QUOTE (Saint Johnstoun @ 6 Oct 2008, 05:10)
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>I recently bought a Hornby King William III.
The loco runs fine on my rolling road test unit but on the track it seems that there is a pickup problem.
It tends to stall in certain places on the track. My track is clean!
Now it's the only loco that I have that is doing this on my layout - any idea of a problem with this chassis?
It is of course the later loco drive variety.
****I'm guessing it stalls on non straight sections of track. Its probably pickup adjustment needed, plus a little TLC. H & B don't always make the pickups work as well as they should, but its easy to fix.
Turn it upside down and look how the plate securing the driving wheels is fitted. probably 2x small screws. Remove it carefully and adjust the pickups to add a little more pressure. replace it.
Now apply power to the wheels while its upside down. (DC or DCC, doesn't matter)
Take a fibreglass brush (Maplin part # KR61R) hold it against the BACK of the wheels and polish from the edge of the flange to where the spokes start (thats where the pickups run)
Now take a cotton bud and put some contact cleaner (Maplin part # JP17T) on it... enough to wet the bud properly. (Its an aerosol product but don't spray it on the model)
While the wheels are spinning, apply to both the wheel tread and to the wheel back whee you just polished.
The loco should, if pickups were correctly adjusted, now work flawlessly.
regards
Richard
PS: Tony: a similar procedure should help your lima a wee bit too.