consolidation failure update

[florynow]

I have a sound/DCC 2-8-0 that has been noticeably weakening in its pulling power.  In earlier discussion, readers here thought that the drive belt may be split or stretching.

Last week I took it to the club and ran a test between it and an identical 2-8-0 known to still be good.  On the grade with 12 cars, the good engine slipped its drivers while the failing engine sat with drivers motionless while the chuff went wild.

Any ideas?

Does running the engine on lowered track voltage damage the motor or the decoder? 

PF

[BillD53A]

Sounds like a DCC problem.  Contact Bachmann's repair department

[richg]

Always do a decoder reset when there is an issue.

Rich

[bobwrgt]

If the motor runs and the wheels don't turn there is something wrong in the drive train. It could be a stripped belt or a gear (pulley) slipping on one of the shafts. Either way it will have to be opened up to see what if failing. New belt, new gear, or a drop of super glue where the shaft goes thru the pulley or gear.

Bob

[Steam Freak]

I have a sound/DCC 2-8-0 that has been noticeably weakening in its pulling power.  In earlier discussion, readers here thought that the drive belt may be split or stretching.

Last week I took it to the club and ran a test between it and an identical 2-8-0 known to still be good.  On the grade with 12 cars, the good engine slipped its drivers while the failing engine sat with drivers motionless while the chuff went wild.

Any ideas?

Does running the engine on lowered track voltage damage the motor or the decoder?  

PF

If you turn off the sound, does it sound like something is moving inside the engine still? If so, that means that the motor shaft is spinning freely and not getting a connection to the wheels. It could be a gear failure of a worm drive issue. If thats not the case, try resetting the decoder back to default values. If nothing else seems to work, try setting CV2 to 1 or 2. Thats the starting voltage. Make sure CV5 is set at 255.

As for the track voltage, how much are you using? Should be around 13.5 or 14. If there isnt enough, that may be the problem of why its not moving. It wont damage it, but it wont move unless you got enough track voltage

[Tom M.]

I suspect a potential motor failure.  One of my DCC installation clients recently shipped me a Spectrum K4 Pacific with factory Tsunami sound to investigate a similar problem.  They said they purchased in back in 2008, but had only run it 10-12 hours until recently.   They went on to say that as they began to run it a few weeks ago it began to run slower and slower and after about 5 more hours total run time it ceased running.  The sound continued to function, but no movement.

I first suspected a cracked axle gear, but it was fine.  I then inspected the idler gears and they were fine as well.  Lastly, I tested the motor (I had to remove it to get access to the idler gears).  It would only run if I gave the flywheel a little twist.  It then ran very roughly and without any power behind it.

After disconnecting the motor leads I took the motor to my workbench and began to test it again on DC.  After a few moments, large amounts of smoke began to come out from the motor.  When I twisted the motor shaft in my fingers, I discovered what I judged as excessive shaft play fore and aft.

As has already been suggested, mute the sound (F8) and attempt to determine if you can hear any clicking, binding, or grinding.  If you hear nothing, I would suspect a motor failure.  You may need to tear into the loco to isolate and fully test the motor.  Of course, you can always go to the Bachmann service page and follow the instructions there for having the loco repaired or replaced under their limited life time warranty program.

Good luck,

Tom

[jonathan]

PF,

I still vote for something mechanical that needs to be repaired, not electrical.

Been following this forum for a number of years, and only two common problems have occurred with the consolidation:

1.  There is a brass bushing (or is it bearing?) that seats the worm in the frame halves.  The frame casting has been known to be less than full in this area.  That leaves a potential for the worm to not seat properly onto the main axle gear and/or failing prematurely.  Thus, the motor and worm will spin without connecting to the main gear.  This can be repaired by making a slightly longer brass bushing for the worm axle, using some brass tubing.

2.  The drive belt has been split and come loose on two of my Consolidations.  This causes weak pulling and an unusual noise, which can only be heard by turning off the sound.  Eventually, the loco will stop pulling altogether. This can be repaired by replacing the belt--available in the parts section.

Either way, you'll have to open up the loco to see what's not sitting right.  OR you can send to Bachmann for repair.  As a sound Connie is a rare thing, I wouldn't hesitate to do either or both.

While some other locos have had gear problems, I have never heard of a bad gear in a Spectrum Consolidation.

If it's a bad motor, that would be the first Connie with a bad motor, I've ever hear of.

Regards,

Jonathan

[NuthinDragginOwt]

I know someone who had a similar problem with a Bachmann Russian Decapod with sound, the sounds worked but the engine would not moves. First tihnk would be to do a factory reset, as mentioned before in another members post. If that does not work (like the the decapod I mentioned), contact Bachmann. The decapod I mentioned ended up getting the motor replaced due to the fact the the motor brushes were basically worn down to nothing due to heavy usage of the mentioned engine. The engine now runs great again since the repair.