I've had good and bad experiences with purchases from Every manufacturer. Fixing them has caused some frustration but I've learned how to do quite a bit to get everything running well. It's not necessarily the manufacturer but the humans designing, assembling, shipping and selling them that's the problem. I've made a mistake or two at work...because I'm human...it doesn't mean everything I do is wrong. If I could build better models than the ones offered today, then I would. For now, I accept any flaws and learn how to fix them. These forums are great for helping each other!
I enjoy this hobby and am happy to have the models I 'need' available...without a lot of detailing, motor upgrades and repainting that I've had to do in the past (worst example...a bright blue Conrail steam engine I saw at a train show...I'm pretty sure that would cost a lot of time and money (after buying it) to get it even close to running like a new steam engine offered today).lol :D
http://delray1967.shutterfly.com/pictures/5
SEMI Free-Mo@groups.io
zstripe 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. Take Care! Frank
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.
Take Care!
Frank
Frank--
Maybe Larry didn't see this yet...but many of us are very well aware of the voltage in DC, and most of us, not even myself, don't operate at "warp speed" in DC mode. The fact is the Athearn bulbs are simply very bad, and just don't last, whether it is a few hours or a few weeks, and even when I can get the rtr or Genesis (doesn't matter) engines apart without damage, the bulbs have been glued in with non-sticky tack (Woodland Scenics-style) water soluble adhesive such that even getting the bulbs out without damage can be very difficult. I have had to drill bulbs out because they used a more permanent glue.
It's too easy for me to avoid the hassle by purchasing somebody else's motive power.
John
It does seem that Athearn has an engineering problem with this DCC decoder powered light bulb thing, and yes they need to fix it.
Lucky for me, nearly all the locos in question with the glued in light bulbs are out of my era and will never be on my shopping list from any brand.
But at a max voltage of 13.8 on my DC system, I have yet to loose a light bulb in the last 20 years..........
My Aristo throttles provide constant brightness even on locos not equiped with constant brightness circuits, so for me, no isues.
Sheldon
zstripeLarry, 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. Take Care! Frank
Frank,And there lays the problem..
Atlas,Kato,Walthers,Bowser and the others and even Bachmann figured that out and uses a better light system yet,Athearn drags their heels in changing to a better light system for their DCC ready or DCC/Sound equipped engines.
Those lights burn out at a alarming rate even at slow switching speeds.Even one of my DC GP60Ms has a burned out bulb.
Maybe I should bill Athearn $25.00 since that's what it cost me to have LEDs installed.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Jeremy
Thank you for the instructions! I can't wait to get started and I'll let you know how it turned out. Again thanks
Joe C
dominic c Jeremy Thank you for the instructions! I can't wait to get started and I'll let you know how it turned out. Again thanks Joe C
Glad I could help! Contrary to popular belief I am not negative at all, but I refuse to put up with shoddy product no matter what it is
So get to work and let me know how it runs, just remember, you only need a litle bit of the crc-26 and be careful tweaking the wiper contacts.
Then enjoy an actual running steam engine!
Just as a follow up, the boy wanted to run the Northern since it was "fixed". I am happy to report she ran about an hour straight pulling a dozen passenger cars and was good for the night.
Hey Jeremy,
I have a question for you. Is your FEF running free of the stalling cutouts? The reason I ask is I did what you said to the tender and also the engine. It ran better but I still got stalling from time to time. Not as frequent as before the cleaning, but still I had the problem. I opened the side frame and noticed the slots were the axles lay. Some of the slots weren't very deep and I started to think that the wheels with the lesser slots weren't making good contact to the rails, especially on the curves. I took my Dremel with a slot cutter and made the smaller slots deeper. As deep as the other slots. Well that seemed to do the trick. I think the the deeper slots allow the axles to drop a bit more letting the wheels make better contact. I still agree with you. Having to do this to a new engine so it can run the way it should seems troubling. What do you think
I wouldn't think so by looking at it and I've had mine apart 3-4 times now.
Better guess I would bet you got all the wipers adjusted where they all kept contact thru side to side travel when you went thru it again. They have nowhere to move up and down only laterally(more or less) once you put the sideframe/cover on.
Like I said I've tweaked mine 3-4 times with full cleaning before I did the final tweak and CRC-26 as a conductive lube.
But, if mine does give me any further issues I will take a closer look at what you did for mine.
Have u eliminated the cutting out Dominic c?
Mine has been good the two times I have ran it since getting effective repairs on the tender.
She is a purty engine.
