I recently made what appears to be a bad EBay purchase. An Bachmann On30 2-6-0 that had DCC and sound added. When I put it on the track and start the system I get sound, lights, bell, whistle BUT the engine will not move (the sound portion makes it sound like it is tooling down the track!). I also get one heck of a hum. At first I thought that it might be decoder hum, but now I think it is the motor. The large brass drum at the front of the motor will turn slowly then stop completely. Worm gear and gears do not move. So...bad motor? As I look at this thing I think maybe the best thing to do is cut the DCC/sound out and install it in another unit. Any advise?
While it may not be wheel binding (I'll trust you on this), it sounds as if there is binding somewhere from the flywheel (the brass drum), down through the driveshaft, gear tower, etc. Careful inspection (can you turn the flywheel easily by hand? Do the wheels then turn?) and perhaps disassembly is indicated I'm afraid.
I agree with Doug, at this point you really need to disassemble it to see what's binding. It could be any one of the gears, or it could be as far fetched as something (yarn/thread) wrapped round the motor shaft. Don't laugh, I have actually seen this before. It could be something lodged in the gear teeth. My gut feeling is that since the motor turned at all it is probably mechanical. But it still could be bad motor windings. Bottom line is you are not going to know until you can run/move the individual components manually. You wouldn't happen to live in North Carolina around the Charlotte area would you...if so I could take a look at it for you.
Thanks guys. I can turn the flywheel by hand but the wheels do not turn. I suspect that when the previous owner installed the DCC/sound he did not get everything back in the right position. I will take 'er apart and see what I can do (really at this point the thing is nearly apart anyway with my poking and proding). Wish I lived close by, but alas I am in the middle of nowhere, also known as New Mexico...
In short "no" and "no" I bid pretty high because the photos looked good and the guy seemed to have known what he was talking about. All sales final in his rules. When I got it I really thought he must have photoshopped the pictures he took because I can tell you the great paint job in the pics looked like a three-year old did it in reality. Since I have never installed DCC/sound I am always interested when I find a loco that has already been modified. I have had great luck with this on EBay in the past. I guess it is just the law of averages. Since I did spend so much on this thing I want to do everything I can to save it. If I can get the mechanism working properly, stripping the bad paint will not be that big a deal. If it is a bad motor I guess I can strip the DCC out and try to put it in one of other locos...something that scares the heck out of me
