I appear to finally have the FEF-2 fixed.
The older boy started school this week, so I went off to the train club this morning for work/testing/tuning. After about an hour and a half I got it back together.
All work was tender pickup related as it would stall out on large radius curves and usually just touching the tender would make it go again.
Third or fourth time around cleaning the tender above and beyond meticulously for the wheels and pickups along with adjusting everything along the way for best possible contact. Before reassembly, I was turned on to trying some CRC-26 which is a light lube and is conductive by a club member. I carefully applied it to the contact wipers before assembly and spun the wheels around once. I then put a very small dab on the backs of the wheels and again spun the wheels. Let it sit for a bit and wiped any excess I could see anywhere off.
Got her lined up on the yard lead and let her rip with 18 coal cars and a caboose in tow.
Made it thru all the curves that were affecting it prior and ran smooth as could be and no sound interuptions either. Overall the wiper setup seems to be on the weak side and I am planning on doing the engine the same way as the tender(again, but with crc-26 this time).
I still find this unacceptable that buying a near $300 engine(on sale and a coupon) that I should even have to touch it at this point........
Now when I'm on vacation next week I will move on to the DooDooA40X and see if I can get it sorted out.
I feel your pain..I just paid $25.00 to have LEDs installed in my Genesis SCL GP9 because every light bulb that Athearn insist on using blew within weeks.
I even had to repair two of my Athearn RTR GP38-2s and one of my RTR SW1500s..In all three cases the flywheels came loose other then that they are good engines. I bought a RTR FMC boxcar that had three of its four stirrups laying in the car's tray.
Pains me to no end to say that because I've been a loyal Athearn customer for the past 60 years.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
RR_Mel Pretty much everything you buy now days is that way. The newbie’s don’t care about quality epically if it requires a little bit of work on their part, some even sabotage their products. I worked in two-way radio communications for almost 50 years and before I retired one of my installers found a beer can half full of marbles behind a quarter panel in a new Ford Crown Vic while running wires in the car. That would have driven someone nuts trying to find that rattle. Mel Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951 My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
Around 30 years ago, Sports Illustrated had an article about Brian Bosworth, college football god-turned-NFL bust, who bragged about putting empty Coke bottles inside the doors of cars he worked on at his summer job at an auto plant. Class act. Hopefully nobody like that is working for MRR manufacturers.
I'm glad you got your engine running. Ill have to check out that lube.
No, not everything these days overseas is poorly made.
The latest brass models are wonderfully detailed and run wonderfully too. I would argue that one still gets what one pays for.
It was the poor quality control, not even so much the sometimes mechanical issues with Athearn diesels, but the horrible paint jobs and sloppy glue marks and bad handrails that pushed me toward the much, much more expensive brass models. Just a couple years ago I wanted just even one Reading green and yellow Alco RS-3 diesel, and I inspected more than a dozen in person at various dealers, and rejected one mail order unit, because they looked just terrible for the price point. Bad glue marks they just painted right over, etc. I failed to find even one single unit anywhere that was imo worth buying at the $100 or so price point for a rtr, non-Genesis diesel.
That was merely the latest in a long list of frustrations I experienced with Athearn products over the last decade--and I loved the stuff and purchased plenty of it when Irv was alive. We even custom assembled Athearn train sets as a quality alternative to all the cheap train sets for Christmas during the years I worked retail. There were still some QA/QC issues then and wrong color paint schemes, but it was so cheap and parts were available so readily that most overlooked those issues back then.
So now people have "mocked" me and/or called me some kind of elitist in other topics on these forums simply imo because I want the quality and am willing to pay more for it if I have to to get it.
John
PRR8259So now people have "mocked" me and/or called me some kind of elitist in other topics on these forums simply imo because I want the quality and am willing to pay more for it if I have to to get it. John
John,Everybody has their price restraints due to their limited hobby budget but,still they shouldn't mocked anybody that can afford better.
Over the past few months I've been buying the older LL/P2K (GP9s,GP18 and 2 GP38-2s) and Atlas/Kato locomotives (GP7,RS11s) for my SCL roster. I also manage to pick up a BB SCL GP35,a BB Family Lines BB GP35 and a Family Lines BB GP7 that was custom painted for a very reasonable price. If the guy ever decides to sell his two BB Family Lines SD45s I will buy them.
