Sparking Pick Up Rollers

The wheels of the locomotive have to be clean also. All else being done, excessive sparking may be caused by a high current draw. Does the steamer have the old Pullmor motor, or a can motor? A Pullmor motor may need servicing.

It sounds like you do not have much speed control on the engine. Have the axle bearings been oiled lately?

Larry

Hi Larry, 

It has a can motor. The wheels are clean as well. There is not much speed control on the engine, just the way it is. Like I said, it is a "Lionel speed" engine which I don't care for much but it is not the end of the world. 

A few other notes - it seems to only do it when it hits track joints at high speed. This makes me think the rollers jump slightly when they hit a joint. Of course, no issues when running along the joint-less extra long straight tracks. I also experimented with an MTH PS2 steamer. I disabled the cruise control and ran it at a similar speed - sparks from the rollers. Only when cruise is off and the juice is cranked up. Like I said I have a hunch it may be the rollers jumping a bit when but I'd like to hear other opinions. 

Thanks again! I appreciate it! 

Do the rollers touch the railhead solidly when going over joints? Are the rail joints smooth, and the tracks pushed all the way together with minimal gaps? Also are the track connecting pins clean and free of dirt and rust?

Larry

Sometimes, depending on the roller setup, you can knock the pin loose that holds the arms and take the spring off and bend it for more tension. I just did that with a PW Alco engine and the sparks I was getting pretty much disappeared (there will always be some). 

Roger

The rollers appear to solidly touch the rail when going over joints but it is not the easiest thing to monitor and verify. Joints are reasonably smooth and as tight as you can get tubular track. There is a very small gap but not perfect. I've tried taping the rail ends to tighten up joints but it didn't do much. The track pins are all clean and rust free. Actually, the track is rather new. 

Roger - that was actually one of my thoughts but not the case here. That happened on another engine of mine and there was a lot of head scratching before I realized what was going on!

Like Larry said, high current draw for some reason. Not good.

Is the collector roller worn to a groove or channel?

How long is the loop and how many pair of hot\common feeders?

What is it about your track work that is not so great?

Track looks good.. Are the rollers kind of silver  like the old lionel rollers?  I believe MTH had a few brownish colored rollers that would spark. Anyway Excessive current draw(as mentioned above) may be the culprit.   Did you lube the  pin that goes through the roller, A little 3 in 1 applied with a tooth pick does wonders. A little goes a long way. 

The rollers are more of a brass color which appears to be pretty common. I've lubed the rollers but seen no change. 

Under  the roller assembly....is the wire to the assembly tight?

Roger

The tracks definitely need to be pushed together tighter so that the joints are seamless like the top rail in the 2nd photo.

If you have a voltmeter, check the voltage on either side of the track joints. The readings should be identical.

Larry

Roger - Yes that is tight and everything under there looks good. 

Larry - I agree. Guess I'll have to work it some more. I've been half-tempted to go to Fasttrack anyway so maybe I'll end up changing over. 

If you alligator clip leads to the problematic engine and power it that way (holding it in your hand), does the motor accelerate smoothly? And in reverse?

Roger

Roger 

Thanks. I do not have an alligator clip, although I probably should get one, however run on the track it appears to have no trouble accelerating front and back. 

In case you missed it, this engine is OK at slower speeds but sparks at higher speeds. All of my other engines but 1 are command control and have cruise control. I can disable it and see the same results at high speed, which is what I did for testing but those are fine when running with cruise turned on (all the time). Thanks again. 

try putting a touch of oil on the middle rail.

Tom, 

I'm sorry for not getting back to you sooner. I did try that but didn't see much of an improvement. I'm half-tempted to swap out my track for Fasttrack which is something I've been wanting to do for a while. We'll see!