KATO N700 Series Shinkansen Bullet Train "Nozomi"

[Vato]

Have a broken motor car from the N700 Series Shinkansen Bullet Train "Nozomi", any ideas where I can send it to repair ?

[Martijn Meerts]

What's broken exactly? Doesn't it run, or is a coupler broken, or the shell?

 

If it doesn't run, just open it up and have a look at whether or not the motor is seated well and check if power is routed from the track to the motor. If the motor is broken, you can just order a new one (at Hobby Search for example), they're easy to replace. 

 

 

If you're not comfortable doing it yourself, you might be able to find a member willing to have a look at it, and who lives nearby.

[Densha]

He just posted in another topic that it was related to his DCC install, I think...

[Vato]

What's broken exactly? Doesn't it run, or is a coupler broken, or the shell?

 

If it doesn't run, just open it up and have a look at whether or not the motor is seated well and check if power is routed from the track to the motor. If the motor is broken, you can just order a new one (at Hobby Search for example), they're easy to replace. 

 

 

If you're not comfortable doing it yourself, you might be able to find a member willing to have a look at it, and who lives nearby.

link between motor and wheels i think, when I run it, after maybe 30-40 sec starts noising and stops

[Martijn Meerts]

Hmm.. I think your best bet is to open it up and have a look at the motor and drive axles. Opening up motor cars is easy enough, the shells are all just clipped in place. After that the seats are also clipped in place, and the motor should be underneath the seats.

 

If you decide to open it up, make sure to take some pictures for us to look at, it'd make things much easier.

 

Some of the things I can think of that might be going on is bad/bent drive axles, or even 1 of them having somehow gotten pulled out of the bogie, causing it to get stuck and binding the motor. It could also be something as simple as a small but of dirt that get stuck somewhere, or the motor getting hot for some reason or the other.

[Vato]

Hmm.. I think your best bet is to open it up and have a look at the motor and drive axles. Opening up motor cars is easy enough, the shells are all just clipped in place. After that the seats are also clipped in place, and the motor should be underneath the seats.

 

If you decide to open it up, make sure to take some pictures for us to look at, it'd make things much easier.

 

Some of the things I can think of that might be going on is bad/bent drive axles, or even 1 of them having somehow gotten pulled out of the bogie, causing it to get stuck and binding the motor. It could also be something as simple as a small but of dirt that get stuck somewhere, or the motor getting hot for some reason or the other.

Once I try to install Kato DCC "EM13" (Not working at all) and after I think I damaged link between motor and axles

[Guest Closed Account 1]

Sounds as though you might not have installed the driveshaft properly. Maybe it snapped or spinning.

 

Pop off the body shell with some plastic coffee stirrers or tooth picks.

[cteno4]

Sometimes you can put the trucks back in and not get the drive shaft end into the universal joint. It's also possible the drive shaft(s) are snapped or have the tiny nubs on the end (that grip inside the universal joint) stripped off. Only solution there is to replace the drive shafts if that's the case.

 

Usually you have the drive shaft stuck into the truck and then thread it into the chassis to insert into the universal joint stuck onto the motor shaft. Problem is about the point the drive shaft end meets the universal socket it's where you have to fiddle the truck neck into the chassis, so you have both to fiddle with at the same time and thus have the drive shaft end up missing the universal socket and then no go...

 

Jeff

Edited February 2, 2013 by cteno4

[Vato]

Sometimes you can put the trucks back in and not get the drive shaft end into the universal joint. It's also possible the drive shaft(s) are snapped or have the tiny nubs on the end (that grip inside the universal joint) stripped off. Only solution there is to replace the drive shafts if that's the case.

 

Usually you have the drive shaft stuck into the truck and then thread it into the chassis to insert into the universal joint stuck onto the motor shaft. Problem is about the point the drive shaft end meets the universal socket it's where you have to fiddle the truck neck into the chassis, so you have both to fiddle with at the same time and thus have the drive shaft end up missing the universal socket and then no go...

 

Jeff

Will try today eve, if drive shaft was damaged, where I can get new? I cannot find it

Edited February 2, 2013 by vatato

[CaptOblivious]

You won't be able to order just the shaft. The instruction sheet will have an exploded diagram with the orderable part numbers. Check with Hobby Search (1999.co.jp) as they now stock Kato replacement parts.

[Vato]

You won't be able to order just the shaft. The instruction sheet will have an exploded diagram with the orderable part numbers. Check with Hobby Search (1999.co.jp) as they now stock Kato replacement parts.

