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Can anything be done for a bad motor?

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  • Member since
    April 2003
  • 305,205 posts
Can anything be done for a bad motor?
Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, January 31, 2016 7:17 PM

I have a can motor out of a new old stock HO unit.  It never has run.  The motor has a short of some sort, I guess.  It shows Buehler and Kinston NC USA on the housing.  It runs for a time on DC then stops, then runs (as something cools down I guess) and shows continual short when hooked up to DCC decoder.  I suspect it is garbage.  I have a rmotoring kit spare that I might make fit, though I thought I would ask.  Never encountered this before.  Lucky, I guess.

Any thoughts?  Thanks.

  • Member since
    April 2004
  • From: Ontario Canada
  • 3,574 posts
Posted by Mark R. on Sunday, January 31, 2016 7:39 PM

Might help if you told us what it is out of. I know Bowser had some problems with some of their motors and offered to replace them ....

Mark.

¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ

  • Member since
    August 2003
  • From: Collinwood, Ohio, USA
  • 16,367 posts
Posted by gmpullman on Sunday, January 31, 2016 7:45 PM

I guess Bühler motors are supposed to be one of the "top-of-the-line" motors. I probably had 2 dozen of them in various Stewart/Bowser locomotives. As I recall about four of them bit the dust. They would run fine for a few minutes, then bog down, current would go to about 2 amps and you could see sparks from the commutator, then after a minute or so, run OK. 20% failure rate!

I performed autopsies on them and could never find any cause for their failure. Some were newer with only an hour or so of running, others were much older. Still, the brushes, springs, commutators and windings all looked fine.

I just replaced them with other Bowser chassis, it was usually cheaper to find a complete chassis than the motor alone.

Kato, Genesis, BLI, Atlas, Life-Like/Walthers and the Stewart/Bowsers with Kato or newer non-Bühler motors have never given me any trouble.

Just my experience...

Ed

  • Member since
    December 2015
  • From: Shenandoah Valley
  • 9,094 posts
Posted by BigDaddy on Sunday, January 31, 2016 7:55 PM

Kinston is a town in NC where Buehler Motors was located.  I believe they moved to the Raleigh Durham area.  They make a variety of motors, but there website isn't especially helpful.

Are you asking if one can DIY fix a can motor or are can motors replaceable?  Of course it can be replaced and NWSL has tutorials on remotoring certain specific loco motors.  However we can neither see your engine nor your replacement motor. 

Henry

COB Potomac & Northern

Shenandoah Valley

  • Member since
    April 2003
  • 305,205 posts
Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, January 31, 2016 8:25 PM

Thanks, Gentlemen.

It is from a brand new old stock Stewart F unit....Fooled me by running on DC for several minutes.  Did not realize it would later quit, and would not run at all on DCC.  Of course, by the time I figured out it was not a bad decoder etc. It was late in the day.

Yes, I have a remotoring kit from NWSL that I have already found will probably fit.  I take it a bad can motor is toast....I would think so, and not worth trying to repair.  Onward and upward.

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: Bradford, Ontario
  • 15,797 posts
Posted by hon30critter on Sunday, January 31, 2016 8:49 PM

Cisco Kid:

Yes, its toast! Put some peanut butter on one side and drop it on the floor to see which side lands up.ClownSmile, Wink & GrinLaughLaugh

Sorry, you have my sympathies. You can get it apart but getting it back together....?

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: North Dakota
  • 9,592 posts
Posted by BroadwayLion on Monday, February 1, 2016 9:46 AM

LION is putting NWSL motors on all of his subway trains. Easy job.

Measure the size of your motor in millimidgets, and then order one of the exact same size or even larger if you equipment can take it.

ROAR

The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.

Here there be cats.                                LIONS with CAMERAS

  • Member since
    March 2015
  • 1,358 posts
Posted by SouthPenn on Saturday, February 6, 2016 8:31 PM
South Penn

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