I have many of these models, and have a problem with two of the. One is a FA1(just one out of three units) and the other a GP7 (one out of four units). The problem is this: When first powered up, it runs quite jerkily(is that a word?). After running for a minute or two, they run smoothly. This is obviously not acceptable, and I have found no cause yet. I routinely install decoders in all my locos without running them first, because I've never had a problem before. Assuming I had bad decoders, I returned the locos to analog but they exhibit the same problem. Has anyone out there had a similar problem? If anyone can help with this I would really appreciate it. Gary
<font color="336633">I have never heard of this with a P2K loco, have you tryed putting a decoder out of one of the other units to see if that works?, if not I think a trip back to lifelike may be in order</font>
I have this problem as well. I have a GP30 that "stutters" upon start up, but after a minute of running it is fine and pulls great! I don't run DCC so it is not your decoders in my opinion. My track is clean (my other P2kS run great on it) and the trucks are brand new and seem to be within acceptable tolerances. I don't have any idea as to what the cause is. But, you are not alone!
A little more information: Yes, I did swap decoders and they are fine. I decided to remove the pcb with the decoder socket and hard wire the decoder in, still the same. I had thought perhaps one of the electrical components was bad, and frankly don't know what they are all for. I haven't traced the circuit to figure it out. The diodes I assume are for directional lighting when running analog, the two transistors I don't know. But, figuring the motor should run on straight DC, I twisted the leads from the rails and the leads from the motor together, and ran it sraight. It was misleading at first, as i thought it was now running ok, but when I let it sit several hours and ran it again, it still had the problem. So the problem is in the motor or mechanism. I don't see why the mechanism would have a problem for the first minute and then be ok. But I've never seen a motor with this problem either. I guess I will disassemble and swap motors between two of the FA1's and see which one runs poorly after that. Then call Lifelike and ask for replacement parts. If anyone has other ideas. please let me know. Gary
I have had similar problems with my GP-30's. I am not sure but I think it is a problem with the wheels. After a thorough cleaning they seem to smooth out. Running them for a while also seems to help. Maybe there is a problem with too much lube in the contact area.
Lifelike has a superior life time warranty. If you return to them in Baltimore with $5.00 for their return shipping expenses, they will ship you a new chassis. When shipping, ship it prority mail,$3.45 plus .50 cents for delivery confirmation. A few days later, bring up the USPS web site and plug in the bar code #'s and you have instant confirmation of the item being received. Under normal circumstances, you would have a replacement in 8 days.
You might be on to something with the lube and wheel contact. My front trucks are way over- lubed now that I look at them. It was like someone poured the stuff on! Cleaning it off seems to help a bit, but there is so much on there that after running and then sitting a bit the stuff just oozes back on to the trucks.
I think you might have a lubrication problem, either in the drive system, or in the hi-speed portion, around the motors & fly wheels. I've seen this before, where a little movement and heat loosens things up and then it runs fine. I'd give it a thorough cleaning and lube it very lightly with some very light weight oil before giving up on it. Mark
Hi all, The problem (at least on the FA, I haven't opened up the GP7 yet) was indeed an over abundance of grease. Upon disasembly of weight and cab interior, a lot of oil was in evidence. Removal of the motor and trucks revealed more. I simply wiped all these areas with paper towels and q tips. However, I do not think total disassembly in this manner is required. The problem area is accesable by removing the cover on the bottom of the trucks, enabling removal of the wheelsets. The wheelsets have a square bushing which conducts power from the axle to the side frame. The point between the axle and bushing is the problem area, I believe. I soaked a q tip in alcohol, cleaned the bushing/axle area well, and let the alcohol evaporate. I also removed excess grease from all exposed gears. When the axle/bushing assy. was dry, I put a drop or two of conducta-lube on each assy. Upon reassembly, the unit runs fine. I want to paint and weather the plastic side frames on the trucks. It seems like they should simply pull off, but when I tried, they did not come off. I was afraid I would break them if I pulled harder. Has anyone done this? Is there a trick involved? I'd appreciate any info. Gary
Gary, you should be able to weather them right on the unit. I have pulled off P2K sideframes before, and you have to be VERY careful not to break the brake shoes. The do just pull off, but look closely at how to do it. But I always weather the whole unit, then run it on some alcohol-soaked paper towel to clear off the wheels. Then it's good to go.
