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 Posted - September 18 2010 : 1:00:14 PM
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First of all I love the videos Brian and instructions for cleaning and maintaining!!!!! I have only about 8 tyco engines all of which I have torn down after watching your videos and I have only 2 really good runners.... all the others seem to only run at half throttle even if I have the power pack directly on the engine and even come to a slow down or stop at certain points in the track. (bachman easy track). Is this the nature of PT's or might I bee doing something wrong. Also I bought grease at the hobby shop for the gears and in one of your vides you put the grease in the wheel craddles. I tried that and the engine kind of sputtered along, I removed the grease and it ran much better so that leads me to believe that the grease does not conduct electricity.... has anyone ever tried die-electric grease? (sp) Also is it bad to put a drop of oil n the wheel craddles...the package says do not use on plastic but the only plastic it touches is the bottom piece holding the wheels in. Any thoughts would be helpful!!
Mike
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Posted - September 18 2010 : 1:26:28 PM
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Yes, Brians videos are very helpful, for sure.
Tyco PT engines are very tempermental as it is.
When you cleaned the motor, did you check the brushes and brush springs? Check your wheels as well. They might need to be cleaned with some rubbing alcohol.
If it stops in certain parts of your track, it could be the track might need a cleaning as well.
I know I've had that same problem.
Good luck
Cheers, Ian
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Posted - September 18 2010 : 2:56:59 PM
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Thanks Ian,
This is what I have done when cleaning the motors....
Clean the wheels with a dremel..nice and shiny now
Clean the wheel cradels with a dremel... better contact for electricity
Open the cover to expose the brushes and springs, wipe down the brushes and the back plate of the pan motor re-install brushes and springs
One drop of oil under the pinion gear, one drop of oil on the brush side, clean and grease all gears
Put everything back together and only 2 of the 8-10 engines runs well....
Not sure what I am doing wrong. All of the engines in your videos seem to run great Brian but for some reason mine arent running all that well
I understand that it could be a tired or burnt out, I just getting something working again after it comes to me dead.
Mike
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Posted - September 18 2010 : 4:48:37 PM
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one drop of oil? how big of a drop? i use a small .020" dia wire, & get a small drop to form on that then i put the oil where i want it. if you just let a drop come out of the oil bottle, that is way to much. when oil gets on the commuter, it burns & heats up the brush springs. when this happens you have to take it apart & clean it again, & if the brush springs have burned, they have shrunk. so you have to stretch them back out to about .200"-.250" again. The brush springs get hot & lose their spring tension & collapse. then they do this they ant putting pressure on the brush to make good contact with the commuter.
i'm not saying that is what has happened, but it is always what fails in my power torques. that is until i learn how to oil them.
jerry
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Posted - September 18 2010 : 6:18:05 PM
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quote:| the package says do not use on plastic |
Mike, If the package says do not use on plastic. Do Not Use on plastic.. not even a drop. The Oil is not compatible with Plastic it will soften it.... Then you will do damage to the truck or anything plastic.. There are Oils and Grease That are Plastic Compatible. There is also Grease that is used on Radio Control Cars that are Di Electric Compound. That will work very well on motors and Trucks..  Carl
Numquam Immoderatio Satis Est
(Too Much Is Never Enough )
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Posted - September 20 2010 : 5:52:14 PM
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quote:
only 2 of the 8-10 engines runs well....
Not sure what I am doing wrong.
I understand that it could be a tired or burnt out,
Mike
Originally posted by vintage1210Â -Â September 18 2010Â :Â 2:56:59 PM
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Did you check the gears for binding? I had a little-used engine, but the gear posts were all binding - the big gear, and the two that transfer power to the wheel shafts. remove all three axles, and see if the big gear and both smaller ones on posts turn totally free - if not, you have deformed gear posts most likely. I also found flashing in the bottom axle grooves, only the center axle turned freely, the other two did not. I carefully carved the flashing off with an X-acto knife, a tiny rat-tail file will do as well. Once that was done, there was no more binding. Unfortunately, my big-gear post wrung off, it was too deformed, so that PT housing is junk for now. You need to check that, as any power-robbing friction will keep your Tyco from running at peak speeds.
Jerry in vA
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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Posted - September 21 2010 : 01:58:21 AM
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Mike, assuming the gear posts aren't stuck up with old grease as Jerry commented, it's probably oil on the brushes and commutator. You can oil the bearing on the pinion side pretty liberally, but anything more than a trace on the brush side of the motor flows onto the commutator and makes the motor sluggish. I keep that bearing as dry as possible, unless it starts complaining. You can soak oil-fouled brushes in 91% alcohol for a while. Strong solvents like Gumout or lacquer thinner are even better, but don't get them on anything plastic.
Also, I do notice after first applying grease or oil to the axle bearings on some locos that the electrical pickup tends to be iffy at first, but it tends to improve with a break-in. Dielectric grease would solve that, but I've never used any.
