I recently purchased the following engine from Model Train Stuff:
Walthers Mainline HO 910-19403 EMD GP15-1, Canadian Pacific #1450 (Sound & DCC)
It sounds great, and looks great too.
I'm having troubles keeping it running. It seems to hesitate at random spots on the tracks (of course the sound cuts out too, which is really anoying). Not only at switches, but on straight sections & curves too.
Every piece of track on my layout I've soldered power drops to. I've also thouroughly cleaned a section of tracks and the engines wheels as well, but the engine still hesitates.
I have other DCC engines (3) that don't hesitate, only this one.
Thanks in advance!
Ryan
Remove the shell, and solder all the wire connections to the decoder and trucks instead of relying on those plastic slip-on clips to hold the wires.
cacolesolder all the wire connections to the decoder and trucks instead of relying on those plastic slip-on clips to hold the wires
While this is generally good advice (and I have done so on all of my locos) I would advixe the OP to first call Model Trai Stuff (MB Klein) ask what they recommend. If he does the soldering first and it doesn't improve things he may have voided the warranty. The vendor may prefer to replace the loco so it, in turn, can send it back to Walthers.
I think you will find that the connections on the Soundtraxx decoder in the Walther's engine are plug and pin for the motor, track and light leads. You might check the plugs for the track and motor leads to ensure they are seated properly.
Marty C
If the track is clean, the rail connections are all soldered, and all the other locos perform well, then it is likely a wiring problem on the locomotive.
It could be the wiring connections at the decoder or even more likely the wiring connections at one of the trucks.
It is definitely worth a closer look before calling MB Klein who will simply say to return it for another loco.
Rich
Alton Junction
Make sure there isn't any lubrication on the axles or axle journals. Oil can be a good insulator and cause erratic performance if it gets on mating surfaces that require mechanical electrical contact. I've seen this happen many times.
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
Ryan (Canadian Northern),
First, .
On a brand new model, after cleaning track and wheels does not cure the issue, and trucks are not over-lubricated as has been mentioned, I would contact MB Klien (Model train stuff) before going further. The reason? If it's not fixed by modifying the wiring by soldering instead of those slip-on clips, if that voids the warranty you are now worse off than when you started. This is the few times where contacting the shop and/or manufacturer (Walthers. Their website should have a contact section if there was no paperwork with the model, but the shop should be contacted first, as he may possibly have some tips to try that will not void the warranty, while Walthers will almost definitely want to look at the model.) So here, I would contact before going further, just to be safe.
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
Mark R. Make sure there isn't any lubrication on the axles or axle journals. Oil can be a good insulator and cause erratic performance if it gets on mating surfaces that require mechanical electrical contact. I've seen this happen many times. Mark.
Ryan,
I'm not sure if the trucks on your locomotive are the same as trucks on a proto 2000 (maybe someone else can confirm or dispute?) loco but I had a similar herky jerky issue.
I do know that when I opened the trucks it was jammed with lube. Looked like it had a bad cold. There are flimsy little clip/prong type deals inside the trucks that have to make contact with the axle bearings but since the trucks were so full of lube good contact couldn't be made.
VERY CAREFULLY I cleaned some lube out away from the little prong deals and put it back together.
Assuming yours are the same type of trucks it might (I stress "might", I'm just some jerk on the internet after all) work.
Someone here suggested using alcohol to get all the lube out and re-lube with the correct amount of lube. I have not done this however just by getting the big nasty chunks out the trucks and away from the electrical contacts, the loco runs great.
I hope someone with more experience can chime in.
Good luck! Keep us posted.
T e d
tedtedderson Mark R. Make sure there isn't any lubrication on the axles or axle journals. Oil can be a good insulator and cause erratic performance if it gets on mating surfaces that require mechanical electrical contact. I've seen this happen many times. Mark. Ryan, I'm not sure if the trucks on your locomotive are the same as trucks on a proto 2000 (maybe someone else can confirm or dispute?) loco but I had a similar herky jerky issue. I do know that when I opened the trucks it was jammed with lube. Looked like it had a bad cold. There are flimsy little clip/prong type deals inside the trucks that have to make contact with the axle bearings but since the trucks were so full of lube good contact couldn't be made. VERY CAREFULLY I cleaned some lube out away from the little prong deals and put it back together. Assuming yours are the same type of trucks it might (I stress "might", I'm just some jerk on the internet after all) work. Someone here suggested using alcohol to get all the lube out and re-lube with the correct amount of lube. I have not done this however just by getting the big nasty chunks out the trucks and away from the electrical contacts, the loco runs great. I hope someone with more experience can chime in. Good luck! Keep us posted. T e d
^ This.
I believe the Proto truck on this loco is their new-ish design...a replacement for their old athearn blue box clone design. The design has been around for a few years now.
It has 4 flimsy brass wipers making contact with the typical 4 brass axle bearings...all encased inside the truck.
