|
|
 Posted - August 02 2008 : 10:42:51 PM
|
Hello Tyconuts,
A few weeks ago I purchased a Rocky Mountain Lines SD24,after lubing the gears and lightly oiling the motor it ran perfect.....for about 1 minute.
After taking the geared wheels off the motor I found an idler gear that was hard to turn (had hair caught behind it) I pulled the hair out and gave it another test run.
Again it ran good for about 2 minutes then started doing the Tyco speedup,and slowdown then it ground to a halt smoking![:0]
I replaced the motor this evening and it finally runs great.
Before I replaced the motor I bench tested it without the geared wheels,and noticed that the motor looked like it was on fire.(probably excessive arcing)
Upon teardown of the burned out motor I didn't find anything out of the ordinary,clean armature,good brushes,and clean brushwells.
My question is, what could have caused this motor to burn out?
Also what is causing the speedup,and slowdown on some of my other PT equipped locomotives? I have about 5 engines that do this.
Thanks for reading this long post,
Carl T.
President of the Cape James Terminal RR.
Edited by - choochin3 on August 02 2008 10:44:53 PM
|
Country:  USA ~
Posts: 691 ~
Member Since: April 16 2006 ~
Last Visit: November 01 2020
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - August 03 2008 : 12:59:17 AM
|
That is almost always due to oil on the commutator and brushes. Try soaking them in 90% alcohol for an hour or so (you can get it at most drug stores, Walmart, etc.), then towel them dry and wipe off any extra dirt. You can polish up the commutator at this point with a pencil eraser if it's looking dull or burned, but be sure to remove all the eraser shavings. Reassemble and add oil on the brush side of the motor only if that bearing is squealing. Otherwise, it's best left alone.
If there's a lot of oil on the motor cover plate, you could give that a soak in alcohol as well to degrease it. These motors don't have much torque to start with, and they bog down real fast when oil gets into the brushes - it cooks down and acts as a brake. It's almost impossible to keep them perfectly dry, since the bearing is so close to the brushes and commutator. In fact, burning oil may have been the source of the smoke, not the windings themselves. The original armature might still work after a cleanup. I've never had one actually burn up on me.
The Tyco Depot
Edited by - NickelPlate759 on August 03 2008 02:09:44 AM
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 3927 ~
Member Since: June 20 2007 ~
Last Visit: November 19 2015
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - August 04 2008 : 12:48:08 AM
|
Is it possible to soak the whole motor intact without disassembly?
In the past I have had a hard time getting the brushes back in the motor,and that led to a loco flying through the air out the back door.
Also could I use mineral spirits to soak the motor?
Thanks,
Carl T.
President of the Cape James Terminal RR.
Edited by - choochin3 on August 04 2008 12:49:01 AM
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 691 ~
Member Since: April 16 2006 ~
Last Visit: November 01 2020
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - August 04 2008 : 09:03:10 AM
|
Sure, you can do it that way. Alcohol is very volatile, so it evaporates quickly. Just be sure to give it enough dry time, or blow it out with compressed air. Another alternative is MG Chemicals contact cleaner, which is available at Radio Shack last time I checked.
MG Chemicals Contact Cleaner with Lubrication Silicones
That will blast out dirt with very high pressure, but there's no subltitute for taking it apart and cleaning everything by hand.
I'm not sure if mineral spirits are plastic safe. I'd stick with 90% alcohol or plastic safe contact cleaner.
The Tyco Depot
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 3927 ~
Member Since: June 20 2007 ~
Last Visit: November 19 2015
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - August 11 2008 : 10:40:15 PM
|
| CARL--Don't use Mineral Spirits unless you want a Flaming Tyco. That stuff is flammable and may attack the plastic.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 2507 ~
Member Since: January 31 2006 ~
Last Visit: October 21 2017
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 16 2009 : 9:07:09 PM
|
When I was a kid, I would actually immerse the pt truck in alchohol and run the unit submerged.
I am not sure just how crazy this was but I ran it for about 5 minutes then cleaned it and let it dry, relubed it and it was on its way. This way I didn't have to take the motor itself apart. The centrifigal force got the alchohol in to all the tiny nooks and crannies.
Aside from taking the unit apart completely, this was the best method I found. And no, I never experienced any fires or smoke. But as mentioned here before, be VERY conservative on the amount of oil placed on the bearings. Tyco's own instructions said place one drop of 3 n 1 oil on the bearings but not to overlube the bearing. One drop, I quickly found out was WAAYYYY too much.
Not sure if I would do the submerge thing today though. But one thing is for sure, those solder joints and plastic tabs on the back cover plate are super delicate.
These trains were really not designed all that well and not really to last a long time with normal kid play. But Tyco must have made a zillion of them as they are so prolific.
But from some modern stuff I have seen, the Tyco trains were bullet proof...comparitively speaking of course.
Roy
Roy
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 6 ~
Member Since: September 04 2007 ~
Last Visit: February 10 2012
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 16 2009 : 9:24:07 PM
|
| Wow, chessie...I'm trying to picture exactly how you accomplished that.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 1166 ~
Member Since: October 18 2009 ~
Last Visit: December 23 2018
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 17 2009 : 11:26:19 AM
|
I just had a plastic bin filled with alchohol and set the entire PT truck or tender truck -the forward and trailing wheelsets of the tender in the little bin.
Then I clipped leads from the power pack to connections OUTSIDE the motor itself.
Like I said, don't know if I would do that again, but it worked well at the time.
Roy
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 6 ~
Member Since: September 04 2007 ~
Last Visit: February 10 2012
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 18 2009 : 7:46:33 PM
|
I have the same issue with my Tycos speeding up and down. What brand of transformer are you using? I heard and seen this problems on newer model transformers and the older ones don't do this to the trains!
" Heck with counting 'em rivets, TRAINS ARE FOR FUN! Not called the Mad Scientist for nothing either!"
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 3145 ~
Member Since: May 07 2007 ~
Last Visit: April 04 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
Home
Forums
Events Calendar
Forum Admins & Mods
Register
