a bit too much side chat for my taste, but they do make a couple of good points:
So I am going to assemble my lubricants and microbrushes and give it a go! I'll probably weather the shell at the same time. Thanks again.