[keith]

hi can anyone help me please i have put a decoder into a tender driven loco,the problem i have now is that it is running very jittery (stop-start) how can i get it to run a lot smoother?

 

[Brian]

Keith
First I assum the loco ran ok on DC power?
Had similar problem with my Hornby tender drive DCC conversion. I finally found the problem to be lack of good connection between loco and tender. To overcome this I have hard wired the tender to the loco by running a jumper wire between the loco and the tender which has overcome the problem. (If your loco is the latest tender drive from Hornby then two jumper wires are needed) Before going ahead and soldering jumper wires, I'd check the connecting pin and its mating contact on the tender are clean - Clean with a fibre glass brush as need be and also check all wheel on both loco and tender are clean too.

 

[60134]

3 pole or 5 pole motor? A 5 pole will be much happier with DCC.

60134

 

[Dennis David]

You might also want to specify the actual model. I gather with older locomotives and three-pole motors certain decoders may work better than others.

 

[Doug]

On top of what has been said above, remove any capacitors that are left on the motor.

 

[neil_s_wood]

.....and check your wheels and track are clean.

 

[Ozzie21]

Have a look at the wheels and see if the pick up wheels have traction tyres on them. If they do make sure the wheel flanges are clean and that the pickups on the backs of the wheels are clean. If there are any RF suppression capacitors across the motor remove them as the decoder can see these as a short. If the motor is a three pole pancake job, toss it in the bin and fit a five pole or convert the loco to loco drive if it can be done.

Ozzie21

QUOTE (keith @ 17 Jul 2006, 18:03) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>hi can anyone help me please i have put a decoder into a tender driven loco,the problem i have now is that it is running very jittery (stop-start) how can i get it to run a lot smoother?

 

[Makemineadouble]

I have 75 loco's that run under DCC, not one is tender drive. I've found from experience that control of the Ringfeild motor is poor and torque is non existant. My advice is find a nice display case or put it on Ebay.

 

[keith]

thank you all for your help .i will try to answer some of your questions the train is a hornby oo loco (the football team one everton)sorry but i dont know more about it than that.it is fitted with a lenz silver decoder.i am not sure what motor it as in it i dont know any thing about the different motors.the track is clean an the pick ups are.hope this can help you solve my problem.

 

[60134]

I've never had a problem with Fleischmann ringfield tender drives (apart from a recent batch that all had the wheels set wide of gauge - what's going on Fleischmann?) and it is possible to retro fit a 5 pole armature in the Hornby 3 pole motor. NB the notes above about capacitors.

60134

 

[Ozzie21]

If you are unsure of what to do try taking it back to shop where you bought the decoder. If they are a half decent lot they should be able to provide you the assistance you may require. Also they may spot the source of the problem. Diagnosing a problem like this can be difficult but if you are unsure of the exact nature of the problem all we can give is a set of generalisations to try and see if it cures the problem. If you bought via the internet then you may have to locate someone in your local area that would be willing to help with your problem.

Ozzie21

QUOTE (keith @ 18 Jul 2006, 17:29) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>thank you all for your help .i will try to answer some of your questions the train is a hornby oo loco (the football team one everton)sorry but i dont know more about it than that.it is fitted with a lenz silver decoder.i am not sure what motor it as in it i dont know any thing about the different motors.the track is clean an the pick ups are.hope this can help you solve my problem.

 

[Makemineadouble]

You might want to try another decoder, this sometimes helps. I would think is possible to retro fit the five pole motor if it's an older loco, ( model spares Burnley ) or East Kent models could advise you better on this. If you desperate for smooth running perhaps look at a comet chassis, I prefer this option, using insulated drivers.

 

[Ozzie21]

I had a look at the spares part list for the Footballer and it already has the five pole Ringfield so the motor should in theory be okay. You need to look carefully at the motor because between the motor brushes is a capacitor, a round brown disc like object, with a carbon ferrule fitted to both leads of the capacitor. This needs to be removed. You can do this by desoldering the capacitor or simply cut it off where it is soldered to the brush holders. This part is there as a supressor for RF noise which can affect you TV or radio reception but is unneccasary if you are using DCC and is also a voltage gobbler than can cause problems when programming. The other thing is the values you have programmed into the various CV's of the decoder can have a bearing on the locomotives running qualities. But first remove the capacitor then if you are still having problems tell us what values you have programmed into the Cv's of the decoder.

Ozzie21

QUOTE (keith @ 18 Jul 2006, 17:29) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>thank you all for your help .i will try to answer some of your questions the train is a hornby oo loco (the football team one everton)sorry but i dont know more about it than that.it is fitted with a lenz silver decoder.i am not sure what motor it as in it i dont know any thing about the different motors.the track is clean an the pick ups are.hope this can help you solve my problem.