Early version Microace DD51 type small shunter, very poor runner.

[Andrew G]

Hello folks,

                  I recently purchased second hand at an exhibition two of these Micro Ace freelanced shunters at a bargain price of 2 for $35- Australian and they will mkae good stable mates with my B-Train shorties.  The seller is usually reliable and said that they were runners. They do run, but erratically. At times the motor spins noisily and there is only a little movement of the loco.

Any suggestions?

Cheers,

            Andrew G of St Arnaud, Australia.

[katoftw]

Looks pretty old. All you can do is pull it apart and clean everything. My bet is dirty electrical.

[cteno4]

Wow that’s a steal if you can get them running well!

 

Hmm if motor is spinning and not moving much sounds like maybe a cracked gear slipping. I agree with Kato a good strip down, inspection, cleaning and lubing may do the trick or at least find a culprit. Look carefully at all the gears to see if any are cracked. 
 

do both do the same thing? 
 

these little guys don’t like points and also track joints, they tend to bump around and get intermittent contact. If super old you may have oxidation on the truck and chassis contacts as well. Again stripping down and cleaning the wheel and chassis contacts/wipes with a good low dielectric contact cleaner (don’t use alcohols) may get them running smoother. Get a can of wd40 contact cleaner or crc contact cleaner and protectant for cleaning contacts, wheels and track, really is worth it.

 

jeff