Twin motor units within Tomix shinkansen, one works...

[Eurostar25]

I've got a bit of a dilemma, I've purchased a 12 car Tomix E7 shinkansen A and B set that comes with 2 motor cars.

The main issue I have is that both motor cars work on their own on the piece of track, however when coupled together with the 12 car consist, one motor pulls normally and the other is stalled. I have limited electronic knowledge but can understand that 1 car is getting all the current whilst the other isn't.

How do others run these 2 motor car units on the same track without DCCing them? All my other shinkansen sets only have the 1 motor carriage so I've never struck the problem before.

I'm using a Tomix N-1 5504 power unit, it appears to have a 500mA output

Any help appreciated otherwise this will be a set that will perminantly sit at the station.

[kvp]

The motor cars are speed matched in the factory and if always run together, they keep the same speed profile. On the other hand, one of them should have traction tires while the other shouldn't. You can test them by running them side by side on a double track straight from the same controller and they should run around the same speed. If one of them is noticably slower and they are used, you can try to clean out the slower one to improve it. (Modern dual motor sets have power couplers, so both units get the same power and only the condition of the mechanical parts matter. For older sets dirty pickups can be a problem too.)

[HantuBlauLOL]

i dont think you can stall only one motor car with the power coupler..

 

have you ran them independently?

[Welshbloke]

Interesting that you should say that about the traction tyres (I can see why they'd do it, and it makes perfect sense). My older Tomix 500 Series Nozomi (92082 and whatever the item number is for the additional powered coach) has twin motors, both of which have traction tyres.

 

It's also prone to making horrible buzzing/growling noises despite my having dismantled, cleaned, and re-greased the drivetrain on both power cars repeatedly. Wish I knew why!

[inobu]

Try running the motor cars by themselves. Place a 5cm gap between the two and run them on the same track one behind the other. Which ever one stalls turn it in the opposite direction. You want to check their orientation and if they are really paired/consist.

 

Inobu

Edited February 23, 2016 by inobu

[katoftw]

Is 500mA enough when each motor could pull 300mA each?

[Eurostar25]

Thanks all for the tips and suggestions.

The cars are both brand new from the respective A and B sets and have had little running time.

Individually the cars run well and appear to go at the same speed.

However putting the 2 of the, on the same track with a 5cm gap, one will begin pulling away from the other, change direction and the gap over a small loop closes, which to me appears to show one car is receiving more power than the other.

 

I tried it again with a tomix EF210 and a DE10, similar thing happened, one loco caught the other one up over a short time frame.

 

Could it be the output of the controller simply isn't enough like katoftw suggested?

I see the standard Kato power pack has a 1.0 amp, I'm in Japan in April, so might pick myself up one of those and try it out.

[inobu]

but it did not stall?

 

Inobu

[Robert46]

I also ever had issue with the Tomix shinkansen set 16 cars using 2 motor units. I bought the set A and set B separately. The set A was a used item and set B was new. And original set A motor runs jerky, so I replaced it with newer motor from other 8 car set and now it works fine in coupled running..

 

with the gap produced when running individually, I think it's something normal. In my opinion, one car will absorb more current while the other absorb less.. so after few times running the loop, (just like the picture you shared) the other motor car will catch the slower one and when the direction is reversed same thing happened, but it happened randomly between the two motor cars. That's what I notice when doing that..

 

In addition, this is my dilemma from Tomix set, although they are great with coupler but you could have issue if bought set A and set B separately. Best to buy both sets at one go..

 

Just make sure we do cleaning pick ups frequently.. :)

Edited February 24, 2016 by Robert46

[katoftw]

Kato's throttle rates at 1500mA.  Most current available Tomix throttles except the basic version rate 1200mA.

 

The EF210 and DE10 isn't a good trial.  They would be geared differently.

 

I would run the shinkansen motor cars separately and time them.  See if they run at the same speed when alone.  If not, you then know the slower one has issues.

Edited February 24, 2016 by katoftw

[Eurostar25]

@inobu no it didn't stall, I should've been more specific with my terms, it 1 ran slower

 

@robert46 thanks, I'll have a look at the pick ups. It's just not a nice noise when you can see one car pulling/dragging the other, I'm worried about frying a motor.

 

@katoftw thanks for that, I'll look into the power packs more and also try your suggestion of timing them on the loop. Good idea.