Sorry for the disappearance. I ended up getting completely sidetracked and had to take this off the front burner.
First sidetrack: no 9v battery in the house. I figured as long as I was going to open the engine up again, I'd install a NiMH battery instead of a NiCd. It turns out 9v NiMH batteries are now as scarce as hen's teeth, and considerably more expensive! The only place I could find one locally was Radio Shack, and they wanted $25! No way!
So the engine sat while I took care of other items.
Tonight I set up a 3ft piece of track and connected a TIU through Fixed1. I left the BCR in from before, just to see what would happen. I let the engine sit at 18v for several minutes, and tried again to add it to the remote. It took! I have complete control: horn, bell, couplers, smoke, motion.
But all is not well. The engine now stutters and jerks every time I set it in the forward direction. In reverse it is as smooth as silk.
I checked both trucks for binding and foreign objects and found none.
I also set the track to be powered through Fixed2. W/o a jumper to Fixed1, the TIU is off. The engine responded perfectly in conventional mode. Forward and reverse are smooth as silk. Which means the problem is not the motor or gearing, but rather the electronics. What should I check next?
Chris
LVHR
