Who to go to for Lima Motor changes?

[brian1951]

Why do I need 20 locos? (Actually that is just the Lima tally.)

Because my main interest is in operation, and I will be operating a mainline and branch junction to a realistic timetable which you cannot do with just a few locos!

I am afraid the small three trains a day branch line is of no interest to me.

But as I said earlier, each to their own!

Cheers
Paul

I understand now Paul, cheers, good luck with it.

[Gareth 73]

I have to ask why do u want to change the motors?
The lima pancake motor that runs well on dc will work just as well with a hard wired dcc decoder sound or not. It's just the usual thing of keeping it clean. And fitting a stay alive capacitor really helps lima or any other make with dcc it's just that lima locos tend to have lots of room compared to modern locos inside.
Other option is some of the hornby railroad models are upgraded lima models that tend to be dcc ready or tts fitted anyway. So body swaps are sometimes easy.
Another point a tts chip with an upgraded speaker is a lot cheaper than say south west digital and is all u need in a lima model with say no lights etc tho easy to put in if so required.
To fit a lima 37 with a chip is a matter of 4 wires been soldered in place and isolating the motor bogie from it's pick ups. Probably took me less time than the soldering iron takes to warm up to fit a bog standard bachmann chip I doubt sound would be much harder depending where the speaker is to be placed.

[Tallpaul70]

I have to ask why do u want to change the motors?
The lima pancake motor that runs well on dc will work just as well with a hard wired dcc decoder sound or not. It's just the usual thing of keeping it clean. And fitting a stay alive capacitor really helps lima or any other make with dcc it's just that lima locos tend to have lots of room compared to modern locos inside.
Other option is some of the hornby railroad models are upgraded lima models that tend to be dcc ready or tts fitted anyway. So body swaps are sometimes easy.
Another point a tts chip with an upgraded speaker is a lot cheaper than say south west digital and is all u need in a lima model with say no lights etc tho easy to put in if so required.
To fit a lima 37 with a chip is a matter of 4 wires been soldered in place and isolating the motor bogie from it's pick ups. Probably took me less time than the soldering iron takes to warm up to fit a bog standard bachmann chip I doubt sound would be much harder depending where the speaker is to be placed.

I want to change the motors because the current drawn by pancake motors can exceed the current rating of chips.
My local model shop who have been undertaking sound chipping of locos for me advised me of this when I first discussed converting Lima locos with them.
I particularly wanted DMUs and AEC railcars converted as the forthcoming new models are expensive, although of better specification with lights etc. which I felt I could manage without.
They took in 4 DMus/railcars of mine to test for current drawn. They advised that only one of them drew a current low enough to be suitable for chipping, but to be safe we agreed first to fit a standard zimo chip rather than an expensive sound chip. The result was that the unit blew a chip when they were testing it after installation!

Yes, you are right that Hornby chassis can be substituted for some items and this has been done one some of mine already. However this depends on the availability and cost of the replacements which incurs costs because lima items with the wrong body for their boxes command a lot less than the Hornby rechassised items that need to be bought for rebodying.

I do hope that your class 37s do not suffer from Chip blow ups!!

Perhaps other readers can comment on their experiences in this direction?

Best regards
Paul

[Ron S]

That is the first time I have heard that Lima pancake motors take well over 1 amp as TCS M1P-UK & NCE D13SR decoders for example are 1.3amp continuous & 2amp peak draw.

[Mountain Goat]

I used 1 amp decoders and they were more then enough to handle the current of my Lima locos. I seem to remember testing them and finding they had a stall current of around 0.75 amps. Back in those days all 00/H0 decoders seemed to have 1amp max capability. The odd one went up to 1.5amps but was rare. (I am going back to 2000-2001 when I entered into DCC).
We had to take great care checking some locos as only N gauge decoders with a 0.5amp rating would fit. The Bachmann class 08 was a prime example.

I never had issues with Lima locos. Easy to convert via hard wiring. Plenty of space in their diesels... (I didn't convert any steam locomotives, but their class 09's were almost similar, and I managed them ok... Much easier then converting split chassis locos).

[kevin141]

Change the motor is straight forward but before you do so give the loco a good service it can save you a lot of money .I got a 66 off the bay old but unused ran fine on dc so hard wired a dcc chip in a zen one as it is what i had in the chip box and was awful poor running so today thought i would change the motor, striped down then saw it wanted a service so did this first and now runs well with normal motor . Hope this helps.

[Gareth 73]

I want to change the motors because the current drawn by pancake motors can exceed the current rating of chips.
My local model shop who have been undertaking sound chipping of locos for me advised me of this when I first discussed converting Lima locos with them.
I particularly wanted DMUs and AEC railcars converted as the forthcoming new models are expensive, although of better specification with lights etc. which I felt I could manage without.
They took in 4 DMus/railcars of mine to test for current drawn. They advised that only one of them drew a current low enough to be suitable for chipping, but to be safe we agreed first to fit a standard zimo chip rather than an expensive sound chip. The result was that the unit blew a chip when they were testing it after installation!

Yes, you are right that Hornby chassis can be substituted for some items and this has been done one some of mine already. However this depends on the availability and cost of the replacements which incurs costs because lima items with the wrong body for their boxes command a lot less than the Hornby rechassised items that need to be bought for rebodying.

I do hope that your class 37s do not suffer from Chip blow ups!!

Perhaps other readers can comment on their experiences in this direction?

Best regards
Paul

I think they were taking you for a ride or don't know what they r taking about.
None of my lima locos that I have left (2x31,4x37,3x47 and 3x dmu chassis converted to cl128 dpu's will approach any where near enough current to worry even the most basic dcc chip. Heck my heljan 47's draw a lot more. If the basic motor is in good order then a good service and make sure running well on dc and that's all u need to do before converting to dcc. To have 4 dmus that knackered that they draw more than 1 amp for a significant time seem to be a big coincidence or they have had a really really bad life up to now and if that's the case then ok.
If your willing to risk posting a loco and chip or paying for a chip I will happily back my words direct message me.