Thanks

[cteno4]

Vatato

 

most times KATO is doing truck and drive shaft as one unit with the drive shaft pretty stuck in the truck universal joint socket there. they are sold by the pair and about $15-20 usually and then like $8 shipping from kato usa, or check to see if hobby search has them.

 

usually kato usa will order parts for you from kato japan but takes 1-3 months and you need to fax or email in a copy of your instruction sheet with the part you want circled so they know exactly what you want.

 

one trick to check the drive shaft is to take your short piece of power feed track with power hooked to it and place the rails on one truck while you are holding the chassis upside down in your hand (with the trucks mounted in the chassis). this powers the motor and will let you look closely at the other truck to see if the gears and wheels are spinning. if you hear the motor going and the gears and wheels are not spinning or doing so very intermittently with the motor going smoothly then its a good sign the drive shaft is either broken or not in the universal joint socket at the motor end. then flip and do the other truck as well. this also lets you know if the truck is supplying power to the chassis properly as sometimes you can have the truck go back into the chassis right to have the contacts line up or bend a contact.

 

if you do tear the trucks off, first feel the end of the drive shaft. it should have 4 little tiny bumps that should be fairly sharp poking out at 12, 3, 6, and 9 oclock (every 90 degrees) around the end of the shaft. if its smooth or you cant feel all the bumps then its a good chance these got stripped off (these little bumps engage slots on the inside of the socket to make them turn together). if they all feel like they are there and in good condition (they should feel distinct not smoothed over) then its a good sign that you just didnt get that end into the socket.

 

also with the truck/drive shaft units out from the chassis, turn the drive shaft with your fingers and watch the gears on the bottom of the truck. you should see them turn slowly as you spin the drive shaft. if they dont move while turning the drive shaft then the other end of the drive shaft at the truck universal joint socket has gotten stripped. if you cant turn the drive shaft at all or its really hard to then its a good sign that something has gotten sucked up into the the truck's gears and its all jammed. this will usually result in the drive shaft then getting stripped as the motor wants to turn the drive shaft but it cant so blamo.

 

this is the little check list i go down when a motor chassis gets grumpy like this

 

1) pull the trucks off if the drive shaft is snapped there you go! if not go to 2

 

2) check to see if the drive shaft end nubs are there

 

   A) if they are there its not stripped drive shaft, and go onto 3

 

   B} if they are not there or all there stripped drive shaft to replace but also go onto 3

 

3) check to make sure the drive shaft turns. you do this to make sure the trucks gears are not bound up with grit or fuzz.

 

   A) if it doesnt then truck gears jammed up with something. pick at the gears with sharp

       tweezers to see if its just a bunch of fuzz or hairs in the bottom and you can get it turning

       or at worse tear the truck apart and clean it all out

 

   B} if it turns easily then go to 4

 

4) turn the drive shaft while watching the gears and wheels on the bottom to see if they turn slowly

    as you turn the drive shaft

 

   A) if they turn then the drive shaft is working thru the truck universal joint. go to 5

 

   B} if they dont turn then most likely the end of the drive shaft in the truck universal joint is stripped. you can 

       look closely at the socket on most models and see if it turns or not as you turn the drive shaft. if the universal 

       joint socket does turn while you turn the drive shaft then it may be the worm gear or top gear of the truck

      and then tearing the whole truck apart to fix or buy a new truck.

 

5) Reassemble trucks to the chassis and try to make sure the drive shafts are in the universal joint sockets at the motor and re test.

 

 

sorry hard to describe all this in words. sometime i should take photos and videos of this and post to youtube. there may be some up there

 

one big help with all this is to use some sort of magnifier and lots of light. either magnifying glasses (if you dont have corrected eyesight just get a 2.5-3x reading glasses at the dollar store) or one of those lights with a magnifying glass in it or prop up some kind of magnifying glass you can look through while fiddling and put lots of bright light on it. light really helps see what is going on as its hard to see the gray gears turning in a gray housing!

 

i am amazed at times when i get lazy and dont put light and/or magnification on a job like this that when i do then i find things i totally missed. my eyesight is ok but going down with age some. even with good eyesight it really helps make sure you spot the problem and dont overlook something!

 

cheers

 

jeff

Edited February 2, 2013 by cteno4

[KenS]

When I'm working on the insides of a model, I use the store-bought "reading glasses" (4x typically) instead of my real reading glasses, because they let me focus a lot closer than the 18" typical of normal reading glasses.  Once you pass 40, close focusing ability starts to go downhill quickly.  I also keep a large hand-held magnifying glass handy for when I want to look even closer at something.

 

And yes, lots of light, I use a halogen desk lamp I can swing down over the model to really light it up.  Very helpful.

