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Post by dcs077 on Jun 7, 2010 4:36:54 GMT -5
i am having some issues with my proto gp 30. it looses contact in some spots of the track. i have tried every other loco i have and none have issues anywhere. my track is flawless. it seems like it only picks up on some of the wheelsets some of the time. i have soldered pickup wires to the side that normally connects to the chassis but this only helped a little. all i can think of is the axle bearings are loosing contact with the side plates, wheels or both. is there anything i could do?
Dan
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Post by dcs077 on Jun 7, 2010 5:19:22 GMT -5
i have checked all the wires for continuity and have resoldered all the pick up wires. the loco has a soundtraxx decoder and the pcb in the loco is gone. if you rock the loco slightly it will loose pickup so this is what led me to think my original idea
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Post by icghogger on Jun 7, 2010 9:29:09 GMT -5
You might just need to clean the axle ends, but if that does not work, you can sometimes improve contact by using small brass eyelets as bushings on the axle ends. This requires a lot of fitting to get it right. Otherwise, if the wear on the contact plates is significant, you can solder the eyelets and ream them out to get a good fit for the axles.
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CIOR
Chairman
Posts: 2,046
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Post by CIOR on Jun 7, 2010 17:10:26 GMT -5
Yup, put some iso alcohol in there and clean them up. You will be surprised how bad that can get in some cases.
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Post by dcs077 on Jun 7, 2010 23:54:57 GMT -5
i have tried that and still no good. the axles are contacting the bearings but the bearings are not contacting the side plates all of the time. not sure how to go about fixing this
Dan
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Post by CP_8530 on Jun 8, 2010 0:24:50 GMT -5
Check all your electrical connections and make sure there's no broken wire that may be making intermittent contact. The tops of the L-shaped truck pickups is where the wires may break due to constant twisting motion.
Make sure all the bearings are seated properly in the truck side plates, sometimes one might slip down off the side plates when you snap the bottom cover on and the unit won't run good.
Maybe try taking the unit apart and having a look at the trucks. They might be warped so that all the wheels don't rest on a flat surface evenly. In this case you may need to replace the truck.
One other thing I check for is the metal clip on the truck that makes contact with the bottom of the frame, the odd time it's bent a bit down so that the frame wobbles. I usually bend this piece so it's straight level and add a piece of styrene or two to keep it that way.
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Post by m a y o r 79 on Jun 10, 2010 12:23:52 GMT -5
Have you tried replacing the board, maybe the problem is up there rather than the trucks or motor. Just a thought.
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Post by dcs077 on Jun 10, 2010 13:41:25 GMT -5
i went as far as reinstalling the decoder to see if it was a loose connection. didnt make any difference. i think i will have to try some new trucks. it is the only thing left to do.
Dan
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dtinut
Chairman
Modeling the DT&I of the 60's & 70's
Posts: 661
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Post by dtinut on Jun 12, 2010 0:20:28 GMT -5
Check the contact plate/bearing area. Paint could be keeping the bearing of the axles from making good contact - a few swipes witha fine file or strip of emery cloth should clean theis quickly and easily.
Add a drop of oil afterwards, as it will help to keep it from oxidation.
Also - the P2K wheels have a blackening agent applied to them, and it doesn't help in the continuity of the wheels to the rails at all. I remove the wheels/gears, and use a wire wheel in the dremel to polish the treads of the wheels to remove the blackening stuff. Be careful to not overdo it, and remove the plating on the wheels, as the P2K wheels are brass with nickel plating.
Regards,
Brian
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Post by dcs077 on Jun 12, 2010 0:59:13 GMT -5
my 30's wheelsets look an awfull lot like blue box athearn ones they do not look plated at all. i may also look at replacing them with some i have here.
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Post by diesel on Jun 16, 2010 10:08:10 GMT -5
ALSO, look at the gears for Splits if you have not already replaced them. The loco (when it does run) should do so without much of a sound at all. I have 3 of these.
If you can, take pics of the underside of the trucks, and the wiring. I found out, that if there is an internal short, the loco will just stop, which is different than if you place a piece of metal on the tracks and cause a regular short, complete with warning sounds (if you have em) and that strange buzzing that the system makes when there's a short.
-We had CVP and just hooked up NCE about 6 weeks ago. Same result on both systems, so if something is touching when you hit a turn,... try running the loco with the shell off and see if there's anything suspicious.
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