Bachman N RS3 - SHELL - How to get off???

[timhar47]

Does anyone know how to get this shell off the RS3? I hate this decoder in it, and I wish to see what can be done. Its ridiculous that no matter what I change settings to, I still have to move the speed up to 13 before it even starts to move - thats not a one handed easy operation.

Thanks - Tim

[ALCO539]

The shell is a tight fit, but if you use a few (4) toothpicks to spread it a little on the sides, front and back you can wiggle it off. You have to grab it on the fuel/battery boxes, not the trucks, they will come right out of the frame.

One other thought. Have you tested this loco on DC? If you can and have an ammeter look at the current draw. The loco I talked about in the thread "Shell removal HELP" by wobblinwheel was a RS3 too. Take a read if you haven't. If the motor draws a lot of current (0.4 A), that could be your problem, not the decoder. I fixed the grounded field winding on mine, you may not want to do that. The N&W J can motor and RS3 are the same (#10123), but have different worm/flywheel/u-joint drives.

Test it before you take anything apart, and if you find that it's the motor (high current), send it back to Bachmann or your dealer. I hope this helps. This question sounds familiar, but I could not find your screen name on any posts, within the last four or so pages.

Regards Charley.

[railtwister]

Does anyone know how to get this shell off the RS3? I hate this decoder in it, and I wish to see what can be done. Its ridiculous that no matter what I change settings to, I still have to move the speed up to 13 before it even starts to move - thats not a one handed easy operation.

Thanks - Tim

Hi Tim,

The shell is a very tight fit, I got mine off after very carefully prying it a little at a time at either end with an Xacto knife. It's a rather delicate operation, so be careful and just take your time, don't try to do it in one move.

When my RS3 first arrived, it was totally dead, which was the reason I had to take it apart. It turned out that the board had popped loose, and it's wipers were not making contact with the frame halves, so nothing worked. The decoder board and light board are proprietary to this loco, so I think changing it out for a different brand of decoder may be a major headache.

That being said, once I got the board in my loco reseated so it made proper contact, it ran great, and quickly became one of my favorite locomotives. I suspect that "Alco539" is correct in his assessment that there is something else wrong with yours besides the decoder. One thing to watch out for once you get the shell off, is heat buildup in the motor after a short running time. I had an Atlas SD35 that had similar symptoms as your loco, and after only one lap around a 30"x80" oval, the motor was too hot to touch. Turns out it had a damaged plastic bearing on one of the truck driveshafts that was creating excess friction and causing the motor to overheat. Once the damaged bearing was cleaned up with an Xacto knife, it ran fine (and much cooler!).

There is definitely something wrong with your unit, and you should probably return it to Bachmann. At least since it's N scale, the postage cost to do so won't be as exorbitant as if it were "O" or "G" scale!

Bill in FtL

[timhar47]

Well - actually the more I thot about it yesterday the more I came to the decision. Since it was right on the 30 days, it went back to where I bought it from. I will go mess with something else. I mean this thing drives one crazy with the 'headlight turns off' issue, any time the engine burps on the track.

Thanks - Tim