New Precision Craft Model E7 Running Poorly

[Herc Driver]

Hi Guys,

I'm helping out my LHS owner who had this engine returned to his store after a person bought and returned this E7 for poor running issues. He's given it to me to test on my layout and test track (since he doesn't have one in the store) and try to figure out what's going on with it.

I got it to my test track and confirmed, it runs terribly. At low speeds/power settings, it lurches forward with an audible squeal from the motor and wheel slip. At faster speeds, it runs marginally better, with the occasional wheel slip and motor squeal.

I checked and found all the wheels slightly out of gauge, and fixed them. I looked at the motor, wiring, truck assembly and drive shafts and found nothing wrong. The rear-most wheels are "traction tires" and the rubber surrounding the metal wheels look fine and without many miles on them. This is a DC-only engine running on a new DC-only powered oval track on a level surface with no grade. There should be no reason for the slippage that I know of, but I'm certainly no expert. I've cleaned the wheels, and the track, just to make sure there was good contact. There seems to be no electrical contact loss, and both trucks run well and without hesitation when slightly lifted from the rails (one end at a time of course).

So I'm at a loss to know why this thing runs so poorly at slower speeds, barely able to move forward (or reverse) at a low power setting without jerking forward, slipping, and lurching forward again all the way around the oval. This engine was from the 2007 production run by Precision Craft Models I believe, so it sat in the box for a while. I'm wondering if the traction tires are too old to adhere to the rails properly. Besides that idea...I'm at a loss to know what's going on here.

Any ideas?

Thanks!