# New loco with questions



## RyanMac (Dec 29, 2011)

Just picked a "new" Spectrum GE 8-40c from eBay. It appears to have never been run. I tested it on a small oval and it handles the corners ok but is very loud. Could this just be a symptom of needing to be broken in? If so, how do you guys generally break in new motors? A final question, I have seen 8-40c's and dash 8-40c's. What is the difference?


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## THE TYCO MAN (Aug 23, 2011)

A 8-40C has a regular cab and the 8-40CW has a wide cab like modern engines. I break them in by running them train free and run smoothly and gently. Run slowly and then speed it up to 55-60. Check and make sure the gears have plenty of grease and bearings have oil. Heres a prototype difference:

http://www.railpictures.net/showphotos.php

http://railpictures.net/showphotos.php

W is a acronym for Wide Cab.


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## RyanMac (Dec 29, 2011)

Thanks for the heads up. I tried applying the handrails, the side rails stuck pretty good but the front back and small rails don't want to stay. What does everyone use to glue stuff like that? Model glue, super glue?


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## THE TYCO MAN (Aug 23, 2011)

I like Crazy Glue super glue. The one I like has a external tube that acts as a storage tube. Just a very light bead is all that's needed.


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## RyanMac (Dec 29, 2011)

Sounds good. I opened the shell and it looks like the worm gear and running gears have never been greased. I guess that is at least some of the noise issue. Does it have to be hobby grease or can I use standard white lithium grease? And what would the most important oil points be?


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## Xnats (Dec 5, 2010)

I would stay away from using to much grease. If you use on off brand just make sure it is light and won't harden up over time. I think White Lithium is too thick for N scale. If you have sewing machine oil or hair clipper oil, that works wonders. Just a little to lubricate. If parts gets saturated they will start collecting to much particles and other junk.


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## RyanMac (Dec 29, 2011)

If I just put a drop on the worm gears will that be enough to make its way down to the running gears?


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## Xnats (Dec 5, 2010)

For the most part it should. The nice thing with oil, it will run to where it needs to go. The only draw back to oil is more maintenance since it does not have the long life of grease. N Scale are so prone to the finer particles they need weekly cleanings if run a lot anyway. Adding a little oil during cleaning isn't that much more to do. There was a thread from last year by Shay about engine maintenance but I can not find it. It was a good one though.


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## RyanMac (Dec 29, 2011)

Ok I'm back, I put less than a drop of light oil on each worm gear. Ran it in both directions at various speeds, and it seems a little better going forward. Reverse is a different story. It has a hum to it like it is drawing and is not as smooth. What should.I look for?


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## Xnats (Dec 5, 2010)

Maybe this will help








A: Make sure this is clean real good and oil the whole shaft groove with a light coat of oil.
B: This part should already have grease from the factory, most likely to much too. While the whole truck is off, run it over a clean surface and make sure there are no contaminants stuck onto the gears. They should work perfectly with no restrictions or binding. If grease is needed make sure you use Plastic Compatable stuff. I have decided I like teflon stuff the most. 
C: The worm gear get a drop of oil.
D: I use the slightest drop of oil on the whole truck. One on top where the gears are exposed and on the bottom (there should be weep holes, showing the bottom side of the gears). There should already be grease in there, the oil just helps thin it out. 

If all this seems good run it for a good 20 minutes in each direction at around half speed. If you have already done this we will have to start troubleshooting. Here is the whole schematic http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/dwg/dwgs/N850X-IS001_2.PDF


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## RyanMac (Dec 29, 2011)

Okay I finally took it all the way apart. It did have some chunks of old grease. I lubed and cleaned everywhere mentioned from previous post. The wipers were dirty and a universal on the front driveshaft had a hair wrapped around it. After reassembly I put it on the track naked, the chassis not me by the way, and looking closely noticed that the rear flywheel and driveshaft were moving at different speeds. From the front end to the rear flywheel it is moving in sync but the rear driveshaft is slow. Now itthe makes sense why I was getting the problem going in reverse. Ok so now the question, what do I do?