Let's take all the 'When I buy something I expect it to be PERFECT!' people and lock them in a room with all the 'Nobody knows how to actually MODEL any more, they just write checks!' people and see what happens.
Disclaimer: This post may contain humor, sarcasm, and/or flatulence.
Michael Mornard
Bringing the North Woods to South Dakota!
Thought it was fixed, still another case of Athearn junk, will update more later.
Bayfield Transfer Railway Let's take all the 'When I buy something I expect it to be PERFECT!' people and lock them in a room with all the 'Nobody knows how to actually MODEL any more, they just write checks!' people and see what happens.
At today's prices they better be right out of the box. Maybe you enjoy fixing a high dollar locomotive out of the box but, I don't. $25.00 to fix a Athearn issue they know about and refuses to fix is a mite to much. Then there was that Athearn(exRoundhouse) FMC RTR boxcar with 3 out of 4 of its stirrups laying in the car's tray..
Athearn has QC/QA issues that they need to address and fix.
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Jeremy,Pitiful and sad.
So now we have made it to Athearn Junkesis Part II.
So while qualifying today for our clubs open house, she ran like a champ east bound. Took it in and reversed entire consist for west bound run and then it started again.
At this point we have 100% ruled out the tender being the issue(especially since the attention given to it prior) and are now focused on the pickup for the engine being the last remaining cause of issues.
We probably spent the better part of 45 minutes on the layout in one curve with myself and 2 very experienced steam/diesel/dcc/sound installers eliminating everything one by on by one.
So when I am calm I know what I am taking apart again.....................
JEREMY CENTANNISo while qualifying today for our clubs open house, she ran like a champ east bound.
Qualifying? Mind if I ask what that is? I've heard of equipment inspection before a car or locomotive is placed on a club's layout but,never qualifying by running.
JEREMY CENTANNI Like I said I've tweaked mine 3-4 times with full cleaning before I did the final tweak and CRC-26 as a conductive lube.
I just reread the thread and would like to point out some things regarding CRC's 2-26 product.
I presume we are really talking about CRC 2-26 as CRC does not list a plain CRC-26. There seems to be a general misunderstanding regarding its qualities. It is not a conductive lube. If it was, it would short out the equipment it was applied to.
Here is the product description direct from CRC.
Plastic safe lubricant, penetrant and corrosion inhibitor that helps prevent electrical malfunctions caused by water penetration, humidity, condensation or corrosion. Restores resistance values and helps stop current leakage.
Note that it does not include any current carrying capability. On electrical equipment, it works by cleaning the crud, corrosion, and corruption off of the equipment. It provides a light lubricant for sliding surfaces, including electrical contacts, but the contacts themselves must still penetrate the lubricant film in order to pass current.
True conductive lubricants are available, but they must be applied with extreme care and precision in order not to short out adjacent conductive surfaces. Typically, they don't come in spray cans, but pin point applicators.
I hope this helps.
Open House Qualifying, whatever you want to run needs to make 2 full laps east bound and west bound with no derailments, uncouplings, glitchy engine, etc.
Best foot forward for the open house to keep issues to a minimum
JEREMY CENTANNI Open House Qualifying, whatever you want to run needs to make 2 full laps east bound and west bound with no derailments, uncouplings, glitchy engine, etc. Best foot forward for the open house to keep issues to a minimum
Jeremy,Thanks..I was wondering what that was for.
Every club except two I've been a member of cars and locomotives was inspected for correct wheel gauge and coupler and trip pin height. The reason is simple the cars and locomotives was place in pool service for operation and open houses.
Of the two other clubs one trust members to do the right thing and if not,you troublesome equipment was removed from the layout.The other club we ran our own trains and had 99% trouble free operation.Hey,Nobody wants be be embarrass if their cars and engines derailed or came uncoupled way to frequently.
The only time my stuff derailed is when it had help from kids or adult fingers..
Slowly going thru the engine.
Installed a front coupler(its fixed now right? lol)
Can find no issues on the drivers.
I did file back the metal spring plate for the trailing truck to 100% any contact with drivers. Checked all drivers for side to side motion and any possible contact.
Curious on the lead truck..... Does have a wide raange of movement and possibility of contacting frame.
Need to draw out power pickup and what would and wouldn't short it.
Or is this an issue like the Mikado and more poor quality(like this engine) and issues w/ wiring at the motor. Trying hard to not have to open it up.
I've found several threads on various forums w/ people having identical issues w/ the 4-8-4s.
I trimmed the large rear spring for the trailing truck, found a point where it could conceivably hit the drivers on curves or track undulations.
