I got 2 walthers sd70ace yesterday. One only has one truck that is powered.with no electrical pick up. The second one has a really bad grinding noise in the rear truck. Has anyone else had problems with them?
Nope, don't have one. If you bought it from Walthers, get a hold of their CS.
If you bought them from a lagit hobby shop, do the same, start with the hobby shop.
If you bought it at a train show, or swap thing, or whatever, even it's advertised, or, sworn by the seller, that it's NOS, never used, good luck.
If you bought it off an auction site, and the seller offers NO returns, good luck.
Don't know what else to tell ya'
Mike.
My You Tube
Tip: If you buy locomotives at a swap meet/train show, there's almost always someone who has a test track set up. Even if a seller tells you it runs or is brand new, don't trust them and ask if you can see it for yourself. They will often let you test it on someone else's test track to verify. All my train show locomotive purchases have been tested at the show before I bought them.
Matthew Cheng
Come check out my Youtube channel! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSlaF4fvDX1brq6YOeODLPw
I own 4 DC version they all perform excellently and I disassembled/painted/re-assembled them.
Mine doesn't move.......it's at the station!!!
I have acquired through my own purchases and Christmas gifts from the family a total of 15 SD70ace locomotives from Walthers. I had to make cosmetic repairs to nearly all of them out of the box. These amounted to handrails, couplers, and snowplows. I had only one that required major disassembly for power issues. Problem was in the wipers on the wheels. Had to reform the metal a bit and then was good. Never had noise problem but that should be easy to find when disassembling the truck. Wiring and electrical components are very flimsy so be extra careful. Sounds like a broken wire from truck to PC board. The way they route the wiring through the weight and motor assembly lends itself to a broken or pinched wire. I did not contact Walthers for help. All units purchased through Trainworld. I was able to fix all the problems. They all run nice in 3-4 unit consists. Also have 3 of the SD60M locomotives. Only problem there was missing couplers on 2 units and Walthers did send me replacement parts. My Athearn Genesis SD70ace locomotives run a bit smoother and are much better detailed, however the cost is higher. Again...if you attempt repair, be careful as the wiring and electrical components are very delicate. I chose to troubleshoot and fix rather than send them back. Good luck. Post what you find and how you repaired.
EMDSD40Athearn Genesis SD70ace locomotives
Russell
They were bought from blue ridge hobbies,they tell me to contact the manufacturer
JohnWPowell,they tell me to contact the manufacturer
Well, I guess you try Walthers. What little CS experience I have had with them, it's been OK.
But, as they say: YMMV.
PS. My next thought, if Walthers CS offers no, or very little support, I would not be afraid to do my own trouble shooting. Wires can be easily soldered, connections can be fixed, axle contact strips can be serviced, and cleaned.
But that is up to you.