Eight Out of Ten Locos Run Fine... What to Do With the Other Two?

[Kisatchie]

Geez Charlie, did you have to post that story now and on this thread?  You probably scared the bejesus out of Kiz!
 

I'm getting killed in the stock market this year, so two locos that won't run is the least of my worries LOL.


Hmm... no wonder Kiz
rented out my treehouse...

[JMaurer1]

Originally it sounded like 20% of the locos you ordered were DOA...only to find out you killed one so it's more like 10%

Dead locos graveyard = Flee Bay?

[randgust]

Vincent, I think you'll get excellent service from your friends here on the forum.

Either that, or you can just yell.... RIGHT TURN DEE....

/>

[Kisatchie]

Dead locos graveyard = Flee Bay?

I'm pretty much finished with eBay. The last auction I won, I had to pay with a money order because when I tried to pay with a credit card through Pay Pal, both of my credit cards were rejected. Not worth the hassle.


Hmm... Kiz won't let me
get a credit card... says
I don't know the value
of a banana...

[Kisatchie]

Either that, or you can just yell.... RIGHT TURN DEE....

/>

Hmm... I'm just a very
delicate female...

[peteski]

I'm pretty much finished with eBay. The last auction I won, I had to pay with a money order because when I tried to pay with a credit card through Pay Pal, both of my credit cards were rejected. Not worth the hassle.

I seriously doubt that this problem was due to either eBay's or Paypal's fault.

As much as I didn't want to say that, I have to keep my signature image. 

[Hamaker]

I've been lucky and have had very good luck buying locomotives on e-Bay.  My best purchase was a "DC powered  BNSF GP-38" for $45.  Turned out it was DCC ! Only one didn't run too well out of the box.....cleaned the wheels and it then ran perfectly.  It's a good thing to check their approval rating and read buyer rating  comments of the seller.

[Dave V]

Taking an N scale steam locomotive apart takes a certain amount of courage, but most diesels can be disassembled and reassembled by modelers of any skill level.  Sometimes what is needed is a good cleaning and lubrication.  Other times you might find lint or other debris caught up in the gears.

Becoming comfortable with locomotive troubleshooting and maintenance goes a long way toward hobby enjoyment.  Many problems can be solved at the workbench in minutes versus waiting weeks for warranty repairs.

Some guys are big on pushing handlaid track or DCC...my "push" is to get more folks to do more of their own mechanical work versus relying on manufacturers, who don't always fix the problem, work quickly, or honor warranties.

[atsf_arizona]

I contacted  Atlas  in March 2016 about two locos that I'd bought new  (one of their new run of Shays, and a U25B) wanting to send in for warranty repair.

They said:  "we're happy to send you a repair authorization, but at that time (March 2016) we are running 10 - 12 weeks before you can get your loco back".

I sent them in on March 11.   10 weeks would be May 27 and 12 weeks would be June 9th.   I just got a call from Atlas (5/20/16)
yesterday saying they had just fixed my my locos.    So they were honest about the lead time.    When I get them back, I'll report back here.

Bottom line:  for Atlas at least, I suspect it'd be way faster to accept some offers of help here.   My 2 cents.

Hope that helps.

John Sing
Sarasota, FL
http://pbase.com/atsf_arizona

[Kisatchie]

I contacted  Atlas  in March 2016 about two locos that I'd bought new  (one of their new run of Shays, and a U25B) wanting to send in for warranty repair.

They said:  "we're happy to send you a repair authorization, but at that time (March 2016) we are running 10 - 12 weeks before you can get your loco back".

Wow, I'm glad I didn't just send my loco to Atlas without asking here first! 


Hmm... Kiz finally did
something right for a
change...

[kverdon]

Yeah, I sent my S2 back to Atlas for DCC repair on March 17th.  No Luck O' the Irish here, still waiting for it to come back.....

Kevin

[Flagler]

I am sure BLI will send you a replacement engine if you send it back. Use it as a learning experience and crack open the Atlas
engine.You will earn a merit badge and be able to service your fleet in the future

[Kisatchie]

I am sure BLI will send you a replacement engine if you send it back...

I took the shell off the Kato loco, and it sort of fell apart. It's not BLW's fault, so I don't feel right about sending it back.


Hmm... it didn't help
that I stepped on it too...

[C855B]

Late to the party, but I have a couple of thoughts...

The Kato NW2 is not my favorite to work on. Some of the bits are held in place by the body, and if you're not expecting it to disintegrate as you pull off the shell, you can be surprised, as you were. Then it's a minor feat of coordination and fine motor skills to get it back together, presuming you know where all the bits belong. For that matter, I have one on my bench that doesn't run so hot after installing a decoder - probably a shaft binding - so it's sitting in the roundtuit queue for a do-over.

Did you pop the shell off the RS-3 and verify it has no decoder? If the seller had a decoder in it and hastily pulled it out before selling, it could be something minor like a motor contact tab out of position.

Anyway, you've got many friends here on TRW, folks who know stuff. You're taking the path of least resistance in letting your buds help you out.

[Kisatchie]

Did you pop the shell off the RS-3 and verify it has no decoder? If the seller had a decoder in it and hastily pulled it out before selling, it could be something minor like a motor contact tab out of position.

I suppose it could have had a decoder in it already. When I took the shell off, it looked like a normal Atlas loco, but since I've never seen what an installed decoder in an Atlas RS3 looks like, I couldn't tell.

Oh well, I'll find out soon enough since I mailed it off to Rasputen (Brian) to look at.


Hmm... I looked at the
loco intently, but it didn't
help...