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Locomotive Motors Lack Power
Chuck asks readers for advice:
“I have several HO diesels that are dcc. I bought them used on e-bay and they are in good condition. They operate with no problems but some of them don’t run as strong as some others. I don’t think the motor needs to be changed, but maybe installing new springs and brushes might give some new zip to some of my weaker engines. Please let me know what you think. I look forward to hearing from you and any advice you can give.”
11 Responses to Locomotive Motors Lack Power
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Good clean contacts are important for both DC and DCC, so cleaning things up could help. But there’s also a factor noted in other posts: some of those older motors draw more current than those commonly used with DCC. If they draw more current than DCC can provide, they will not have the power equal to motors designed for use with DCC. They’re still good motors, and they might work well enough for a time, but they could also over stress the DCC system causing a premature failure.
Follow up: If the loco’s were originally sold as DCC units, the motors should match; but if they were converted by previous owner(s), there could be a mismatch.
DCC is funny I’ve found. Engines that highball on DC poke on DCC. Don’t know why?I think it’s the DCC making your engines weak. Have you tried them on DC? Are they faster & stronger?
you should have the same power with dc as you have with dcc. you may want to have someone check the cv in the decoders there is a min and max voltage setting in them someone my have set them to low. you can set them back to factory reset.
another thing to know max your dc system out and check the dc voltage. then check the track voltage on dcc. the only dif is on has voltage all the time the other only when you turn it up. dc also has less amps dcc can go to 5 amps per booster. my power supply is a 20 amp. if that won,t run a motor up its not worth running
Thanks David, no I haven’t tried DC operation but I will. I took this loco apart and cleaned out gobs of grease in the gearboxes. This is a Bachmann that was DCC from the factory.
David, I ran my GP 35 in DC mode and it runs great. When I go back to DCC, it is sluggish and it hesitates while moving so now I’m thinking it in the electronics of the decoder board.
Thanks for your help.
Chuck yd
David, I ran my GP 35 in DC mode and it runs great. When I go back to DCC, it is sluggish and it hesitates while moving so now I’m thinking it in the electronics of the decoder board.
Thanks for your help.
Chuck
I don’t know what brand of locomotives you have. There are some that look very good, but have very limited pulling power, even though new. If you believe the problem is the motor, a company called Micro-Mark has replacement motors and super magnets which can make a great difference in performance. The website is micromark.com
It is quite possible that the motor magnets have weakened and need a re-magnetised, there are some available. Ian
Hello
If the engine runs good on DC then You should reset the Motor settings for the decoder “the start mid and top end volts ,,, The starting voltage differs between each engine,,,, if speed step 1 it starts at a good slow smooth speed leave the start where it is,,, If you need to go to 2 3 4 etc to get it rolling,, raise the start setting,, if it starts faster than you want then lower it,,, the mid should be good at 150 the top end at 250. always think about any one that wants to run the engines at top speed and take the chance of derailing the train,,,, you might want to lower the top speed to a safe setting then set the mid to about half of that.