The Tyco Depot
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Posted - September 22 2010 : 01:15:08 AM
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How do I get a copy of Brian's video?
Ken
FIDDLEHEAD RAILWAY CO.
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Posted - September 22 2010 : 07:12:27 AM
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| HI - Thank you for your comments about my video- this is why i made them - to help others. I have just read the replies from everyone above and they have pretty much covered problem areas. The grease i used was from life - like bu t i did put ti ton heavier in video but had no problems with electrical pick up. Were your truck cradles free of rust? Check also the wire and solder connections. Yes - some power torques may not run better after this and could be the armature windings are weak or weak brush /springs. Although i haven't had this problem with most of mine - I have had a few in the past to do as you describe. Are you using a stock power pack or upgrade. Stock power packs are good but do not have consisitent power output control as an upgrade. You can put oil in wheel cradles as long as it is compatible with plastic and most model train oils are. i recommend Labelle oil and grease products or the life-like grease
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Posted - September 23 2010 : 6:43:48 PM
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WOW!! Thank you everyone who responded!!! I have been so busy at work that I havent had any time to respond myself!! I am using Labelle 101 synthetic oil and of course its says do not use on plastic...so I wont anymore... the grease I am using is XL NLGI 2 PTFE grease (sounds like I should switch) Lots of interesting points that everyone brought up espicaly about how much to oil the brush side bearing, quote "I also found flashing in the bottom axle grooves, only the center axle turned freely" what is flashing Jerry? I guess I will have to back and reclean them all that dont run well but once again thank you for everyones input!!!!
Mike
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Posted - September 23 2010 : 7:39:51 PM
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Mike, Labelle makes Lubricants that are Plastic compatible. #102, 106 (Grease), 107, 108 are plastic Compatible. I use 102 and 108. I also Use Tamiya Ceramic Grease on Trucks and Gear Boxes and Tamiya Dielectric Grease for some electrical connections Very Hard to get the Tamiya Ceramic Grease. I heard they discontinued it. Lucky for me a have enough for a long while. Carl
Numquam Immoderatio Satis Est
(Too Much Is Never Enough )
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Posted - September 23 2010 : 10:45:26 PM
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quote: "I also found flashing in the bottom axle grooves, only the center axle turned freely" what is flashing Jerry?
Mike
Originally posted by vintage1210Â -Â September 23 2010Â :Â 6:43:48 PM
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Flashing is excess metal from the mold, like when you have a window opening, and there's a thin sheet of metal across a corner of it? That's called flashing. You also get flashing at mold joints where they pull apart. Any sharply defined edge can also accrue flashing when the mold is pulled off, or develop a sharp bent edge which can "dig" into a fitting. In this case, the axle shaft. The cupped area where the axle fits into should be flat and parallel to the axle shaft. The flashing I refer to is on the edges of the axle grooves, where the axle rests on each side, the 90 degree edge is not 90 degrees, the corner swells up with either flashing or warpage, so the axle is literally riding on a tiny edge of metal which can waver some, causing binding. I do what they call a chamfer, carve a 45 degree angle on each edge of the opening, so there IS no 90 degree bend from the axle to the side of the motor housing. That generally relieves all possibility of the axle riding strictly on a sharp uneven edge of metal and causing binding. Just carve off some metal at each edge, and see if the axles turns easier.
Jerry
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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Posted - September 24 2010 : 9:18:55 PM
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Carl, Thank you for the Labelle info. I will keep an eye out for those products!! Jerry, Excellent!! I now know exactly what u are talking about and I do have at least 2 engines that might have this issue. Thanks again!
Mike
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Posted - September 21 2011 : 8:02:35 PM
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Brian-You Rock For Making These Videos!
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Posted - September 22 2011 : 1:20:27 PM
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Brian's videos is what led me to this site. Last night, I pulled out a gp-20 that I bought a few weeks back. This little unit is in great shape but ran very slowly, the cabin swaying back and forth as the loco motored down the track. I pulled it apart, and cleaned out all the gunk on the motor (there was alot of it) just like Brian did in the videos. After putting it together, I cleaned the wheels and put her back on the test track. After a quick warm up, the loco came alive and runs great now. That is why I love this site. People forgot what makes this hobby great; fixing things and making them better.
If you are not having fun, you are not doing it right.
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Posted - September 22 2011 : 4:13:58 PM
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raysouthernpac and CNVIATyco - Thank you and everyone again for the comments - Appreciate it. Glad my videos helped you. I do have plans for more - so stay tuned....
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Posted - September 22 2011 : 5:41:49 PM
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Your Welcome Brian. Its The Least I can Do. My So76 Is A POTUS Because Of One of his videos. Thanks Again! It Will Be The LOTW Star From CNVIATyco Productions Next Week.
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