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So here is a video that captures this "grinding/grating" noise coming from my E33. It happens reproducibly from the same areas of the track. Anyone know what this might be? Note: There is only one lead from the transformer to the FT, not sure if that's a problem or not. The noise can be heard around seconds 39, 46, and most notably at 1:03.

Fingers crossed that it's nothing serious. Please help.

Last edited by Deuce
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Train Nut posted:

Sounds like semi stripped gears to me.

Anyone else concur?  That'd be just awesome. My first brand new purchase from Lionel. Hasn't seen but five minutes of run time. At least it's still under warranty.

The only thing that makes me think it's not something wrong with the train though, is that it happens at the same exact spots around the track. If it's a gear, wouldn't it be intermittent/randomly spaced around the track?

Last edited by Deuce
Jushavnfun posted:

Sounds like the engine is rubbing against the 1x4's  to close to the track need more room for overhang.

At 1:03, where the noise is loudest, the train is on a straightaway and not near the 1x4's. That's the first thing I checked. I thought maybe it was scraping underneath, but the noise sounds "electrical" in nature (to me at any rate) at 1:03.

romiller49 posted:

With the speed of the noise it certainly sounds something like a dangling wire hitting the the flywheel sensor. This happened to me with a wire clip coming loose that was mounted directly above the sensor. It was a random sound. The shell must be removed to check. Good luck.

I'll take her apart and check. Thanks.

Happy to read the above.  Don't allow what you read on this forum to make you revert to thinking that any issue is automatically a serious problem.  Train layouts require hands-on troubleshooting and in a case like this there are many things that could be at issue prior to immediately suspecting the locomotive has  a stripped gear or similar.

Ray Lombardo posted:

Happy to read the above.  Don't allow what you read on this forum to make you revert to thinking that any issue is automatically a serious problem.  Train layouts require hands-on troubleshooting and in a case like this there are many things that could be at issue prior to immediately suspecting the locomotive has  a stripped gear or similar.

I definitely hope it's not a serious issue. Since it happens at specific points on the track, I'm going to (when I have time) take those sections apart and use different FT pieces, and on the back stretch, I will take the elevation away and see if those changes make a difference. If the sound crops up in other places, I'll open her up and see if there is another issue. It certainly sounds electrical in nature (especially at that 1:03 mark), and hopefully it's nothing more than a stray wire or a loose connection somewhere that shouldn't be happening. Fingers crossed!

Deuce posted:
It certainly sounds electrical in nature (especially at that 1:03 mark), and hopefully it's nothing more than a stray wire or a loose connection somewhere that shouldn't be happening. Fingers crossed!

Yeah, make sure it isn't a "static" sound from the sound system.  Check the wires and especially the wire connections to the speaker.  If you can unplug some of the wires and then replug them back in, see if that seats the connections better.

Stu

Ray Lombardo posted:

Happy to read the above.  Don't allow what you read on this forum to make you revert to thinking that any issue is automatically a serious problem.  Train layouts require hands-on troubleshooting and in a case like this there are many things that could be at issue prior to immediately suspecting the locomotive has  a stripped gear or similar.

Poster says in first post its a "grinding / grating" sound.  Certainly is described as, and sounds to me personally like a gear issue in the video.  Now the poster changes his original words to say it "definitely sounds like an electrical issue" ???     In my experiences electrical  problems don't  sound like that and happen at the same spot all the time. Gear issues do.  Again i told him what it sounded like to me, not that it was definitely the problem! So why dont you stop trying to stir things up....

Train Nut posted:
Ray Lombardo posted:

Happy to read the above.  Don't allow what you read on this forum to make you revert to thinking that any issue is automatically a serious problem.  Train layouts require hands-on troubleshooting and in a case like this there are many things that could be at issue prior to immediately suspecting the locomotive has  a stripped gear or similar.

Poster says in first post its a "grinding / grating" sound.  Certainly is described as, and sounds to me personally like a gear issue in the video.  Now the poster changes his original words to say it "definitely sounds like an electrical issue" ???     In my experiences electrical  problems don't  sound like that and happen at the same spot all the time. Gear issues do.  Again i told him what it sounded like to me, not that it was definitely the problem! So why dont you stop trying to stir things up....

If you can find the precise word(s) to describe that sound, I'd be more than happy to use it. I honestly don't know what the issue is. 

Last edited by Deuce

I'll third that it sounds like the flywheel is rubbing something under the shell, maybe even the shell itself.

IMO its not quite "harsh" enough to be gear chatter. I'd think with that much noise from gears there would be some noticable slowing or lurching as the speed control tries to compensate.

I had a Lionmaster steamer that lost a motormount screw. The motor would rise up out of the chassis creating a very similar rubbing sound to what you have.

RickO posted:

I'll third that it sounds like the flywheel is rubbing something under the shell, maybe even the shell itself.

IMO its not quite "harsh" enough to be gear chatter. I'd think with that much noise from gears there would be some noticable slowing or lurching as the speed control tries to compensate.

I had a Lionmaster steamer that lost a motormount screw. The motor would rise up out of the chassis creating a very similar rubbing sound to what you have.

So the consenus seems to be:open it up.

I'll report back when I have a chance to do so (hopefully Thursday night). Thanks everyone.

RickO posted:

I'll third that it sounds like the flywheel is rubbing something under the shell, maybe even the shell itself.

IMO its not quite "harsh" enough to be gear chatter. I'd think with that much noise from gears there would be some noticable slowing or lurching as the speed control tries to compensate.

I had a Lionmaster steamer that lost a motormount screw. The motor would rise up out of the chassis creating a very similar rubbing sound to what you have.

Yeah, it appears to run very well. Loose motor-mount or truck-mount screws can do this - open it up and check those flywheels.

Does it do this in both directions? Lose motor/truck situations can cause binding/noise in one direction, but not the other, owing to the pitch of the worm turning the spur gear and motor shaft direction. 

D500 posted:
RickO posted:

I'll third that it sounds like the flywheel is rubbing something under the shell, maybe even the shell itself.

IMO its not quite "harsh" enough to be gear chatter. I'd think with that much noise from gears there would be some noticable slowing or lurching as the speed control tries to compensate.

I had a Lionmaster steamer that lost a motormount screw. The motor would rise up out of the chassis creating a very similar rubbing sound to what you have.

Yeah, it appears to run very well. Loose motor-mount or truck-mount screws can do this - open it up and check those flywheels.

Does it do this in both directions? Lose motor/truck situations can cause binding/noise in one direction, but not the other, owing to the pitch of the worm turning the spur gear and motor shaft direction. 

I need to check to see if it does this in reverse. At the very minimum, I'll see if I can get out there tonight and check that, even if I can't get her opened up. Thanks.

John H posted:

I would check on the warranty. “Opening up” might not be covered 🤔

Hrm.  There is this comment in the manual:

Modification to this product in any way; visually, mechanically or electrically and / or evidence of any attempt of consumer repair voids the warranty in its entirety.

Well, that's inconvenient. I sent an email to Lionel with a link to the video. Do I sit on my hands and just wait until they respond to me?

Last edited by Deuce

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