# Sputtering Athearn



## Mister Bill (Jan 30, 2014)

I have several DCC engines, and they all ran fine right out of the box. They seemed maintenance free. After three months, my Athearn Genesis GP7 started sputtering. It goes 3 inches and stops, sputters, starts, 3 more inches, then maybe three or four feet, then it starts all over. I keep my track clean and cleaned the Athearn wheels, which did not look dirty. 
My other engines run fine over the same places. 
Any ideas where to start troubleshooting.

Bill


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

You could have a loose or broken wire that
is causing the loss of electrical conductivity.

It's not unusual for one of the power pickup
wires to break off at the truck.

Does the light flicker as the loco sputters?

Don


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## Genetk44 (Feb 26, 2016)

DonR said:


> You could have a loose or broken wire that
> is causing the loss of electrical conductivity.
> 
> It's not unusual for one of the power pickup
> ...


Also the if the decoder wiring is using those little clip things to attach wires to it, one of them could have come loose


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## Mister Bill (Jan 30, 2014)

Thanks, guys.
I could answer both yes and no to all of your questions.
It worked better on my Zephyr rather than the 4TD remote.
It turns out to be a problem in my track work somewhere. The unit runs fine on the main line but shorts out on the branch.
I need to take a timeout and trace my wiring.

Bill


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