Lima Class 33 and 47

[stonesfan]

Hiya

Have a large logo 33 and Intercity 47 both by Lima. Both still in very good cosmetic condition and were both once strong runners although that probably going back to the early 90s. Unfortunately both run poorly. The 33 just seems to slip when it runs although the tyres seem ok, the 47 runs at half pace although is smooth. Can't remember what they were like when last ran about 20 years ago. Have checked and cleaned all the electrical connections inside and lubricated the gears. No joy. I know you can buy second hand motors tested in good condition from eBay. But anything else I can do to fix them?

Cheers.

[508035]

Hello

There are clearly several problems here, the slow running on the 47 could be due to the armature / commutator being dirty / worn out, carbon build up between the segments on the commutator which can cause issues such as shorts or a burning smell similar to burning matches.

The traction tyres could have oil between them and the wheels on which they are fitted, if this is the case, they need replacing as once oil is soaked up by the tyres, they are pretty much unusable. The only remedy here is to clean the wheels on which the tyres are fitted with IPA or daft as it sounds, enamel thinners as this has the same cleaning effect on locomotive wheels as IPA would.

To solve the poor running you described, I would recommend checking out the website Diesel-trains.co.uk as they can provide cd motor conversion kits to completely transform the performance of your 33 and 47. Also, I recommend checking out the youtube channel OOBILL. He has videos where he has converted lima classes 31, 33, 50, 55, 101 and a J50 tank locomotive all with kits from Diesel-trains.co.uk and the transformation in their performance is amazing, I think the same company can also supply traction tyres as well but I would check with them about those. The cd motor conversion kits are £12.50 each.

Hope this helps.

[stonesfan]

Thank you for the above advice. Liking the replacement motor solution. Relatively low cost for an upgrade and guaranteed fix. Gonna replace all the tyres etc as a matter of routine

[Mountain Goat]

I personally would have a try to clean the motors communtator first. Make sure you don't lose the tiny brushes and springs as the springs can ping out and dissapear. The motors are very easy to work on and this is why I suggest this.

Traction tyres (Even if they look good) can go slightly dry as they age which is why when one used to pull ten coach trains, they may struggle to pull six today.
They really do grip well with fresh tyres, but make sure one has new tyres first before pulling the old ones off.

Going back to the motors. The Lima motors themselves are very simple so only have a few things to go wrong. Their windings, the magnet or their brushes/springs and where they contact the communtator plates. The only other issue is motor squeel which is to do with both lubrication and excessive play, where the motors vibrate and they reduce speed making a loud squeeling noise as they go.

Replacement motors are another option. Lovely quiet and smooth CD drive style motors. If going down this route, it is interesting to know if these cwn pull lengthy trains. I have recently bought a collection of 7mmNG locos with some having these style motors and I am embarissed to say I have not tested them to see what they can pull as yet. I need to set up a test track as I have a loco I am working on with a chassis that I don't know if it will work or not or run forwards etc, as it has a different motor, so I think I had better test it before I finish the rest of the model! (Is the problem of thinking "If it doesn't work, it will be a simple fix in theory" as I tend to keep going on the rest of the build and forget to check the obvious, as a non-running loco is a bit pointless after all the work put in building it).

Whichever option that you choose, I hope it is a success!

[stonesfan]

So the Class 33.....




Stripped the motor down and found one of the gears is damaged. The motor spins extremely well in both directions when tested in isolation.

Guess I'll be replacing that then. Any idea on it's part number?

Any recommendations for grease to use when i put it all back together?

[508035]

I have seen a lot of videos recently on YouTube channels SMT Mainline and Dan's Model Railways where they both use something called Labelle 106 grease which seems to do a good job.

[stonesfan]

I bottled out of fitting that new motor for the 47. Saw a reconditioned Lima unit on eBay at a decent price and went for it. Have to say it's very smooth and good at low speeds. Lima were always fairly good runners if not the most authentic but I really like this particular model.

Ordered a replacement motor and gear set for the 33 though. Looking forward to seeing how that runs.

[508035]

Hello

Having recently fitted the 2 cd motor kits from Diesel-trains.co.uk into my 94XX & Class 117, I can definitely say they will vastly improve the performance of your loco.

A quick tip, beware of polarity because the cd motors do not have a + & - symbol which I admit would be helpful although they do havered & blue wires, it will be easy to wire them backwards so that your loco would go backwards when the controller is set for forwards direction.

The best way to avoid that is to touch the motor wires to the available contacts once the motor is fitted into the ringfield moulding. The handy thing with the lima motor mouldings is that once all the inner gubbins are removed including the magnet, the cd motors wires can be poked out through the top of the moulding but this has to be done during the fitting process.

Once the motor is screwed in ( not too tight ) using the original screws from the brush plate, you can then touch the wires to the pickups before soldering the wires in place and here's why I said earlier to watch for polarity.

In his class 55 deltic video, OOBILL does end up making his locomotive go backwards, I very nearly fell into the same trap when doing the 117 powercar.

The class 33 can also benefit from extra pickups on the unpowered bogie if you wish to fit them and increase the performance of the loco even further.

Hope this helps.