Aristoctaft GE25UB RUNNING PROBLEMS

[TONYWARD50]

This loco is about 10 years old and I acquired it second-hand.
It runs well at slow speed but at higher speeds the motion is jerky and the lights flicker.
My first thought was that the wheels were dirty so they have been given a thorough clean.
Still no improvement.
The loco is chipped with a Massoth XL which is fine.
If it were to be a pick-up problem I would have thought that slow running would be poor.
I believe that the design of the current pick-up was changed at some time.
Has anyone else had this sort of problem ?

 

[Dave Hub]

Sorry to hear your problem, I have a similar problem with an old playmobil loco, its nearly 30 years old. I took a look inside and the gears are completely worn down therfore slipping gears.

Is your loco making any sort of strange noises when its going? or have you looked at the gears?

If its a digital, or electrical problem that is where I am a bit duff so perhaps others can shed more light on to the subject.

 

[GrahamMills]

If it were to be a pick-up problem I would have thought that slow running would be poor.

That would seem very logical and what I experience when the track is dirty.
If it has been OK and just started to be a problem then I would be more inclined to expect a mechanical rather than an electronic problem unless you upgraded your power supply around the same time.

 

[TONYWARD50]

I have just acquired the loco so there has been no change of contoller. All other locos are fine. It did originally have 2 LGB 55021 decoders but someone had put a metal weight inside the loco for ballast and this had become dislodged, effectively shorting out the decoders and all the lights ! I have replaced the decoder with a Massoth XL which was working well in another loco.

Any further thoughts as to what i should try next. I don't think it would be the gears as the lights go out when the loco stutters, so it would seem to be electrical, but I would have thought that the slow-running would have been poor if it was an elctrical problem.

 

[Zman]

Is it possibly at the limit of the capacity of the decoder ?

That would tie into the problem being at higher speeds, ie maximum current draw :thinking:
And which controller/power supply is in use?

The instructions for the loco can be found here;

http://www.aristocraft.com/techinfo/manuals pdf/22100_u25b.pdf

 

[GrahamMills]

As you will see from the Technical Manual there were major changes to the design in 1995 & 2002. It would probably be useful to know what model you have.

I tend to agree with Zman that it may be a power problem. Aristocraft locos do require a fair amount of current.

I must admit that I am beginning to get to the limits of my knowledge. However if you can give some more details of your set-up then someone else may be able to help.
[OL][*]Exactly which power supply and controller are you using?[*]What was the previous loco in which you fitted this decoder?[*]If you turn off the lights is it still as jerky or does it run smoother?[*]Have you run the loco on analogue? If so how did it perform?[*]Do you know anyone locally using DCC so that you can try the loco on their set-up? [/OL]

 

[AlanS]

I have changed all my Aristo Locos to run on Massoth XXL decoders due to their high current draw and have had no problems since. I originally ran them on Digitrax decoders but had problems with switch decoders as some may remember from previous forum. The XXL decoder is slightly more expensive but I feel well worth the extra in these locos.

 

[The Devonian]

Well, Tac beat me to it here, but I support his comments about Aristo low amperage consumption.

One of my power supplies is a 1.8A Aristo power supply: this will run two of my RS3, Center Can or 'Annie' locos quite easily.

 

[Ian Powell]

I was about to say the same as Steve. I run a few Aristo diesels but some of the older ones have had their motors replaced. The gearbox fails and the pickup is better on the new trucks. The older ones had pickups on the truck sides which tend to wear over time.

 

[spike]

Quite honestly I find all my Aristo and USAT locos quite frugal on Amps.

A pa/pb/pa lash with 7 usat coaches less than 8Amps on 2.5% grades.
Four Dash-9s with loads of cars less than 8Amps.

USAT stall currents are high but whois looking to stall their locos.

 

[GrahamMills]

Hi Guys,

I did say that I am not that experienced in this (especially when it comes to LGB products) but I believe that Aristocraft locos take a lot more current than (some) LGB ones demand. If Tony has a low powered supply that may be the problem.

[Mike, 8 amps seems a high current to me and more than a lot of power supplies produce.]
[Alan, I think that the RS3s only have one powered truck whilst the GE25 has two and therefore twice the current draw, but I may be wrong.]

As Ian says it could be the connections on an older generation version of the loco.

However I think that we really need some more information from Tony to be able to be more helpful.

 

[Zman]

However I think that we really need some more information from Tony to be able to be more helpful.

Until then, we're guessing! 8|

 

[TONYWARD50]

Thanks for all the feedback.
Here is some info to help...
There are no pickup wires attached to the axle end in the truck sideframe, and there are no bearings in the sideframes which makes me think it is POST 1995. Smoke unit was disconnected and the switches removed, but it is large, fan_assisted and has a 4 inch clear tube as part of the reservoir.

With lights turned off the unit still runs erratically on straight track.

The Massoth XL previouslz powered USA F3.

Power supply is Massoth Dimax 1200z.

Does this help, chaps _

 

[spike]

Thanks for all the feedback.
Here is some info to help...
There are no pickup wires attached to the axle end in the truck sideframe, and there are no bearings in the sideframes which makes me think it is POST 1995. Smoke unit was disconnected and the switches removed, but it is large, fan_assisted and has a 4 inch clear tube as part of the reservoir.

With lights turned off the unit still runs erratically on straight track.

The Massoth XL previouslz powered USA F3.

Power supply is Massoth Dimax 1200z.

Does this help, chaps _

The old motor blocks will have axel extensions that go into the sideframes....pre 99
Newer ball bearing trucks have no extensions and end with a screw....post 99.

Have a look at George Scheyers Aristo Brick Tune up at

http://www.girr.org/girr/tips/tips1/brick_fix.html