My point? There are those that will snicker and say those are toys because they are not up to today's so called "standards".
So,we see the mocking door swings both ways. You get mock because of your high standards and guys like me gets mock for enjoying those older locomotives.
Mel,
LOL....I have to laugh...When I got out of Vietnam in 1968 and VA Hospital...I threated My self to a brand new 1968 Mach I 428 CJ Mustang...now that car was not cheap by 68 standards...anyway, everything was fine, until I would make hard left turn or hit bumps on the right side...It had a deep sounding rattle, coming from the right side. Took it to the dealer and they went over the car and could not find anything. It was starting to drive Me nuts! I took it home for the weekend and damn near took the whole trunk apart on the right side and really shook the hell out of the rear end of the car and heard it and even louder...I stuck My hand down the side of the fender well and exterior body and felt some thing strange...low & behold...I pull out an empty Pepsi bottle...LOL The only thing they could tell Me at the dealer, is that is was built on a Friday..
Take Care!
Frank
BTW: I have six Athearn BB SD40-2's 1973 era, that still have the original incandesants bulb's in them and they work....but I also never run them at warp speed. They aren't constant brightness, like decoder counter parts, so they will last longer.
I, in my personal experience, have found that the determining factor is usually how you run the locomotive; one has to utilize both discresion and "T.L.C." to get anything up to its full potential of operation.
SovietP36--
I would not always agree. I've seen 35 year old locomotives (built by Samhongsa with great gearboxes and can motors) run exquisitely right out of the box, that quite obviously had never been run more than a couple feet before (and the gearbox was dry with no evidence of any previous lubrication). Also, many new old stock Kato engines even 20 years old will run exceptionally well right out of the box, without any TLC at all.
Larry--
I won't "mock" you for liking the older P2K or Kato stuff. You like what you like and it's your railroad. I myself have picked up some Kato diesels and installed all the details...just didn't keep them when I went to steam. I'm watching for the "right" Stewart/Kato F unit to show up on Ebay, then maybe I'll bite on one.
Enjoy your trains!
John, "mock" is a pretty harsh word. On which threads are you being mocked? There should be no place for that on this forum.
Rich
Alton Junction
Kato just runs good period!
Brakie, I've been building a fleet of P2K stuff, little elbow grease and obligatory axle gears on 4 motors and they are good to go in almost all cases.
Lets keep this thread specific to Genesis hate
I guess on a good note, I have gone from 2 of 4 to 3 of 4 Genesis units operational.....
JEREMY CENTANNILets keep this thread specific to Genesis hate
There's no doubt that there is some issues that have caused headaches for some modelers who own Genesis products. To say that I hate any of my locomotives seems a bit extreme to me. Some I like less than others but I will say that Athearn has produced quite a few models that I wouldn't have if it weren't for them.
When the SDP40-F is available I'll probably expand my Genesis roster by three or four more. I know going into it that some of the detail parts may shake loose on their 7,000 mile journey to my house and that I will have to replace the headlight bulbs and, for my preference, I'll get the DC version and install my own sound decoder of choice.
Hate Genesis? I wouldn't go that far. Sure, I wish they would make a few production changes but I'm sure glad they provide the models that they do.
Off-hand I'd say my Genesis roster numbers about 3 dozen locomotives. Like an errant child, I don't hate them when they do bad things, I take corrective action.
Just my 2¢
Ed
Hate? Nay,I like my Genesis SCL GP9 but,hate the bulbs Athearn uses..Would I buy another? Maybe the GP7U but,that's up in the air and may never come down..
Hi Rich. A couple folks have called me out as "elitist" for being pro-brass. But my bad experiences with both Athearn rtr and Genesis models in recent years pushed me toward brass. My last name is Mock and in a couple cases I definitely felt "mocked".
I did think the Genesis steam for me was much better than the diesels but few usable models unless one likes UP.
I think you do get what you pay for. Based on inflation from 1980 to now Athearn even Genesis is pretty affordable but if one wants perfection one may have to move up to a higher price point and just buy less units or deal with much more limited choices of what can be obtained. That is because as others have said the Chinese just want to pump out product.
