Is this HO shay defective?

[shushu]

Hi everyone,
I won and received a HO shay on eBay.   I checked the item and let it run for a while.   I noticed that when 50% of power  is applied , the loco starts to move.  The other locos start to move at 1 or 2 level out of 28.  Loco is brand new.    Is this defective?     

[cwmeeks]

Is it perhaps, a DCC locomotive running on DC?

regards
c

[railtwister]

Is your Shay equipped with sound? Sound locos have a higher starting voltage than non-sound. Also, Shays are geared for low speed operation, the prototype Shays usually ran 10-15 mph, tops. When the Bachmann Shays first came out, many people returned them because they ran so much slower than other locos, but this is how they are supposed to run, just like the real ones.

Are all of your loco's wheels being driven? The Bachmann HO Shays and Climaxes also were known for developing split gear due to the tiny size of the gears in the drive, and this significantly reduced the power of the loco, and if one gear split, it increased the load on the others, thus speeding up their failure as well. Bachmann supposedly redesigned the gears ( though they are still plastic) and now offers them for sale as repair parts. Because of the gear problem, another company, Northwest Shortline (aka NWSL), also has produced steel replacement gears for the Bachmann Shays in both HO and On30 (and claim to be developing gears for the Climaxes).

Bill in FtL

[richg]

A loco with dual mode decoder requires a higher starting voltage. The decoder electronics require at least 5 VDC just to wake up and a little more to get the motor to start turning. The microprocessor on the decoder controls everything, including the motor.
Unplug the decoder and plug in the DC adapter.
Geared locos generally ran under ten miles per hour. They where not designed to run as fast as a rod loco.
Use a measured track and time the loco. adjusting for HO scale.
You can do a You Tube search for shay locomotive and see examples.

Rich

[shushu]

Thank you responding my message.
This loco comes with DC only.  So, I unplug and plug in Bachmann DCC decoder and did test run because I don't know how to run loco with Dynamis DCC controller.   Anyway, thank you  very much.   If I change a good sound decoder, it should get more  response from throttle.   

[Doneldon]

shu²-

Keep in mind that Shays could go only about 20 mph under ideal circumstances.
These weren't racehorses. They were incredibly powerful locomotives which could
haul freight on tight curves, bad track and hellish grades which would make a
conventional locomotive roll over and die.

                                                                    -- D

[jward]

if you are running this locomotive on dcc, and it takes half throttle just to start moving you probably need to adjust the start voltage setting cv2.

if cv2 is properly set, the loco should start to move on speed step 1.

[shushu]

I did change CV2 value all the way up but there is no difference.  This loco still needs half of power to move. 

[railtwister]

I did change CV2 value all the way up but there is no difference.  This loco still needs half of power to move. 

Just to be safe, check the temperature of the motor frequently after running it a little bit to see if it gets hot. As long as it isn't overheating, it should be OK. If it does get hot (mildly warm shouldn't be a problem), look for mechanical problems like a bind, that could be causing it to draw extra current.

Bill in FtL

[richg]

I did change CV2 value all the way up but there is no difference.  This loco still needs half of power to move. 

Reset the decoder to factory defaults and try again.

Rich

[jward]

which dcc system are you using?

[shushu]

Hi, Thank you for your comment.
I use EZ command system and run DC. The loco starts moving at 20% of power setting.  It is normal.   But it moves at half of full power with Dynamis and Bachmann DCC decoder.   Is there something going on?