Ives 1122 Motor Trouble

The Motor Doctor rebuilds armatures. Give him a call.

Larry

Thanks for the info Larry. I'll look him up.

Has anyone with these engines had to replace their brushes?

@TrainMan777 posted:

Thanks for the info Larry. I'll look him up.

Has anyone with these engines had to replace their brushes?

Yes, unfortunately like other Ives O gauge motors of that era, they are soldiered in place onto the brush holders.

You should be able to send the whole motor out when you have the armature rebuilt and whomever does that work should be able to replace and adjust the brushes.

That being said, your brushes don't look too bad.  I would probably try to use them as they are.  They last a long time.  Usually I find them completely worn down to the holder arms and its scraping on the commutator face because someone has over adjusted it.  They need to be adjusted to apply just light pressure to the commutator.

Thanks for the info Ives1122!

I was browsing ebay late last week and managed to score a deal on a parts 1122 that was missing a bunch but had a working motor. I received it and was able to swap the armature from that locomotive into my motor. I bench tested it and its working now! I cleaned up some wiring and put it back together and now need to do a track test. I had some issues with one set of drive wheels wanting to hop a tooth but with the drive rods on it seems to hold, we will see after the rail test.

It was interesting to see some of the motor parts that were different on this locomotive versus the one I had, minor differences in how the brush plate and armature holder were constructed along with an extra sleeve on the armature. I didn't reuse these parts as it pushed the brush plate out some and resulted in the it not fitting into the boiler due to what looks like some shoring up that was performed on one side of the cab at some point in the past which I know is a common failure point on these engines (the parts locomotives cab didn't survive the shipment too well)

Anyhoot thanks for all the help everyone.

@TrainMan777 posted:

Thanks for the info Ives1122!

I was browsing ebay late last week and managed to score a deal on a parts 1122 that was missing a bunch but had a working motor. I received it and was able to swap the armature from that locomotive into my motor. I bench tested it and its working now! I cleaned up some wiring and put it back together and now need to do a track test. I had some issues with one set of drive wheels wanting to hop a tooth but with the drive rods on it seems to hold, we will see after the rail test.

It was interesting to see some of the motor parts that were different on this locomotive versus the one I had, minor differences in how the brush plate and armature holder were constructed along with an extra sleeve on the armature. I didn't reuse these parts as it pushed the brush plate out some and resulted in the it not fitting into the boiler due to what looks like some shoring up that was performed on one side of the cab at some point in the past which I know is a common failure point on these engines (the parts locomotives cab didn't survive the shipment too well)

Anyhoot thanks for all the help everyone.

If your gears are trying to "hop a tooth", it is possible that your axle bushings are worn out.  You can test this by grabbing the drive wheels with your fingers and wiggling them to see how much play the axle bushings have.

Unfortunately another common failure point.  Apparently people didn't lubricate them very often, as I find many that have become egg shaped.  Replacement bushings are not directly available specifically for Ives.  You'll need a skilled person to adapt some S gauge bushings or make a set for you on a lathe.

If they are bad, you could possibly use the other motor chassis and swap it into your working locomotive.  It is usually possibly to remove the non-gear wheel by twisting it on the axle gently back and forth until it comes off.  Then pull the axle out attached to the gear wheel and swap them into your other chassis.  Red loctite is your friend when putting the non gear side back on, but make sure it is a clean, dry surface, and you get the quartering correct.