I had read much about this loco’s smooth running, but not everyone’s idea of good low-speed operation is the same, so I was very anxious to see what all the fuss was about. I got mine just a few weeks ago, and it does indeed have a very smooth-running mechanism. I had mine apart and was able to determine the drive ratio by manually spinning the flywheel, using a mark as a guide, and was amazed to see it as 40:1. However, the electronics don’t wake up until there’s about 6.5 volts on the tracks (with the pure sine wave from a Z4000), and at that voltage the engine starts out at 7 smph. Not a smooth start, if you ask me. So, I attempted to lower this by wiring a diode in between the e-unit and the motor. Specifically, inside the engine, I cut the red wire going to the motor and spliced it in. Nothing happened. I tried using two different diodes, each of which I know work, and the motor didn’t budge. Did I put the diode in the wrong place? I’m thinking that if we can get the motor starting at about 5.5 volts, this engine will really crawl.
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