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Engine Problem
Yavuz from Turkey asks:
“I sprayed my HO DC locomotive with rust remover to remove rust from its wheels, but the engine stopped working. What could be the reason? What do you suggest I do? Thank you.”
SUBMIT YOUR QUESTION
First off, never spray anything into or onto a locomotive unless you have disassembled or removed all electronics and mechanisms. If you need to apply cleaners of any kind, use swabs or clean cloths and use the chemicals sparingly.
So what do you do now? As much as you are comfortable with, disassemble the unit and carefully remove any residue left by the rust remover. Pay special attention to the electrical pickups as the residue may be non-conductive. For the same reason thoroughly clean the wheels. Make sure all moving parts are free to move smoothly and apply lubricants sparingly. Reassemble it and test it on the workbench or test track.
Thank you for your attention, I’ll try your advise.
spraying anything with chemical or other liquid around any delicate or electronic stuff is not a good thing to do. Like the previous person said is swabs or very clean cloths. I am a fan of micro fiber cloths. For lubrication I use this: Labelle lubrication kits: See Amazon link: but for cleaning I use alcohol in a cloth or swab and just damp, not saturated with it. Another thing I saw one time for cleaning wheels and I tried it and it works. dampen a paper towel with alcohol and drape it over your track then with your track turned on, First do front wheel sets then back by letting your engine spin the wheels on that dampened alcohol paper towel. So like one truck on track and other truck on track with the paper towel and make the wheels spin. Then switch to the other truck and do the same thing. Rest of wheel axles and fine parts gently clean the parts then with the Labelle lube, a tiny drop does wonders. I had my bachmann coaches opened up and cleaned moving parts and tiny drip of the Labelle stuff and did the same with trucks and wheel sets and those coaches have been amazing since.
https://www.amazon.com/SuperiorPTFE-Chronometers-dielectric-viscosity-Electronic/dp/B07TN6RL2L/ref=sr_1_9?crid=3IXK9NHAXC7BK&dchild=1&keywords=labelle+lubricants+kit&qid=1607474339&sprefix=labelle%2Caps%2C187&sr=8-9
Rust remover is an acid, do not spray it on anything electrical !
Dale sums it up, carefully strip down everything and clean off every trace of it.
Best method for de-rusting wheels is a small rotary wire brush on a 12V drill (Dremel type of thing.)