This is a long post, so hang in there. It will be helpful if your having problems with an engine, specifically an Athearn. I haven't been running my Athearn engines as much here lately because of the problems with them not wanting to run smoothly. Well I got to working on my SD45 and I have figured out that if an engine is not running correctly, the problem might be that there is pressure on the motor. In this case it was wires pressing down because there wasn't enough free space (there are a total of 6 bulbs between the cab and nose so 12 wires between the bulbs and decoder which sets on top of the motor.) removing the weight at the front freed up enough space for the wires and now it runs a lot better. Another thing I have found with the Athearns when I was working on a GP30 is that after running for a while carbon will build up on the motor contacts. It is simple to clean. Just get some fine grit sandpaper, I use 320 and it doesn't damage, and press it against the piece of copper that has the in and out contacts to the motor clips and turn up the power till the carbon is removed (the black residue). Then if you run it and it reappears instantly, carefully take off a motor clip (don't loose the spring) and take out the little "pin" at the bottom. Clean the part that touches the motor with sandpaper. Reinstall and repeat the process on the other side. Now reclean the spinning contact. And that should fix it. Extra note, I have found that carbon build up also causes problems with the light bulbs. Ethan
Re: Tip for improviong Athearn locomotives That black build-up is some wicked stuff. I took time and cleaned that devilish stuff off all the wheels and brush contact surfaces on my 4-4-0. Instant improvement! No more stalls or jerky movements at slow speeds. Just like a tune up. Thanks for posting that, a lot of us probably need to do some tune ups. I also Bright Boy my track before each use to help fight the wheel build up.
DC motor manufacturers and I do not recommend using any abrasive on the commutator of the motor. That will lead to premature brush wear and a quicker return to the condition you describe. The best solution is to use an electrically conductive lubricant to clean the commutator surface and lubricate the brushes. A product such as Conducta-Lube which is manufactured by Aerocar Lubricants http://www.aerocarlubricants.com/ (and also sold by Atlas) will dramatically improve the performance of any electrical contact surfaces, especially the brush/communtator surfaces in the motors. You can use the Conducta-Lube to clean the commutator as well, by just touching a Conducta-Lube dampened corner of a piece of paper towel while the motor is running.
Ethan, I would be careful using sand paper, unless your using like 1500 grit or finer, your actually scratching the commutator and brushes. Those burnt spots on the commutator are where there are air gaps between the brushes and commutator, resulting a arcing. Using too coarse of a surfacing tool will result in scratching and those scratches will accumulate dirt and that ain't a good thing for electrical contacts. I have had reasonably good luck using a hard ink eraser "pencil type" with the end cut to a chisel finish, then you can hold it next to the cummutator while the motor is under power and watch it shine. Follow that with a little compressed air from a can to remove the eraser material then some conducta-lube. I always try to follow that with some high quality synthetic oil for the bearings, you should be good to go. I do this before any loco goes on the track. Regards Tom Holley
I agree with Keith, only use a electrical contact cleaner, I use CRC-2-26. Power up the motor a slow speed, spray on the cleaner, and watch the motor increase in speed indicating the comuumtator is clean.
Ok, so at the recommendation of several people I don't use sandpaper anymore. I don't have any conductive contact lube yet, but I was working on a loco today and I found another solution that doesn't use sandpaper. I put is drop or two of regular oil on the communicator, ran it for a few seconds. Then pressed a paper towel (paper towel wont do damage will it?) up against it while it was spinning and the black came right off. I still plan on getting a bottle of the conductive lube, sound like good stuff. Ethan
Ethan, Back when I used to race 1/24 scale commercial slot cars I used a product called "Voodoo" braid and communtator cleaner drops. I comes in a plastic applicator bottle and is bright green in color. It sells for $5.98 and is made by a company called "Slick 7". It is available from this web site: www.professormotor.com A couple of drops of this stuff applied right to the motor communtator will solve any gunk and goo related problem. As for the spillage, I just used good old blue shop towels avaliable at AutoZone or O'Reilly's auto centers. FriscoGeorge
What are some opinions on BrightBoy use. It's what I've used but crud still builds up fast. Any suggested use of a chemical applied to the rail. Goo Gone or transmission fluid. I've read about different things but I would rather hear testimonials from our esteemed group. I bet you folks with huge layouts have a trick or two to share. Oops! I think this would be better posted elsewhere. Sorry gang.
Regarding rail cleaning and protection, I will refer you to the information in my posts in this other thread: http://www.frisco.org/vb/showthread.php?5755-Track-Electrical-Reliability; they make special cleaner and protector for rails that will result in improved performance without attracting dust.
