HO Athearn Genesis FEF-3 4-8-4 Problems

[parrthd1]

I posted this under the HO Scale thread but was afraid I put it in the wrong place...

Ok, So for Christmas I received An Athearn Genesis FEF-3 4-8-4 UP #8444 in Greyhound scheme... And my overall impression was good! It is an amazing sounding and looking locomotive... Although just when I thought Athearn had finally fixed the problem I have had occur on ALL of my Genesis locomotives, It started...

At periodic points on ANY Layout I put it on... Even BRAND NEW and cleaned track, It shorts out/pauses, then moves on... Its just annoying...
The lights, sound, and motor stops.... Like it looses power for a second then moves on...

I have had this problem with my SD60I and my GP9, and now this.

In my SD60I and GP9 it was one of the trucks lead wires had come loose and wasn't picking up power, so an easy fix.

But the FEF is different, I believe the Locomotive Picks up the power, as the Wires plug into the tender, So how do I fix that... I haven't opened it up yet but I'm afraid if I do that I might just screw it up. Hence the reason I'm going to wait until I Get to the club to open it up. I just want to have some ideas of what is wrong and how to fix it.

Another problem is that when the locomotive is at speed, It sounds as if one wheel is off or something is dragging, But when I check it, nothing is wrong, it seems to be coming from under the cab... And just today, the mars light has stopped oscillating, it now stays solid...

Thanks.

-Jacob

 

[bnsf971]

First, check the wire harness, to make sure it isn't dragging on the track. Next, try gently pushing the individual wires back into the plug, to make sure none have come loose.
One of my fellow club members has one of these engines, and it will stop dead at random spots on the layout, and when it restarts, the chuffs are way out of sync.
As for the oscillating light, you may have to reset the decoder back to default, as something may have gotten scrambled.

 

[GN.2-6-8-0]

You don't say whether your running DC or DCC, we've found that when running DCC the problem will ly in the track work,dirty track,just take a tiny bit to cause a decoder to shutdown and restart,or a turnout that's not powered will do the same.this is why keep a live capacitors are increasingly popular.
Believe the new genesis series are now using the Soundtrax tsunami decoders and they do make a keep alive for them.

 

[Espeefan]

I would be inclined to agree. dirty track, dead frogs, or something in the plug or wiring. It's hard to imagine a locomotive with that large a footprint having pickup issues though! The fixed tender wheel sets should pick up power from both rails, as should the loco.

 

[parrthd1]

I would be inclined to agree. dirty track, dead frogs, or something in the plug or wiring. It's hard to imagine a locomotive with that large a footprint having pickup issues though! The fixed tender wheel sets should pick up power from both rails, as should the loco.

You don't say whether your running DC or DCC, we've found that when running DCC the problem will ly in the track work,dirty track,just take a tiny bit to cause a decoder to shutdown and restart,or a turnout that's not powered will do the same.this is why keep a live capacitors are increasingly popular.
Believe the new genesis series are now using the Soundtrax tsunami decoders and they do make a keep alive for them.

I agree... I am running DCC... And at my club transmission fluid was used to help conductivity, although it had a profound effect on pulling power... would you suggest rubbing alcohol or what cleaner/conductor would you suggest.

Thanks again

-Jacob

 

[Espeefan]

I usually clean wheels with Xylol or Xylene as I have it on hand but you can also use contact cleaner from Radio Shack. You need something solvent based to cut the ATF. Using ATF is nice for conductivity and to prevent oxidation but it is really easy to to use too much...as you have found out! My club uses Wahl clipper oil for teh same reasons but you just use a few drops on your fingers and put it on a small section of the rail and let the locomotives drag it around the layout.

 

[JimT]

Transmission fluid! That's just not right. I'm sure someone is trying to duplicate the effects of Wahl Hair Clipper oil, a drop every 50 feet of track does wonders for connectivity, doesen't seem to effect pulling power although I sure a scientific experiment would reveal it does. Wahl clipper oil about $4.00 a plastic bottle on fleabay.

 

[RBMNfan]

ATF is an old trick. My layouts have been too small for that. I am using Bar Mills No-Ox. It seems to work better when I run the layout daily otherwise the locomotive's stutter until a lap or two around the layout. I may have used too much. Supposedly gleaming where you burnish the track with a piece of steel (washer) works wonders.