Also found a spot on the front frame where I question that the wheels on the lead truck could contact the frame. Easiest method for now was using some CA to cover the area since you won't see it where it is at. If it clears up the issue I will develop a means to trim the frame hopefully without complete disassembly.
It does this only on curves and where you might find some track irregularities, like a slight dip or rise.
I wish someone here with one who rectified the problems would come in and post.
I cannot do much until I give it a try tomorrow night at the club.
BRAKIEQualifying? Mind if I ask what that is? I've heard of equipment inspection before a car or locomotive is placed on a club's layout but,never qualifying by running.
Our club does the same thing. This is because we've found that a car mechanical inspection of wheels and coupler heights does not necessarily show up problems that occur with a car in operation.
For example, one member had a tank car that derailed in one direction only. Wheels were in gage and coupler heights were correct. Turned out that there was a little slop at one of the kingpins that allowed the associated truck to move slightly toward one end of the car when the car was pulled. There was a small amount of flash on the axle. So when car was pulled, truck moved toward coupler box, flash contacted box, axle wanted to stop turning, and truck derailed.
So far, other than replacing plastic kadees with metal ones, I've had no problem with any of my Athearn Genesis units.
Or am I just getting lucky?
ATSFGuy So far, other than replacing plastic kadees with metal ones, I've had no problem with any of my Athearn Genesis units. Or am I just getting lucky?
I would say lucky since none of your bulbs blown yet.
My Genesis SCL GP9 is gutted and in the process of being rebuilt with all new wiring and a new DCC/Sound decoder. I guess my brother in law grew tired of my complaining about that fool thing..
I think I can say my FEF-2 is fixed.
I did what was said, trim the rear truck spring clip assembly to avoid any contact w/ drivers whatsoever and used CA to coat the frame in the front(hump cut out of frame over front wheels of lead truck). Found a small nick of silver in otherwise black frame. Was so next to nothing I had a friend that stopped by about 5 minutes later at the table w/ magnifying light just to confirm I was crazy....
Ran it for 2.5 hours, eastbound, westbound, ran opposite main in both directions. No stopping, no cutting out, no stall, not so much as a twitch. Flawless performance for once.
It is still ridiculous that you have to touch anything at this price.............
So I know thru posts I've found I am not the only one with this issue, so I hope you guys find it and get yours fixed as well.
JEREMY CENTANNI I think I can say my FEF-2 is fixed. I did what was said, trim the rear truck spring clip assembly to avoid any contact w/ drivers whatsoever and used CA to coat the frame in the front(hump cut out of frame over front wheels of lead truck). Found a small nick of silver in otherwise black frame. Was so next to nothing I had a friend that stopped by about 5 minutes later at the table w/ magnifying light just to confirm I was crazy.... Ran it for 2.5 hours, eastbound, westbound, ran opposite main in both directions. No stopping, no cutting out, no stall, not so much as a twitch. Flawless performance for once. It is still ridiculous that you have to touch anything at this price............. So I know thru posts I've found I am not the only one with this issue, so I hope you guys find it and get yours fixed as well.
And the fact remains, these manufacturers cannot control the layout conditions, no matter the cost or design of the locos.
The fact remains that the quality is not there period.
Quit defending garbage in and garbage out.
So on a smoth broad curve and it did it, it must have been the track conditions.........
It is unacceptable that at a retail of $550 for the latest release people should have to worry about it.
I was not the only one affected by it either.
Jeremy, so in your opinion was this a design issue or a quality/assembly issue?
Those are two dramaticly different kinds of problems. If if was a design issue, well then the question is why did they not catch this at some point?
This is an FEF, correct? What radius curves?
I do find it interesting that I have less problens with $100-$200 Bachmann locos than many of you have with these $500 wonders.
Of course my track record with BLI has only been 50/50..........
Design issue.
Half circle cutout for for front truck assemble needs more clearance. Or travel of the lead truck needs to be restricted. Or they needed to put something there non conductive. Assuming this was 100% due to front wheels contacting frame. I did clearance the spring pick up for rear truck to eliminate any possible contact there as well.
I found about 3-4 other threads googling it and all had same issues.
I just ran it again today for about 1.5-2hrs and still flawless.
Tighest curve at club is still 30+, largest is upper 50's low 60's for radius.
Only happened on curves and on an occasionial dip/high sport coming off a curve. Mainline track has all superelevated curves as well, which would encourage the issue.
I'm in a train club, I only go to a couple of shows each year so how long do I have till the lights burn out?
I rotate my collection so a different box goes to each show.