Flickering lights Kato E231

[Mania]

I bought a brand new Kato 10-261 (Yamanote E231-500 5 car starter set) a few years ago in Japan, though I had no track. I recently finally procured track and an v2 LED light kit, and when running the train, I get tons of flicker. It's not the LED kit, since the front and rear lights also flicker along with the interior lighting. What confuses me is this is a brand new set that's been in storage for a few years but never been run. The new trains I bought along with the track run fine with negligible flicker (with and without interior lights). The track can't really be dirty considering how new it is, and I have tried wiping it down anyways. I have also tried using rubbing alcohol and a Q-tip to wipe the wheels on the E231 but to no avail. Also, the motor on this train is quite a bit louder than all my other trains, though it runs smoothly at all speeds (there is no flicker on the motor car).

 

I also tried my Kato 10-251 (Yamanote 205 7 car starter) which is almost exactly one year older than the E231 (bought from the same store), and noticed the headlights do flicker as bit more than my new trains as well, though not as much as the E231. Is there something that happens to trains in long periods of storage? The trains were kept in my room, and I suppose it is not very cool or dry year round, considering I have a huge window and A/C isn't always on...Any suggestions on what I can do to fix my E231? Should I store my trains somewhere else, like the garage or basement from now on?

[KenS]

This is typical of the Kato commuter cars.  I think the problem is that the pickups from the trucks "bounce" on and off the brass rails that run under the floor to conduct power up to the light unit. It could also be the "L"-shaped pickups from the under-floor to the light not making good contact under the floor (it's likely not the contact between the L strips and the light unit; I soldered one once and it had no effect).

The cars are very light, which adds to the bouncing, but adding weight didn't seem to help when I tried that.  I didn't add a whole lot though.

 

The V2 LEDs, which you have, actually have less flicker than the older LEDs, but still not none.

 

Newer trains might be less prone to this, although I haven't noticed this, as Kato has made subtle improvements to the structure over the years (the EM13 DCC decoders fit much better in more recent trains than in the older ones, for example).

 

You could also have corrosion on the brass strips, particularly if they were stored in a humid environment. You can take the car apart (carefully) and clean the under-floor brass strips with a rubber eraser if you suspect that.

 

The noise could just be that the motor needs to run in for ten or twenty minutes, but it could be that the grease in the gear mechanism of the trucks has dried out and needs to be cleaned and replaced (there are other threads about cleaning and re-lubricating drivetrains if you look around).

[Mania]

Thanks, that was very helpful. I don't think it's the structure since my new E233 and the old E231 share the same chassis mostly as far as I can tell (difference is in the cab cars mostly), though that one runs flickerless. I took apart one of the cars on the E231, and there was a slight mark on the brass rail where it contacts the truck which I wiped off but it didn't really make a difference. I think I'll try swapping the trucks between the E233 and the E231 to check if that's the problem.

 

As for the noise, I'll try greasing the gears, since them having dried up does make sense to me.

[Mania]

I've resolved the problem; it seems the wheels were just dirty right at the flange, where I guess my Q-tip could not reach. A more careful cleaning of the trucks and now it's running bright and flickerless. Boy I feel silly...

 

The noise was caused by dust in the gears, and I have also cleaned that out now. I guess I haven't stored this train as well as the older 205, leading to dust and such getting in and fouling up the motor/wheels leading to noise and bad contact.

[cteno4]

Mania,

 

LOL, sorry folks here will knee jerk ask if the wheels and track are clean as its like the old tech support question tree, #1 is it plugged in, #2 is it turned on (usually half the calls end here with an embarrassed oh...)

 

its sometimes hard to see the muck on the wheels as the shiny surface make all sorts of reflections.

 

#1 i run my finger on the track. if you come up with black lines on your fingers hit the track with cleaner. you can also feel oil on it as well that may not be black but can cause small flickers.

 

next the wheels. one trick is to just put a paper towel across the tracks. soak it in isopropanol and then run the car by hand back and forth across the paper towel. you will see two big black lines appear with dirty wheels. move the paper towel and repeat. keep doing that till the lines stop appearing. usually pretty good at getting the whole wheel and flange surfaces and the corner clean.

 

then its to looking at the contacts and getting more involved at tearing things open to clean, but probably 90% of the time the first two get it, but if those dont then its like ken said of dirt or oxidation on the pickups, springs, etc. and more involved.

 

dust may just be on the tracks as well and gets sucked into the gears easily. small cat hairs and carpet fibers are also nasty as those can really get wound up in gear boxes. one big gotcha running on carpet... sometimes you see this stuff easily thru the bottom gear holes other times you dont until you pull the truck apart and you are amazed at the wad of gunk caught up in there!

 

this kind of maintenance is a continual cycle with the trains. just go down the list from easy and usual to the more rare and hard

 

glad its working again and life is good!

 

cheers

 

jeff