 

Another helpful trick I've used is to take a photograph and blow it up on the computer screen.  You need a digital camera that can focus close and has a large megapixel count, but those are pretty common now.  And with that, I can see details and read labels my eyes alone would never catch.

[cteno4]

I've thought of going to a camera for close up work. Takes a bit of brain retraining to work while looking at a screen, but after it gets rewired works well. Use to do a lot od microscope work this way in grad school. Was fun watching folks do this for the first time!

 

Jeff

[inobu]

Vatato,

 

your best bet is to try KatoUSA as Jeff suggested.

 

Measure the drive shaft and try to find the comparable worm gear set.

 

 

 

I'm guessing that the wheelbase should be the starting point to narrow down the possibilities. The motor is the center reference point and the shaft most likely are interchangeable to equivalent chassis 

 

 

Inobu

[Vato]

Vatato,

 

your best bet is to try KatoUSA as Jeff suggested.

 

Measure the drive shaft and try to find the comparable worm gear set.

 

 

 

I'm guessing that the wheelbase should be the starting point to narrow down the possibilities. The motor is the center reference point and the shaft most likely are interchangeable to equivalent chassis 

 

 

Inobu

Hi Inobu, on the N700 kato use different shaft     http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/6070/t005.jpg

[inobu]

Measuring the wheelbase can give you an idea of what chassis to look for. The example is from an SD40 which has a short wheel base you need to find a similar chassis.

 

Inobu

[inobu]

I was thinking along these lines. The Budd has a long wheelbase a most of the time manufactures reuse components

 

If you are lucky this will fit.

 

Inobu

 

Click here to download a parts diagram for the Budd RDC

 

Edited February 6, 2013 by inobu

[Vato]

I have budd diesel car, shaft is little bit longer, I try to use it

[cteno4]

You can also use some of the tomix shafts. i have bought a number of them over the years when up on hs. use to be like $2 for 2-4 of them. use to throw one or two different ones into a hs order to have a small selection. I replaced both a kato 800 and E3 with tomix shafts i had. Tomix even makes one variable length!

 

do check with kato usa as i expect this part is available as n700 is pretty recent.

 

jeff

[Vato]

You can also use some of the tomix shafts. i have bought a number of them over the years when up on hs. use to be like $2 for 2-4 of them. use to throw one or two different ones into a hs order to have a small selection. I replaced both a kato 800 and E3 with tomix shafts i had. Tomix even makes one variable length!

 

do check with kato usa as i expect this part is available as n700 is pretty recent.

 

jeff

I ask KatoUsa and they told me it's take almost 2.5 month

[cteno4]

Vatato

 

I'd go for it, alternates might end up being hard to adapt and potentially ruin it. Other option so to buy some tomix driveshafts from hs and see if any will work.

 

Another option might be to use a tomix driveshaft and cut it in two and use a bit of plastic or brass tubing to make it just the right length.

 

Jeff

Edited February 7, 2013 by cteno4

[Vato]

Vatato

 

I'd go for it, alternates might end up being hard to adapt and potentially ruin it. Other option so to buy some tomix driveshafts from hs and see if any will work.

 

Another option might be to use a tomix driveshaft and cut it in two and use a bit of plastic or brass tubing to make it just the right length.

 

Jeff

Thanks Jeff, I will try

[cteno4]

vatato,

 

what is the overall length of the drive shaft and the diameter of the end w/o the numbs? i can look through the few tomix drive shafts i have here to see if i can find you a possible replacement that way. down side is i have to go look to see if i kept all the part numbers with each shaft. i kind of remembering them coming an odd stock number on them, not a tomix part number so i may not have the cross walk back to what to order. been a while since i have had to deal with a stripped shaft. we had a large spat of them for a couple of years a while back then none for quite a while now.

 

so i assume you tried to re assemble and make sure the end was in the socket? did you try the little checklist above? if so what were the results?

 

jeff

[Vato]

vatato,

 

what is the overall length of the drive shaft and the diameter of the end w/o the numbs? i can look through the few tomix drive shafts i have here to see if i can find you a possible replacement that way. down side is i have to go look to see if i kept all the part numbers with each shaft. i kind of remembering them coming an odd stock number on them, not a tomix part number so i may not have the cross walk back to what to order. been a while since i have had to deal with a stripped shaft. we had a large spat of them for a couple of years a while back then none for quite a while now.

 

so i assume you tried to re assemble and make sure the end was in the socket? did you try the little checklist above? if so what were the results?

 

jeff

same result Jeff... after reasembling, when car moving straight, everything is ok,  but after the curves come same problem