As for me I can be happy with some 35 year old steam models more so than today's diesels. There are relative bargains out there that will outperform anything Genesis but one needs to be smart or rather well informed or even a bit lucky.
In diesel I like Kato but there are limited offerings. For me they beat Genesis...never in detail but on the track and in durability.
JEREMY CENTANNI Lets keep this thread specific to Genesis hate
So I guess now the heat is off Bachmann and we are going to bash Athearn?
Well, admittedly the only recent production Athearn locos I have are Genesis F units, and because I run DC, at only 13.8 volts max, I don't have any burnt out head light issues. And I have two of those RS units, but since they came undecorated, I have to take responsiblity for the paint jobs......
Now I do have hundreds of pieces of Athearn rolling stock, both old and new, all of which meet or exceed my expectations for the prices paid.
So I won't be joining the hate party.
The OP seems to always have something negative to say, and, for whatever reason chooses not to allow private messages, so I'm not really taking him too seriously......
Sheldon
Negative would be based without merit. 2 out of 4 Genesis not running is pathetic. 2 good ones were bought used, probably tweaked it to make it run lol. If I pay money for something it had better work. Food, toys, electronics, etc.
Bachmann will send u a new locomotive for 40 dollars. I've seen zero issues with newer bachmann products among club members. They might not look as nice, but they have always worked. Or you can pay to ship it back and forth to and from Athearn or MTH and they keep it for 2 months and likely do not fix it.
Anyone can message me, I think it's on now, never bothered to check since I've gotten messages before.
Regarding the light bulbs burning out on any model train I thought it would take at least 6 or 7 years for the bulbs to burn out, depending on how much you run your locomotives.
I always thought the "Genesis" line was the top quality line that Athearn put out.
Genesis is their top line. However it is not immune to the same problems as other Chinese produced trains. Athearn does make some poor choices and especially the light bulbs are terrible, may last only a few hours and may be glued in with glue that is very difficult to free the bulbs from at all.
I will agree that some Athearn products can be wonderful but some are just not.
Anything Illinois Central or ICG that they do is horribly off color on the orange. It has been that way for multiple product runs for years. Those paint schemes as a result are a hard sell.
Wow! It's crazy how this post got hijacked. I'm posting because I have the same problem with my Athearn FEF. I posted the problem some time ago, and no one responded to my problem. Oh, I got responses, but like this thread, none were helpful. So Jeremy, thanks for starting this thread. I will take your advise and buy this crc-26. Two questions though, is it neccessary to take the tender apart to get to the contacts? And did you apply that stuff to the engine as well? And why not. I like Athearn diesel but not a fan of their steam engines.
Joe C
Joe C,
CRC 2-26 has been mentioned many times on the forums....You may have just missed it....used for just about everything electrical on model layouts and then some:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/CRC-2-26-5-oz-Multi-Purpose-Lubricant-02004/100398344
Thanks
I just wish it was mentioned when I posted the same exact problem that Jeremy talked about. And not to bad mouth Athearn or any other brand, but should I need to apply an electrical type lube just so a brand new engine will not cut out around curves? I was shocked to see this engine having problems. Funny thing about it is it ran perfectly on my son's layout with 18" & 22" curves. But when I got it on my layout with 27" & 30" curves, it started cutting out.
ATSFGuy Regarding the light bulbs burning out on any model train I thought it would take at least 6 or 7 years for the bulbs to burn out, depending on how much you run your locomotives.
With the Genesis bulbs it hours at best and has nothing to due with speed.. Athearn is well aware of this problem and seems to be ignoring it.
Please help me to understand how the thread was "hijacked" when the OP, in the subject line, refers to Athearn as "junk..." and some of the comments in the OP's paragraphs did, or were unfavorable, as well? If that isn't an open invitation for people to comment regarding the quality control, or perceived lack thereof, I do not know what is.
