Engine gets starts slow then speeds up

9172 Views 38 Replies 18 Participants Last post by Madstang, Jul 14, 2008

jimtronic

Discussion Starter · May 28, 2008

I'm trying to figure out why my engine seems to take a while to warm up. When I first bring it out, it runs very slowly and then after several runs, it eventually seems to go faster.

I just recently installed my track. It is 75' and a mix of lgb and aristo brass. I've been cleaning the track with a pole sander and making sure the pickups are clean and shiny. I've tested the voltage on the entire system and it is consistent.

I do have a 2-3% grade in some spots and the engine is so slow when it starts that it just can't make it up these hills. Once it has "perked" up it has no problem with these grades.

Jim

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Greg Elmassian

· #9 · May 31, 2008

I will tell you that your loco will run different speeds on brass vs. SS.

I have seen many posts confirming this. This is CLEAN track. The deal is that brass starts to oxidize immediately. Most people will never see or believe this until it is demonstrated for them.

I started with a loop of track of LGB and USAT brass. I then built my layout bit by bit, and slowly got rid of all the brass. I have all SJ SS rail clamps.

I noticed some time later that my train slowed down for just a bit on the far side of the layout. Sure enough, there was a 1 foot straight of brass still in there!

So, you might check to see if this is a contributing factor.

Regads, Greg

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Greg Elmassian

· #12 · Jun 7, 2008

In the first post, the behavior is described as:

"I'm trying to figure out why my engine seems to take a while to warm up. When I first bring it out, it runs very slowly and then after several runs, it eventually seems to go faster. "

If this was a power supply problem, it would be the same at first and later, unless the power supply was severely overtaxed. But if that was true, it would get worse as the power supply overheated, not at the beginning.

He gets slow operation at first when the power supply would be at it's best.

The problem seems to be elsewhere.

Regards, Greg

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Greg Elmassian

· #17 · Jun 9, 2008

Bubba, re-read his first post. That will convince you it is not the track power or cleanliness.

Could he have corrosion or dirt on his wheels? Not likely that it would clear up by itself.

Thick grease is the first theory I have heard so far that fits what we have been told so far.

Regards, Greg

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Greg Elmassian

· #21 · Jun 10, 2008

Yeah, thought about that, he said he cleaned the sliders, so sort of assumed that any lack of spring tension would have been reported, but we need a definite "checked that" on this one I will completely agree.

Regards, Greg

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Greg Elmassian

· #25 · Jun 22, 2008

Well, could be the power pickups are not working well at first... I'd pull the loco apart and check the path of electricity from rails to motor. Clean the wheels, and you should not need wd 40. Maybe your track is dirty, and fix the track.

The things you are saying now do not really match what you originally posted, i.e. bad rail joints.

Let us know what you find helps, then we can help the next guy faster!

Regards, Greg

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Greg Elmassian

· #34 · Jul 3, 2008

Jim, you cannot expect that transformer to run both locos... In fact, you really should get another one, 1 amp is marginal on one loco...

Try a larger capacity transformer, and then report back...

Funny, none of us guessed this....

Greg

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