Re-Motor Athearn DD-40

[Illinbah]

DD40 Motors

When I bought the DD40 I did all the lube and cleaning etc. They are the old grey motors so I would like to replace with new gold flywheel types but Ahearn have several different part nos. So which one to use. I have looked at the motor in a bluebox AC4400 with gold motors but am concerned that if using that type the flywheels would be touching as the motor spacing is 76mm in the DD40 and in the AC4400 the motor including flywheels is 81mm. Reducing the length of the flywheels may be an option. What I really need is more detailed specification of motors available from Ahearn.

thanks Paul

 

[thaddeusthudpucker]

I would actually not use Athearn motors.

Can motors would run a bit more smoothly. See:
http://www.micromark.com/motor-drive-system,9872.html

Dont worry about that wierd looking clippy-doodle, use it but use some strong adhesive to glue it to the frame.

 

[Illinbah]

Thanks Nathan that is the sort of information I am looking for.

Cheers
Paul Andrews

 

[tandmsimmons]

dd40 & digitrax sdh164

My dd40 is an older metal side frame dual motor with connected drive lines. The motors have no fly wheels. The loco runs great on dc power. I installed a digitrax sdh164 but it got cooked somehow. Digitrax sent me a new decoder so I'm thinking about trying again. Has anyone wired one? What did you do if you have wired one? I'm not interested in opinions. Digitrax says it will work if I wire the motors in "parallel" I'm not sure what that means mechanically.
My first attempt I wired the decoder directly to both using two wires running off each of the decoder + & -. Lasted about four hours.

Thanks let me know if you have experience.

 

[diburning]

Yikes.

1. The metal sideframes can short on things inside the loco, or even to the frame. Shorts can fry decoders.

2. If your motors don't have flywheels, then they are the really old motors (gray colored?) that draw way too much power. The decoder would fry just trying to run one of those motors, let alone two.

 

[Iron Horseman]

The thing is, I don't know if you'll be able to lash up two Athearn RTR/Genesis/Kato motors though because I don't think anyone makes a shaft with the hex end on both ends (they all have a hex on one end, and a dogbone on the other) You'd have to splice together two driveshafts somehow to connect the two motors mechanically.

remove the plastic and connect the drive shafts directly with plastic/rubber tubing. I have found that fuel line tubing is good.

 

[TrinityJayOne]

Digitrax says it will work if I wire the motors in "parallel" I'm not sure what that means mechanically.
My first attempt I wired the decoder directly to both using two wires running off each of the decoder + & -.

What you had was a parallel circuit, that is each motor was connected to the decoder independent of eachother. The other type is "series", where components are wired one after the other, or in series, hence the name. This diagram shows both.