Dead Proto 1000 F3

[azrail]

I have a Proto 1000 F3 (Pre Walthers) that I bought over a decade ago. It doesn't run. All of the wiring is intact and I installed new gears on the axles to replace the cracked ones. Could the PC board have gone bad?

Also I have noticed on both the Proto and Bachmann Geeps the whining noise on some of the locos while in operation. Remove the shell, there is no such noise, the loco operates normally-a slight electric hum. Put the shell back on, the whining starts.

 

[gmpullman]

Does the drive shaft/motor turn freely by hand (finger)?

Is there a DCC jumper plug installed, if it has an 8 pin socket.

I've never had one of the PC boards go bad. The only thing on there are diodes for the directional lighting.

Try disconnecting the motor wires and touch them to a good 9 V. battery and see what happens.

Good Luck, Ed

[PC101]

azrail

  I have a Proto 1000 F3 (Pre Walthers) that I bought over a decade ago. It doesn't run. All of the wiring is intact and I installed new gears on the axles to replace the cracked ones. Could the PC board have gone bad?

Also I have noticed on both the Proto and Bachmann Geeps the whining noise on some of the locos while in operation. Remove the shell, there is no such noise, the loco operates normally-a slight electric hum. Put the shell back on, the whining starts.

 

 

The above posted infomation is a good start. Start at the motor with current (9v) as mentioned above and work down to the wheels. 

With the whining noise, any chance there are children in the cabs when the shells are put back on? Sounds like the shells are amplifying any noise, sort of like a speaker without a enclosure and one in a enclosure. 

[BigDaddy]

The bearings on my Proto 2000 GP9 on the worm shaft were all gummed up so the shaft wouldn't turn despite a PO generously oiling the truck gears.

[snjroy]

Ok, so we are dealing with two challenges here: a loco that doesn't run, and multiple locos making noise. I assume we are in DC, correct?  For problem number one (dead loco), my guess would be that something happened when you changed the gears. Are you 100% sure they were the correct gears? Compare the old and the new to confirm. If they are the same, I would re-open the gear cover and re-install. If that doesn't work, as mentioned by others, remove the body and see if you can turn the flywheel by hand. It should move, and the wheels should turn slowly. It's unlikely that the motor is dead, but you can test with a battery, as suggested. If the motor turns, then the board might be the problem. Check that all the wires are connected properly.

As for the noise problem, if the problem is with many engines, then it can be a range of things. Are they old engines? You can lubricate the gears and see what happens. Lose wires inside can cause such noises. But that would not explain the noise from multiple locos...

Simon

[gmpullman]

I've had several of the Proto engines with the high-pitched whine. With the suspect engines running on test rollers I determined that the noise is generated at the brushes. I've reversed the brushes, lessened the tension on the spring and cleaned the commutator.

In most cases this reduced the noise, sometimes it gets worse. I keep plenty of spare brushes around and try different combinations until I can find the happy medium, sometimes the noise will come back after x number of hours of operation.

Yes, reinstalling the shell will amplify the high-frequency sound.

Good Luck, Ed

[snjroy]

One of my Proto engines makes that high pitch noise. Lubricating the motor shafts works on mine. I doubt that the shell has any influence on this.

Simon

[Water Level Route]

snjroy

I doubt that the shell has any influence on this.

I wouldn't be so sure.  Could be acting as a sort of speaker enclosure for the sound source.  Reflection of sound can also make it sound louder in the right circumstances.  Ever play music with a smartphone?  While playing, hold it away from anything, then hold it where the speaker is very near a hard surface like a table or wall.  When near the hard surface, it sounds louder.  Another example:  My first real sound system in a car was installed in an 82 Camaro.  The subwoofer sat in the hatch.  With the hatch open, it didn't sound particularly loud and not much thump to it, even with the amplifier gain turned all the way up.  At the same volume, close the hatch though (the sub faced the glass of the hatch with an even about 2" of clearance, and that thing would shake your hair and rattle the house windows.

[snjroy]

I agree Mike. The OP did mention that the sound stops when the shell is removed.

[Eilif]

Shell resonance can be huge, but I haven't seen much describing how to combat it.  The shell functions like the soundboard of a guitar to amplify noise.

I don't know what product would be best, but I've had a couple of plastic shell locos that I got with some sort of gummy foam in the top.  Doesn't look like weights were there so I assume it's some method to deaden sound.  

There's got to be some easy methods for cutting down on shell resonance. Maybe gluing in some rubber strips?