Athearn RTR Loco Stalling
#1
I have an Athearn RTR DC GP40-2 loco that is stalling. I have had the loco for about 2 years and only had it out of the box to test it. About 2 months ago I got it out and an it with no problems. I have run it occasionally since then. For about the last two weeks I have not run the loco and when I did so tonight it started stalling. 

At first I suspected track issues. Track was cleaned and still having problems. Second GP40-2 runs fine.

Inspected loco and found bottom of gear boxes wet with lubricate. Cleaned this up. Cleaned wheels. Still having issues.

Removed shell. Found "wet" lubricate in many places. I could see the gears they appear to be very wet.

I need suggestions as to what to do next.
Tom
Silence is golden but Duct tape is silver
Ridley Keystone & Mountain Railroad
My Rail Images Gallery
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#2
After I posted I got some more time to work on the loco. I was able to get the rear truck off and open the gear box. Everything was soaked in lubricant. It had even migrated to the worm gear. There several puddles of oil. To my suprise the gears and wheel axles were clean. As a cat owner I fully expected to find hair everywhere. I found only a very little bit on the axles.

Any suggestions on how to remove the excess oil and dry the parts would be a help.

Of course I cannot find my tube of grease that I know I bought with the lubricating oil that I have
Tom
Silence is golden but Duct tape is silver
Ridley Keystone & Mountain Railroad
My Rail Images Gallery
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#3
(07-30-2022, 09:31 PM)tompm Wrote: After I posted I got some more time to work on the loco. I was able to get the rear truck off and open the gear box. Everything was soaked in lubricant. It had even migrated to the worm gear. There several puddles of oil. To my suprise the gears and wheel axles were clean. As a cat owner I fully expected to find hair everywhere. I found only a very little bit on the axles.

Any suggestions on how to remove the excess oil and dry the parts would be a help.

Of course I cannot find my tube of grease that I know I bought with the lubricating oil that I have

Hello Tom,

the worm gear is the place where lubricant always should be. Also the gear axles should have a light coat of grease. But it is often so, that the worker in the factory throw a splotch of grease or other lubricants somewhere into the gear box and did'nt care any more. I have found new locos soaked with grease all over, but with completely dry worms and spur gears.

And for Athearn Blue Box and RTR axle bearings, they are made out of sintered brass and contains enough lubricant in their little cavities. So there is no need to lubricate them. Lubricating the axle bearings will detoriate their ability for conducting electric current. And overlubricating them; for the effects see your loco.
And the bad news are, this will not cure. You can clean them thoroughly, they will work as intended. But after a couple of days or weeks the electric pick up is as bad as before.


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Once a day i was tiered to clean the axle bearing aigain and again.
To eliminate the recurring hassle i made additional wipers out of thin (0.3mm) bronze wire soldered onto the inner sheet metal frame.
Problem solved.
No more killjoys because erratic moving and stalling caused by unreliable current pick up.
And of course wheels and rails should be kept clean.


Lutz
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#4
The other weak spot in the Athearn Electrical system is the wiper on top of the motor to the riser from the trucks. If that is not making contact it will result in spotty operation. For reliability it might take soldering a jumper cable from the trucks to wiper or to the brass keeper strip on top of the motor (remove parts from the model before soldering.)
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