This 6 motor engine's electronic E unit stalls the engine when it goes over the switch or control track. The power is on with lights,but the engine stops unless going fast?
any suggestions?
Original Post
Replies sorted oldest to newest
I have 2 sets of K-line F-3s with TMCC and they both can creep over switches smooth as silk.
Steve C.
Hi
We have had some that had center roller pick ups brake there wires off and outhers that were just dirty. check them first.
Make sure all your roller pick ups are working.
Originally Posted by Backhoe:
This 6 motor engine's electronic E unit stalls the engine when it goes over the switch or control track. The power is on with lights,but the engine stops unless going fast?
any suggestions?
The original 6 motor sets came with an E unit that would make a chattering sound at lower voltages (noticeable when starting up.) There was a modification kit for the reversing board that K-line would send out for these sets upon request. Has this set had the upgrade to the E unit?
This is a new addition so I am not aware of any upgrade. Before sending for an electronic fix I will if the roller pickup is functioning correctly. Thanks
Backhoe
Originally Posted by Backhoe:
This is a new addition so I am not aware of any upgrade. Before sending for an electronic fix I will if the roller pickup is functioning correctly. Thanks
Backhoe
The first 6 motor set (KCC C&O) would make a grinding sound at lower voltages that was due to a design problem in the e unit. If your set is a different road name it may or may not have this problem. The 6 motor ABA sets were not in production that long and were replaced by the 4 motor (vertical/flywheel) sets that had dummy B units.
Originally Posted by KMK:
Originally Posted by Backhoe:
This is a new addition so I am not aware of any upgrade. Before sending for an electronic fix I will if the roller pickup is functioning correctly. Thanks
Backhoe
The first 6 motor set (KCC C&O) would make a grinding sound at lower voltages that was due to a design problem in the e unit. If your set is a different road name it may or may not have this problem. The 6 motor ABA sets were not in production that long and were replaced by the 4 motor (vertical/flywheel) sets that had dummy B units.
I have one of the original PRR ABA sets from 1998. It was a poor runner from the start: jack rabbit starts, poor speed control, noisey, problemmatic over some switches, etc. The only positive was plenty of pulling power. I decided it is a poor candidate for upgrading to command & control, so it essentially sits on a "ready" siding (it is a well-detailed, good-looking loco for the time).
I think K-Line realized its problems and came up with the much-improved 4-motor version soon afterwards.
paul m.
I had the command version of the K-Line Milwaukee Road A-B-A with six motors, it was never a good runner for me either. I looked into adding cruise, but that was a non-starter as all the motors were run from a single DCDR, somewhat amazing to me! While it was a decent puller, it wasn't any better than a four motored A-B-A, and those tend to be a lot more trouble-free. I felt lucky to sell it for what I had invested in it and move on.
K-Line had a fix at one time - adding a capacitor or something like that to reduce the voltage and make startup better.
Also adding a load of cars to your consist will help put a strain on the motors to make the start-up run smoother.
The command version didn't have a start issue, just didn't have cruise, and wasn't all that responsive for me. Glad to have moved on. 
