tmcc engine frozen

Trainzzzzzz posted:

Hello all,  I have a tmcc engine that responds to programming but when I switch it to run it does not respond.  I have noticed that the gears seem frozen.  Is there something I can do before contacting service. I bought it used and it has run fine earlier in the year.  Any help will be greatly appreciated.  Thank you in advance.

Ron

Engine item number helps tremendously.

1. Check open gears on the  drive trucks.  I've had small pieces of ballast get stuck in the gears.   IMO   Mike CT. 

2. Remove shell and see if spinning the motor(s) with your finger on the flywheel will free the jam.  

3. Once you have established free movement of both trucks mechanically, the trouble shooting would shift to electric, electronics problems. 

Thanks for the reply's.  Looking at it again this morning, I noticed that the front truck does not have a center gear wheel, whereas the rear truck does???  I am going to attempt to take off the shell and check the motors mechanically.

Looks like a gear is missing, look around the layout, you may find it.

Both trucks should look the same.  Missing gear/shaft/retension clip.  Internal gear would be out of place and the worm gear misaligned, probably jammed. IMO Could be wrong and often .  

OK, The flywheel turns freely, therefore the gears and wheels turn freely also. So am I looking at electronics?  I guess I try to find a local certified servicer.  

Just to be certain, set up a short length of test track and try it under conventional power.  

I see no reason to test further if the pictures are accurate!  There's a gear missing!

Did you turn both flywheel? Does it run in conventional and it should then check your anttena and try in tmcc. 1 gear off 1 truck I believe you'll still move in any environment providing the other flywheel/motor truck is not jammed and operational. 

I have one of those trucks in my hand.  The gear that is missing is the drive gear, the shaft goes all the way through to the other side of the truck and has a retaining clip on it.  You need to see why the wheels are jammed if they are, typically they'd be freewheeling with that gear removed.  That gear has the spur gear that engages the motor worm gear, so without it, the motor should spin free and the wheels should also spin free as they're not powered.

I have tried moving the wheels on both trucks manually and they will not budge. My engine does not have a switch to operate conventional. The only switch is for program/run. Along with a switch for sound/no sound and smoke/no smoke. I place the engine on the test track and power up the transformer, a low pitch hum is all I get, in program or run. I turn either flywheel and the wheels turn ever so slowly as the engine creeps along the track.   Thank you all again for this input, this forum is great for my abundant ignorance.  I do want to learn.

Ron

I'd love to see that power truck and understand how it functions without the drive gear!