PRR8259 "hijacked"
Since you used my term in your post I guess your responding to my post. Well for the OP using Junkesis, I stand corrected. It was indeed an open invitation for others to defend Athearn or any other brand. I was just interested in how he solved the problem because like I said before, I am in the process of trying to fix my FEF of the same exact problem. But I do want to say that I feel ALL brands have their problems. And just because someone might have 100 engines of the same brand and they run perfectly doesn't mean that brand has a 100% perfect record of all engines produced.
dominic cFunny thing about it is it ran perfectly on my son's layout with 18" & 22" curves. But when I got it on my layout with 27" & 30" curves, it started cutting out.
See...that is a flaw in some advertising... '' model will handle 18'' to 22'' radius curves, perfectly''.....''All other curves, Not so perfect". LOL Thats just a joke, but in some ways true! Sorry I missed Your thread...I may have been able to help. I try not to get involved, when there are more answers than necessary to any thread..usually ends in confusion, rather than help. I'm a believer in too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the soup.
BTW: Make sure the can of spray You purchase, has the fine nozzle taped to the can, that You insert in end of spray tip. It's invaluable, for getting into tight places. It can be used to get older Atlas electrical slide switch controllers, working again, by using that fine spray tip and spray into the slide switch, working the switch back and forth a few times. I used to work on older hy-brid TV's, tuner amps, CB's and such yr.s ago, with a similar product brand and that was one thing I always did, while checking to find another problem...most times, that was the problem...dirty, gummed up tuner.
BRAKIE ATSFGuy Regarding the light bulbs burning out on any model train I thought it would take at least 6 or 7 years for the bulbs to burn out, depending on how much you run your locomotives. With the Genesis bulbs it hours at best and has nothing to due with speed.. Athearn is well aware of this problem and seems to be ignoring it.
Larry,
I believe what You may be forgetting, is with DC running to achieve more speed, You increase the voltage, which in turn makes the incandesant bulb brighter and if You do not run it at warp speed always...the bulb will last longer, mainly because of the lower voltage. On DCC the incandesant bulb is running near constant voltage limits, all the time, regardless of speed...not all decoders, if any, run the lights at 6volts constantly......People want bright lights. If You really think about it...Athearn made it real easy in their DC engines to replace the bulb.....now a days..it's a chore, just to even get the shell off, hopefully without breaking anything.
zstripeSee...that is a flaw in some advertising... '' model will handle 18'' to 22'' radius curves, perfectly''.....''All other curves, Not so perfect". LOL Thats just a joke, but in some ways true!
I agree with your joke. I did laugh after I took the engine off my son's layout and put it on mine for the first time. You always here about tight radius maybe giving you fits but after I saw how nice it ran on his and not on mine I was puzzled. And like I said before, I didn't get any help when I did post the problem. So if you would of caught it, your response would of been greatly appreciated.
dominic c Wow! It's crazy how this post got hijacked. I'm posting because I have the same problem with my Athearn FEF. I posted the problem some time ago, and no one responded to my problem. Oh, I got responses, but like this thread, none were helpful. So Jeremy, thanks for starting this thread. I will take your advise and buy this crc-26. Two questions though, is it neccessary to take the tender apart to get to the contacts? And did you apply that stuff to the engine as well? And why not. I like Athearn diesel but not a fan of their steam engines. Joe C
Dominic,
Flip the tender over, remove the coupler.
Remove 3 screws holding down the sideframe piece for the axles.
Carefully removed all the axles and make sure not to misplace anything.
Thouroughly clean the wheels, axles and contact clips.
Adjust each contact outward, you want to go slow and be careful here, don't bend or kink them, but keep the same shape and move them all more outward.
Lightly touch each contact point tip with the CRC-26.
Carefullly install each wheel set one at a time. Hook one wheel over the contact wiper and then pull it over while using a screwdriver to push the other contact wiper in on the other side(carefully)
Lightly put one dab on each wheel and rotate wheel.
Verify the wipers make contact when you push the wheel fully in and out on each side.
Wipe of any excess crc-26 u may see.
Reinstall the sideframe cover. Make sure you do not disturb the wheels.
Reinstall coupler.
Enjoy $300 engine that you had to work on to make it go thru large radius curves under it's own power...............................
I did the tender only for now, will get around to the engine as well, but I did adjust the contact wipers on the engine prior(also did the tender wheels prior as well.............)