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## Xnats (Dec 5, 2010)

Try reversing the front and rear trucks and hope for the best, lol.
Just make sure there is no binding on the rear shaft on the knuckle joint or from the holding clips/ where is sits in the frame. If it still seems slower, I would just pull the motor out and test it. If it is good start the reassemble process again and test as you go without using the bachmann lightboard. Try using a 1.6 volt battery or other power source directly to the motor. Once the motor is in the frame use the wiper pickups to power the motor, with the battery.

option two

since it is new, Call Bachmann and see what they say, it should be under warranty.


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## RyanMac (Dec 29, 2011)

Its new, but was an ebay purchase so unless I'm wrong it probably won't be under warranty. Should the shaft fit tight into the flywheel or should it be able to turn? Could it just be grease in the flywheel?


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## Xnats (Dec 5, 2010)

What are you referencing to by the flywheel? The top gear on the truck or something else?


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## RyanMac (Dec 29, 2011)

The large brass wheel between the motor and driveshaft. I am new to this so my terminology is probably off, what are these called then?


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## RyanMac (Dec 29, 2011)

part# N860X-MT009 on the earlier exploded view.


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## Xnats (Dec 5, 2010)

lol Don't ask me. I'm still in the stage of calling Ralph, Bob and Mike, Joe :laugh: 
But I think it should be a snug fit. My older HO's are a compression fit, I would assume it would be the same for Bachmann N Scale. It is mainly a balance for the shaft. If it was to loose and spinning on the shaft it would increase the drag on it and cause it to slow. I would think at least.


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## Xnats (Dec 5, 2010)

Where's an expert when you need them  Sean - Bob - help please


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## RyanMac (Dec 29, 2011)

Yeah the top speed for the loco is very slow in comparison to my older life likes. I thought maybe it was "scale speed" but maybe not.


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## Xnats (Dec 5, 2010)

Bachmann adds an overload protection onto their boards. If they get to hot they shut down and you have to wait for it to cool, before it will work again. I really think that causes all the problems. I just changed their decoder on my 44 tonner. When I was trouble shooting the little guy ran really good with out the board installed on DC. The board was actually slowing it down.


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## RyanMac (Dec 29, 2011)

I'm only running dc. Haven't graduated to dcc yet. Is there a problem running a dcc ready train on a dc track?


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

DCC ready no problem at all, it is still a DC engine, DCC Ready means it does NOT have a DCC decoder in it already, it needs to have a decoder installed.
DCC equipped, installed , or on-board, Does have a Decoder and YES it still will run on a DC layout you just do not have control of the lights and or sound.
The one you never want to do is run a DC train on a DCC layout, bad results are sure to follow!


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## Xnats (Dec 5, 2010)

Most of the new stuff no, as long as they followed NMRA standards. Most of the decoders are dual mode, which can handle DC or AC. Bachmann just does stuff weird with their boards. I think they add to much overload protection to help the new folks and kids from burning their train up but it does affect performance. In the long run it saves the motor and gives less warranty work.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

RyanMac said:


> The large brass wheel between the motor and driveshaft. I am new to this so my terminology is probably off, what are these called then?


Flywheels.


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## RyanMac (Dec 29, 2011)

Any ideas on what I should do about the movement?


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Ok sorry had to go back and reread the entire thread.#1 you need to check and see if just the flywheel is spinning on the drive line or if the drive live is spinning on the motor shaft with it naked, the engine not you, hold the engine in the air with it powered via the motor leads slow or stop the wheels by hand and see if the motor stalls or at least drastically slows, if it stalls or drastically slows then the drive shafts are fine, if not need to fix that, then try to stop the motor by stopping the flywheels if that does not happen then you have a loose flywheel, fix that.


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## RyanMac (Dec 29, 2011)

Ok now I have something to work with. Will.do.


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## RyanMac (Dec 29, 2011)

Alright i pulled the tube out of the brass flywheel, cleaned the grease from inside the flywheel and plastic tube with denatured alcohol, and put everything back together. When I insert the shaft into the flywheel, it snaps in place but still turns freely in the brass. Do I just have a defective motor? So do I try to adhere the two pieces together or just take a loss and try to get another motor?


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Just a little goo glue or silicone will stick the two together without a problem.


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