Bachmann On30 Two-Truck Shay problem

Hello The loco just started to jerk and even not work at all. Used to run as smooth as can be. It's electrical caused I'm sure, as headlight also works only when it does move (jerks). Cleaned track and all wheels thoroughly. Still jerks. Inspected underside and whisked away anything that might be binding the mechanism. Still jerks. Any ideas are very much appreciated. Thanks in advance Brad

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BPF
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Hi Brad,

You're right, the lite going off when ther's a problem does seem to indicate problem is electrical. Possibly due to a wire that is broken at a solder joint and only making intermittant contact which would be a random open circuit condition. But just to be sure it's not a random short-circuit, try connecting a grain of wheat bulb to the rail (or power pack variable dc terminals) when you run the loco. If the bulb goes out when the loco stalls you have a random short. If it just dims when the loco stalls, then you could have a high resistance short, or a high load on the armature, indicating some sort of bind in the mechanism. If it stays on or gets brighter when the loco stalls, then it's a random open circuit. Did you lube the motor bearings before you started running the loco when it was new? Too much oil could get onto the brushes/commutator and cause erratic running. Not enough lube could cause excessive bearing wear, resulting in the armature moving around as it turned causing it to rub the magnets bind, and burnout the windings. There was a post on one of the groups or websites showing how to disassemble & lube the On30 shay.

Good Luck, Bill Nielsen Oakland Park FL

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Flexgauger

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