Model Railroading > Problem with Walthers HO SD70ACe?

Recently I bought my first Walthers HO SD70ACe, and right out of the box it seems to have an issue... Doing the break-in run they recommend, it ran smoothly and quietly at 50% throttle power (I run straight DC) for maybe 25-30 feet, then it suddenly stopped dead... I upped the throttle power from 50% to near 100% and it started moving again, only this time making a grinding sound, running much slower than before... I've since disassembled the unit, and have traced the noise it's making to the rear truck... I've noticed it has a massive amount of gear lube (the same consistency as Vaseline) slathered all over the gears inside, but I've yet to disassemble it further than this to clean up the gears...

Has anyone else had an issue like this? If so, is it the ridiculous amount of gear lube that's causing the binding and grinding, or is there another problem that's the culprit? Obviously I'm going to continue to work on it, trying to isolate the problem on my own, but I'm just wondering if anyone else has had the same trouble... I had considered buying another one of these models, but am having second thoughts now... I shouldn't have to tear apart a brand new model to fix a major problem like this one's having!

Thanks for any help or advice anyone can provide...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/22/16 17:02 by MC6853.

Hmmm didn't notice any break in instructions. Just put it on the layout with an Athearn one and it ran fine for a day and half before I had to leave for work
Michael T Kerner
Collinsville, IL

Posted from Android

Well I've pinpointed the problem (almost) and come up with a new one... I've figured out the issue is with the gears in the truck themselves; I suspect one is cracked or deformed... I'll never know, though, since the screws that hold the truck together are in so tight there isn't any tool in my arsenal that'll loosen them without breaking the truck or stripping the heads out... I also cannot figure out how the rear truck comes off of the locomotive... Those wires leading from the truck to the DCC board don't appear to disconnect at the truck, and disconnecting them at the DCC board is more of a project than I want to delve into, so it doesn't look like I can simply replace the whole truck... So the ultimate solution I've settled upon is to leave the rear truck disconnected, leave only the front truck powered, and never purchase another one of these models again...

You could call Walthers and have it swapped out. Might be a decent solution.

DevalDragon Wrote:
> You could call Walthers and have it swapped out.
> Might be a decent solution.
   I would call Walthers and explain your problem.  I bought 2 UP GP 30's and both of them had the same problem - In each case, the electrical pick-up only worked on 1 set of trucks, but not the other end.  They told me where to return,  and explain the problem, and after they received the returned units, they sent 2 replacements. 

   Frank, in Tennessee

I managed to find a big enough screwdriver to remove those tiny screws in the trucks... I've sinced e-mailed the Walthers parts department describing the issue; I'm going to try and order a new set of gears and hope it all works... Also succeeded in breaking the horn while trying to disassemble it again the latest time (D'oh!)...  I will still be sticking with the "never buying one again" plan, though...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/22/16 20:44 by MC6853.

GP30Frank Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> DevalDragon Wrote:
> > You could call Walthers and have it swapped
> out.
> > Might be a decent solution.
>    I would call Walthers and explain your
> problem.  I bought 2 UP GP 30's and both of them
> had the same problem - In each case, the
> electrical pick-up only worked on 1 set of trucks,
> but not the other end.  They told me where
> to return,  and explain the problem, and after
> they received the returned units, they sent 2
> replacements. 
>
>    Frank, in Tennessee

Did they reimburse you for the shipping costs, and how long did it take before the replacements arrived? I've never returned a model to the manufacturer before; funnily enough they all worked as intended right out of the box...

I had two experiences with returning a defective engine  One was many years back when Life-like was LIFE-LIKE.  My DCC ready
steamer would not work in DCC mode, burned up  a few decoders. Finally sent it back, it arrived back very shortly with a note saying:
"engines are tested in analog mode only."  Obviously DCC ready meant something different to them.  The other time was just recently
I needed to return a Rapido FL9.  The lighting effects were not  all operating and replacing the decoder did not work. I sent it back
and it came back in short order-  working properly with a note telling me what else they repaired and a few goodies in the box.
Talk about two radically different ways to handle a problem!!
You wrote "I would never buy ONE again."  I read that two different ways:  (A) I would never buy another one again, or (B)
I would buy at least two at a time (to have a spare in case the first was defective).  Maybe I am  reading more into that sentence
than is needed..
Good luck in getting your problem resolved.
Frank30
 

I agree that you should return it to Walthers.  Don't give up on this model.  I've had great luck with the five I bought and they run like Genesis or Atlas locos.

MC6853 Wrote:
>
> Did they reimburse you for the shipping costs, and
> how long did it take before the replacements
> arrived?

   As a matter of fact, they did reimburse me for  shipping the first units back to them.

   Frank, in Tennessee

Getting in touch with Walthers evidently rules out returning and exchanging it, mostly because I bought it, although brand spanking new fresh out of the box from a trusted, reputable, experienced seller, from a "certain auction site"... With that, any warranties go straight out the window, according to them...

I've asked about purchasing new gears for the rear truck, so we'll see how that goes...



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/24/16 10:56 by MC6853.