A couple of years ago I picked up a GE 70 ton switcher, DCC ready. I do operate DC only at home. I ran the locomotive a few times and it was set aside while I worked on other projects. My layout is a switching layout and I bought the switcher as it is a match for the paint scheme for my freelance raolroad.

The problem is that to locomotive will no longer start from a stop. A tap on top of the hood will get the loco moving. It was lightly lubricated as it was quite noisy. After letting it run for a while, it did quiet down a lot, but still wond start from a stop the majority of the time without a tap on the hood. With power applied, the lights will light up but the loco just sits. It is picking up on all four axles. Once it is running, it does operate smoothly even at very slow speeds. It is acting like there is a brush problem with the motor. Access to the motor is limited and I have no idea what the problem is.

Do you have any ideas of what I can do to get the locomotive running properly?