If the manufacturer lubes the gears, and for some reason they feel the need to lube the slippery plastic gears, sometimes (many times?) the grease works its way onto a brass wiper.
Unfortunately, the wipers are extremely flimsy and properly cleaning all of the gunk off may very well bend the wipers beyond repair.
I have also encountered several wipers that did not even make contact with the brass bearing due to improper shaping of the wiper from the factory..and again...they were difficult to bend without mangling the wiper.
I would send your loco back to MBKlien without even messing with the inside of the truck.
Edit: BTW, I'm using the term brass axle bearing and wiper interchangeably with the kind of metal it actually is, phosphorus bronze, which Frank pointed out. The color is brassy, not really its composition.
- Douglas
Before You go taking apart the trucks.....put engine on track turn on power and lift one truck at a time and see if they are both picking up power, that would cause it to act like You describe.
If You do decide to take trucks apart, be very careful to remember how the bottom cover screw's into the other parts of the truck, which is actually three piece's. Last month I purchased 2RS'2 and 2 SW1's, three of them run great out of the box,, one of the SW1's would immediately short. Took it to the work bench and removed the cover on one of the trucks, cause I was getting a dead short reading on continuity. I found way to much lube in there, looked more like oil, than grease, so I took some out with cotton swab dipped in Alcohol. There are Phospher Bronze springs under the square Phospher Bronze axle bearings, be careful when removing the axle's, I did mine while I was searching for the cause of the short, put that one together and took apart the other truck, same thing, way too much lube, while I was doing that, I noticed that the pick-up wires were reversed on the truck, but were connected to the board the correct way, I just changed them on the board and now runs like a champ, very quiet, smooth running. Since then, I cleaned the others with too much lube.
Good Luck!
Frank
A pic' of one of the RS2's with the SW1 behind it.
zstripe Before You go taking apart the trucks.....put engine on track turn on power and lift one truck at a time and see if they are both picking up power, that would cause it to act like You describe.
One of my Athearn GP15-1's had a stalling problem. Stalled everywhere. Clean track, wheels, plenty of track feeders. Less than 2 hours running time. Two broken wires on one truck. So much for quality control.
My bet would be wiper contact to energized metal wiping surfaces or a broken wire/solder/connection somewhere in the trucks. I doubt it has anything to do internally, but it's stil worth a look-see if a careful investigation of both trucks turns up nothing.
Once your loco stops and won't restart on its own after four or five seconds, always a good bet you have intermittent or highly resistive contacts somewhere, press down carefully on one end of the loco and rock it gently from side-to-side. If the sounds commence, the problem is related to the trucks for sure.
davidmbedardUm.....install a keep alive?
Um, VOID a warranty much on a brand new locomotive, which clearly has a manufacturing defect?
Would strongly advise against just installing a keep alive to fix the problem, as you have stated dirty/insufficiently powered track is not the issue.
Thanks for the advice everyone.
I've contacted MB Klein, and they have asked that I return the defective engine and will replace it with a new one. They also asked if they could open the new box up and test the train prior to sending it to me.
I'm really impressed with the customer service!
Canadian Northern Thanks for the advice everyone. I've contacted MB Klein, and they have asked that I return the defective engine and will replace it with a new one. They also asked if they could open the new box up and test the train prior to sending it to me. I'm really impressed with the customer service! Ryan
That is a good deal....rather than mess with it. Those Walthers engines are usually great right out of the box, but I guess everyone isn't perfect.
Take Care!
Yesterday I had the same problem with my gp15, I cleaned the wheels and track or so I thought.Then I started to take note of where it was stalling and on all those places I really scrubbed the track again even to the point of cleaning the switch points on my switches . To my surprise that cured the problem . I know all of the cures are valid , Im just saying it worked for me. If the new engine you get does the same thing then you will know. Lots of luck. May God Bless.
Interesting thread...if anyone pinpoints the problem with this product, please let us know the details.
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
UPDATE
All, Ive since returned the faulty engine to Walthers. They quickly sent me another engine, took it out of the box to make sure it ran 100% perfect first (with my permission of course), and all is well again.
selector My bet would be wiper contact to energized metal wiping surfaces or a broken wire/solder/connection somewhere in the trucks. I doubt it has anything to do internally, but it's stil worth a look-see if a careful investigation of both trucks turns up nothing. Once your loco stops and won't restart on its own after four or five seconds, always a good bet you have intermittent or highly resistive contacts somewhere, press down carefully on one end of the loco and rock it gently from side-to-side. If the sounds commence, the problem is related to the trucks for sure.
You are correct about the trucks. Some of the copper contacts were not making good connection.When the locomotive cuts out,I would push down on the shell and it would come back on. I removed the wheels and pryed up a little on the copper leads,put the wheels back in place and the loco responds fine . Hope this helps.