Athearn SD40T-2 Help


meanjean

meanjean

Member
I have a brand new Athearn RTR SD40T-2. Ran the loco a few times (30 min total) on DC. No issues. I then installed the Soundtraxx GN1000 decoder. Here is the problem. Sound works great loco runs great, when the front 2 wheel sets goes over the Frog on the switch the loco stops, sound restarts. I played with the loco and lift the entire rear truck off the track and the next 2 wheel sets to the point where only the front 2 wheels are in contact and the sound is still there. When I do the opposite, start from the front, I get the first 2 wheel sets off the rails and it looses all power? What’s going on here? Its as though the rear trucks are not conducting electricity. I gauged the wheels and they are good. I double checked the wires they look good. I did not solder the conections I used the little black clips only. Should I solder the connections?
This is the first of my problems. My 8 yo son decided to drive a train with out dad and I think he did some reprogramming and now a few locos dont work!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hi Chad: I had a similar problem with my LL SD45. I pulled the shell and checked continuity of each loco wheel with the pick up leads at the decoder. I did not have continuity with some of the wheels. I pulled the side plates off and lightly sanded them and cleaned any gunk out of the holes where the axles rode. And while I had it off the layout, I also cleaned the wheels with my Dremel. This restored continuity and it now runs fine. I'd check for continuity on your Athearn, as that might be your problem. That's where I would start trouble shooting. Hope you get it straightened out. DJ.
 
Chad, in addition to what DJ advised, does the switch have a metal frog? If so, this may be where your problem is occuring. Metal frogs are used in switches that are power routing and depend on the points to provide power. In DC, the points being a little loose against the stock rail will usually cause a small hesitation as the engine crosses the frog. With DCC, especially sound DCC, the slightest interruption in power will cause the engine to stall and the sound to reset. If this is your case, the best fix is to run wires from your main power bus to the frog, so the frog is powered.
 
The switches are Atlas code 83 #6 custome line. I dont have this issue with any other locos, not even a short switch engine. It may be the cause but I dont know why just this engine does this?
 
Sounds like a short at the frog. Try and put some clear nail polish on the frog so the road wheels from the engine don't short the gap. My SD45s will sometimes do this on my double crossover, all I did was put some nail polish on the track at that point and now the train doesn't short anymore.
 
It not the frog or the track. The loco will run when the front truck is on the track and the rear is lifted. When the front is lifted it dies. So I am not picking up and electricity from the rear truck. I pulled the wheels and check for anything odd but didnt see it. Suppose Athearn is aware and could help?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.



Back
Top