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Bachmann plus n scale F7A SP black arrow won't run

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  • Member since
    February 2024
  • 5 posts
Bachmann plus n scale F7A SP black arrow won't run
Posted by Bigboss35 on Monday, February 12, 2024 6:01 PM

I'm not the best writer thanks to my disabilities, I tired to avoid it as much as possible unless I had to. I'm more of a talker then a writer, so I'll try to explain this the best I can.

 

I won a lot of n scale products off of goodwill actions for 120. Got alot of freight car and a complete SP daylight concor passenger set, plus two locomotives. The SP switcher works fine but the SP F7A won't turn over at all.the light will come on but the engine wont move at all. I grabbed one of my other F7A units to make sure it was the track and they ran fine.

Since it not new in box I'm sure bachmann can't fix it so I took it apart and put power to the motor directly and it started right up no problem so I thought well maybe the motor had been used in a while so it was stuck. I put it back together and again the light will come but the motor won't turn yet it will if I take it apart and put power to the motor. Does anyone know what is wrong?

  • Member since
    November 2013
  • 2,775 posts
Posted by snjroy on Wednesday, February 14, 2024 7:35 AM

Hi there. I assume you have a DC engine. I would check the wiring to make sure power from the track reaches the motor. Another possibility : something is preventing the motor from turning. With the shell removed, can you turn the flywheel with your finger?

Simon

  • Member since
    February 2002
  • From: Mpls/St.Paul
  • 13,892 posts
Posted by wjstix on Wednesday, February 14, 2024 9:00 AM

If the motor turns when it's not connected to anything, but won't turn the engine's wheels, it could be that the engine's trucks are locked up, perhaps due to the grease hardening in the gears. IIRC Bachman Plus line was made in the 1990s so that engine may have sat unused for a very long time. 

I suspect if you search around the web, you could find a video on taking apart the trucks and removing the old gunked up grease and relubricating it.

Stix
  • Member since
    November 2013
  • 2,775 posts
Posted by snjroy on Wednesday, February 14, 2024 2:30 PM

You might also want to make sure that the wheels are clean.

  • Member since
    February 2024
  • 5 posts
Posted by Bigboss35 on Saturday, February 17, 2024 5:20 PM

Yes it's a DC locomotive and if your talking about the round copper colored parts at each side of the motor that connects to the wheels then yes I've tires and they spin freely with my hands or threw power of the motor

  • Member since
    February 2024
  • 5 posts
Posted by Bigboss35 on Saturday, February 17, 2024 5:23 PM

I can turn the worm on the boggy just fine and look at the wheels and they turn just fine as the speed I'm moving my fingers so idk. I thought of that as well at first but it doesn't seem to be it with old grease so I'm not sure 

  • Member since
    February 2024
  • 5 posts
Posted by Bigboss35 on Saturday, February 17, 2024 5:26 PM

I check the wheels and they look cleaner then all my other F7 units and I even tried swapping bogies between them and they worked fine on my other F7 unit. Why did bachmann's plus line of n scale trains had to be shorter then the starter F7s? This would be so much easier if I could just switch the shell instead of trying to figure out the problem

  • Member since
    February 2024
  • 5 posts
Posted by Bigboss35 on Saturday, February 17, 2024 6:23 PM

Hopefully I did this right. Here is a pic to the inside of the locomotive

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