HELP! Weird scratching sound coming from motor car???

[SubwayHypes]

Hey i am relatively new to train modeling so i dont know what to look for in this.

 

I recently purchased a Kato e651 Super Hitachi Lighted set that looks awesome.

 

It was listed as brand new, i bought it from ebay for $140.

 

 

When i first put the car on the track it wouldnt run, i reved power and all of a sudden it took off. 

 

It ran fine for a couple of minutes, but now it has this pretty loud scratching electrical sound coming from the wheels of the motor car.  The sound is not coming from the magnetic plate in the middle, but clearly from the wheels on the left side.  The train still runs fine and teh cabin lights up, but the noise is worrysome to me.

 

WHat should i do?

 

Btw, heres a quick video of it in action.

 

Its easily my favorite train so far, but the noise is pretty bad!

[bill937ca]

Trains sometimes are noisy when first run.  To break in my trains I usually run them for 30 to 60 minutes at the slowest possible speed that allows movement.  I run them forward and then backwards. This warms up the motor and allows the lubricants to seep in, as I understand it.

[bill937ca]

The other possibility is that the radius is too tight for the cars.  Kato trains are less tolerate of tight curves than Tomix trains.

[Bernard]

Subway,

Can you make another video with just the Hitachi running and making the noise you're describing?

I'm just wondering if it might need some oil in it's gears, but you said the noise sounded electrical?

[SubwayHypes]

Heres a couple quick videos illustrating the sound.

 

[Bernard]

To me it sounds like the gears in the trucks need lubrication and also points on the motor.

Here is a thread on that topic in the forum:

http://www.jnsforum.com/index.php/topic,246.0.html

 

Lets see what other members think.

[Guest ___]

To me it sounds like the gears in the trucks need lubrication and also points on the motor.

Here is a thread on that topic in the forum:

http://www.jnsforum.com/index.php/topic,246.0.html

 

Lets see what other members think.

[/quote

 

To me it sounds like something is dragging or a wheel not turning. Of course it could be several things as this sounds a lot like my EF81 Akia train that was bad. So, I had a fellow JRM member look at it. (I suck at servicing small parts myself, too much shaking in the hands.) It could be lube, tight track, dragging, or even act of G-d, Satan, Buddha or the spirit of Kerunekosama in there!Regardless, of what the cause is, I'm starting to learn that these guys are rather easily serviceable and that is should be at least a fairly simple fix.

[Welshbloke]

I'd also check the bogies are correctly assembled - if one of the pickups is bent or improperly assembled then it could cause similar problems.

[SubwayHypes]

It cant be the track because i have run multiple trains over this with no problem. 

 

The sound happens as much in straightaways as in turns.

 

I have reset the train many times to make sure the wheels were aligned properly, nothing has helped.  I am thinking i definately have to open up the car and lube something.

[alpineaustralia]

From the video, it sounds like the sound is coming from the non-motor carriages. Is that correct? can you run the motor carriage alone and see if it makes the sound.

 

If  the sound is coming from the non-motor carriages then you might want to check that all of the carriages sit even on the track. It may be that some of the wheels are not sitting in there wells properly. 

[Bernard]

Subway - How is it going with the train, is it still making that sound after you've worked on it?

[SubwayHypes]

Its from the motor carriage, i think i just need to grease the motor or whatever.

 

I've been trying for weeks to find time to get into the LHS and grab a few things but i have been so busy with school work and a 60 mile daily commute that i rarely have time right now for the layout.  I have been running my commuters and trying to decal up all my buildings and stations(DECALING IS A CHORE!!)

[cteno4]

Subway,

 

sounds like you may have stripped one of your drive shafts. if you get very slow speeds compared to other trains and a noise like this its usually the little end nibs on a drive shaft that fits into the universal joints on the motor or truck worm gears. this results in only one truck getting power (thus much reduced power) and a screetching like you are hearing from the drive shaft end spinning in the universal joint, instead of spinning the universal joint...

 

bets is to open the motor car up and see if turning the motor turns the wheels on both trucks. if one does not turn then that side has a stripped drive shaft. luckily you can sometimes order these parts from kato. usually you get a pair of power trucks and driveshafts for $5-10. i have even replaced kato drive shafts with tomix drive shafts!

 

only other thing could be a truck is not seated right and thus the main truck gear is not properly engaging with the worm gear.

 

have you tried flipping the motor car on its back and applying power to the wheels (with some metal probes) and see if both sets of wheels spin well? you might also be able to localize if the screaming is coming from one end or the other.

 

sometimes this can be due to no or bad lubrication, but that loud of a scream and the stuttering does not seem to be it, but worth a try. use thicker grease on the gears and very light synthetic motor oil on the motor bearings. do this very searingly as a little bit goes a long way. use a toothpick dipped in oil or grease, not the applicators that come with model oil bottles as the min drop from them is wayyyy tooo much.

 

cheers,

 

jeffd

[bill937ca]

One way to strip the gears is to change directions without first stopping.  :(

 

To change directions come to a complete stop, pause for a second, then throw the direction switch and go in the other direction. This will make for much happier results

[cteno4]

Yes reversing at speed is probably the worst along with running into something (ie a crash) and also picking up a good bit of grit in the truck gears that would bind it up. i was planning at our last jrm show of doing a vacuuming of all the track. we have lots a couple of drive shafts at the show from grit in truck over the years.

 

cheers,

 

jeff