Paging MEL! Please come to the nearest Kalmbach white courtesy phone and discuss motor conversion!
I had done a few test on my athearn motors,On a ho power pack.I hoocked up some wires to the motor. Ran the motor for 15 mins got hot what would be causing the to get? Hot like that I have 1 athearn high performance? Motor with dogbone drive shahts.So I put that in my athearn GP40-2 the motor was warm not hot. Looks loike I have to save up some money and buy the. High performance hex drive motors, And dogbone drive shafts
Good deal! I was trying to figure out if you had a RTR loco, in the yellow and blue box, with the "window" on the cover, or if you had a blue box loco from the 80's and 90's.
Anyway, the armature needs to be checked every once in a while, and cleaned, along with the wheels, and everything else I mentioned.
As many years as I've run and worked on Athearns, I've never had to replace the brushes.
Good luck!
Mike.
My You Tube
I have DC only not DCC it's a Athearn SP GP40-2.So far so good no sparking little warm on motor.Thanks for the help cheers
I agree with Mike that your armature is dirty, or your brushes are worn. Or, it could be a combination of both. I would also turn the flywheel by hand and see if anything feels stiff. If it does, put a drop of plastic-safe oil on the motor bearings and see if that helps. If not, then you might have to take apart the gearboxes and clean out any gunk and old grease that's built up, then re-oil and grease them.
MetrolinkFan where the Copper part is that has the 2 round little pieces that look like lead pencil ends.It sparks bright light.Why is the motor getting hot what can I do to fix that?
The copper part is the armature, and the two little "lead pencil" things are the brushes.
Clean that "copper part"/armature with a pencil eraser until it is shiny. Make sure to blow the eraser dust out of the little slots that are in the armature.
You can clean the armature by rotating the flywheel by hand, with the eraser against the armature, or you can start the loco, on the track, while running, pick up one end, and hold the loco from going any where, and hold the eraser against the armature while it's spinning.
There is another method but it requires removing the motor, and chucking it in a drill. We won't go there.
The excessive sparking could mean the brushes are worn, and need replacing. See how it all works after cleaning the armature, most times, that reduces the sparking.
If this is an older blue box loco, and it still has the metal strip across the top, connecting the two trucks to the motor, make sure that is clean, where it connects to the trucks.
Another trouble with the blue box locos is where the frame sits on the truck. That area needs to be clean, as that connection is the (-) minus (black) side of the electrical supply.
The metal strip accross the top is the (+) (red) plus side.
If this is NOT a blue box loco, and it is a RTR (ready to run), there is something causing resistance that makes the motor work too hard, and causing the heating.
That could be in the gearing, starting with the worm gear cover that you fixed. It could also be in the wiring, or the dirty armature.
Clean the armature good, as I mentioned above, and see if that resolves the heating. SOME heating is normal. If that doesn't resolve it, than it's time to move on to the next thing.
Also advise us if this is a blue box loco, or a RTR loco, and is it DCC? and if it's a RTR loco, is it "DCC Ready", meaning it has the socket to add a decoder.
I'm trying to identify just what loco you have.
If this is a Genesis GP40-2 then send it to Athearn. If this is a older BB check the drive links to ensure all of them are connected--don't chuckle.
I had a BB GP7 that one spline was no longer connected ..I found the spline had split and came loose from the worm coupling on the truck.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
MetrolinkFan The motor runs and spins but not moving on the tracks.What will cause this to happen?
The motor runs and spins but not moving on the tracks.What will cause this to happen?
Clear description of a mechanical failure in the drive train. A universal joint slipping on the motor's drive shaft would cause that. It's been a while since I've looked at a Blue-Box, going to N and all, but it may be a flywheel slipping on the shaft. That you can fix with some loc-tight on the shaft. Pop that shell off and see what's slipping!
I would also check the wheels to make sure they all sit directly on track. If not, open the shell as mentioned to see if something is preventing that.
Sounds like a gear or linkage problem. Doubt DCC has anything to do with it. follow Mike's instructions.
BigDaddy DCC is just weird.
Russell
Here's anothe rvote for removing the shell. You mgiht find that some of the wires might have disconnected from the frame. I had that on an SD-40 and soldered them back to the area to ensure the trucks work.
Another option is cleaning the wheels by running them on a paper towel with rubbing alcohol.
MetrolinkFan I have a SP Athearn HO scale GP40-2 for some reason It is.Acting odd.I runs fine with out pulling any cars.Passenger or freight,But when I do pull cars it will just sit there it will hardly move.The motor runs and spins but not moving on the tracks.What will cause this to happen?
I have a SP Athearn HO scale GP40-2 for some reason It is.Acting odd.I runs fine with out pulling any cars.Passenger or freight,But when I do pull cars it will just sit there it will hardly move.The motor runs and spins but not moving on the tracks.What will cause this to happen?
Firstly, try just one vehicle behind the loco and see if the loco moves and will pull this one vehicle.
If it does, try adding more vehicles one by one. This will indicate if the loco does not have enough grip to pull a full train. More weight, traction tyres or Bullfrog snot would be a solution.
If the loco moves fine on its own and will not pull even one vehicle, it may be a coupler issue that is maybe lifting the wheels off the track. If this happens check that the wheels are still spinning with the power applied. If this is the case, then adjust the coupler.
Is your track level? If you have a gradient it could be your loco does not have enough adhesion to move itself and a train up the gradient.
Trevor
Probably Mike is right but sometimes DCC is just weird. Is this DCC?
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
You need to take the shell off and see what's going on.
After you have the shell off, turn the fly wheels by hand, and see if the wheels turn, and try turning the wheels by hand.
There is a chance that a couple of the axle gears are cracked, and just "spin" with a load on the loco.
MetrolinkFanThe motor runs and spins but not moving on the tracks.
Once you have the shell off, set it on the track and start the loco, and hold on to it, to give it resistance, like a string of cars, you'll get a better idea of what's not working.
Watch the drive shafts, and the worm gears real close.
But again, check those axle gears.
You should be able to figure it out.