Red rock F9 not working properly

[James in FL]

OK
Eight wheel drive yet one truck does not "spin".
If power is applied to any pair of wheels, all the others should turn if 8 wheel drive.
Check all the components in the drive and open the trucks.
Look for possible cracks on the axle gears, something may be slipping in that truck.
And maybe the opposite, something could be jammed in the gears.
Double check continuity on reassembly.
I didn't look hard, but I didn't find an exploded view of 8 wheel drive version either here on this site nor at
http://hoseeker.net/bachmann.html
I'll keep looking.
Either way, start in that truck and work back to the motor.


Good luck

[jbrock27]

I suggest there may be some inadvertent confusion helping to throw us off the track, by the description of the loco we have been provided with.  This may very well be an FTA or F7A as opposed to an F9.

SF, can you give a manufacture date and any confirmation of the loco model from any literature on the box or with the set?

[Len]

Just looked at a pic of the 'Red Rock Express' box, and right under the loco it says it's "All wheel drive".

So if a wheelset is not turning, either a drive shaft between the motor and truck came loose, a gear is cracked, or something got picked up that's jamming the works.

You'll need a #1 Philips screwdriver to remove the screws on the bottom of the loco to take the shell off.

Len

[sedfred]

My dad took it completely apart and said there was nothing wrong with it, keep in mind he knows quite a bit about electronics. And my 0-6-0 once ran strange and the other engines didn't, but once I used a different power Pack and speed controller it worked fine. I wonder if the same thing is happening to my f9....

[jward]

your dad may know a lot about electronics. that doesn't mean he understands the mechanical operation of your locomotive which is where the problem obviously lies.

if your dad understands how to troubleshoot electronics, why are you looking at replacing a power pack for a problem which only affects one locomotive? if the others run normal the power pack is obviously not the problem, and replacing it will solve nothing.

here is a quick and dirty description of the way your locomotive is set up:

in the center of the chassis is the motor. on the end of the motor, drive shafts connect to each truck, with a worm gear on the end of each drive shaft. these worm gears engage regular gears within the truck itself, which drive other gears and eventually the gears on each axle.

before you take the locomotive apart, run it and observe what is happening. it will tell you a lot about where the problem is.

if the motor seems to be running at top speed, yet the locomotive is moving slowly, look to see if the wheels on one truck are slipping. if this is the case, only one truck is being driven. take the shell off and checque to see if one of the drive shafts is disconnected. if not, disconnect it and remove the work gear from the truck. at this point you should be able to turn the wheels on this truck by hand. if you can't, there is a gear bind somewhere inside, and you;ll have to completely disassemble the truck. carefully examine each gear looking for a piece of grit in the teeth. this is often the cause of the problems you describe.

[jbrock27]

I have not seen a response to the suggestion to test the pack with the meter.  It would at least help to eliminate that as the source of the problem and then the focus can be moved to the loco.  Not that it is not possible that both have problems.

[jward]

the power pack has already been eliminated as the problem by the fact that sedfred has other locomotives that run normally using the pack. if it were the problem, all locomotives would be misbehaving.

[jbrock27]

...but then again there was a time my 0-6-0 went really slow backing up but my f9 worked fine backwards with the same speed controller, my 0-6-0 then worked fine when I used another speed controller.

...And my 0-6-0 once ran strange and the other engines didn't, but once I used a different power Pack and speed controller it worked fine. I wonder if the same thing is happening to my f9....

the power pack has already been eliminated as the problem by the fact that sedfred has other locomotives that run normally using the pack.

I am not sure Mr. Ward, how you are reaching your conclusion from the information provided above.
What is the harm in conducting a test of the pack wth the meter and going from there?