RMweb Gold russ p Posted February 24, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 24, 2018 I've just brought my two Heljan 47s out of hibernation I've cleaned wheels and lightly lubricated them and fitted or rather tried to fit them with dcc they just don't want to run. Very hesitant I tried to fit a Hornby TTS decoder to no avail One now is stuttering about with a gaugemaster chip in Any suggestions Cheers Russ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tractor_37260 Posted February 24, 2018 Share Posted February 24, 2018 (edited) I've just brought my two Heljan 47s out of hibernation I've cleaned wheels and lightly lubricated them and fitted or rather tried to fit them with dcc they just don't want to run. Very hesitant I tried to fit a Hornby TTS decoder to no avail One now is stuttering about with a gaugemaster chip in Any suggestions Cheers Russ How do they run on normal DC ? best to get get them well run in on DC first, before fitting any decoder. With the loco on it's back in a cradle, using jumper leads check all 8 wheels are getting power, if not adjust/clean the pick up strips. Edited February 24, 2018 by tractor_37260 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
amdaley Posted February 24, 2018 Share Posted February 24, 2018 I've just brought my two Heljan 47s out of hibernation I've cleaned wheels and lightly lubricated them and fitted or rather tried to fit them with dcc they just don't want to run. Very hesitant I tried to fit a Hornby TTS decoder to no avail One now is stuttering about with a gaugemaster chip in Any suggestions Cheers Russ Hi Russ. I would run them on DC first just to make sure its not a loco problem rather than a decoder problem. Tony. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted February 24, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted February 24, 2018 Had a breakthrough both are now running reasonable after popping the motors out and leaving them running The TTS would only work with one of them but got warm so I removed it is that normal Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick G Posted February 24, 2018 Share Posted February 24, 2018 Heljan 47's draw a lot of amps maybe the decoder can't handle it. You need a quality decoder in a Heljan 47. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted February 24, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted February 24, 2018 Do the 15s draw high current too? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroborus Posted February 24, 2018 Share Posted February 24, 2018 Tts will cut out if overloaded Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted February 24, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted February 24, 2018 Tts will cut out if overloaded Cut out as in loosing sound or does the whole thing stop Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melly Posted February 24, 2018 Share Posted February 24, 2018 2nd what Nick said. I remember when they were first bought out there being lots of discussion regarding the high amps the motor pulls - Lenz Gold was the decoder of choice - mine are fitted thus and work beautifully. If its got the older wheels they need to be kept spotless - you may need to check the wheel backs where the pick-ups connect and clean those as well. Hope it helps. M 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick G Posted February 24, 2018 Share Posted February 24, 2018 As I said you need a decoder with 1A current capability. IIRC, the basic Hornby decoders are only 0.5A not sure what a TTS decoder is? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted February 24, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted February 24, 2018 They are some of the first Heljan locos from the early 2000s Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bristol_Rich Posted February 24, 2018 Share Posted February 24, 2018 Just another thought have you checked the cast mazac chassis that it is straight and true? One of mine suffered with the usual Heljan 47 rot and the first sign was the fuel tanks bottomed out on the rail head and caused poor running. Before spending money on new chips, it might be worth a quick check along the length of the body for any bellying in the chassis. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted February 24, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted February 24, 2018 The chassis is OK cheers, I didn't realise they also suffered with the mazac problems 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PM47079 Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Yes some of them do. Someone on here has done a list. Mine are always a bit slow to get going. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted February 25, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted February 25, 2018 I seem to remember when I ran them briefly of a previous DC layout they took a while to warm up Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Do the 15s draw high current too? Much less. Comparable to other RTR can motors. (Small cylindrical three pole unit.) Appears to be the same motor in 15/16/17, Garratt and O2 steamers; and I guess some of their other smaller units may have this motor too (Railbus, shunters) but none of these have come my way to be inspected. If the drive train is very draggy this motor is likely to expire, a problem that definitely afflicted the 17 and may have been behind a proportion of the Garratt failures. Very unlike their 'big motor' which appears to be unburstable... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted February 25, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted February 25, 2018 It did strike me how big the 47 motor is, but the drive shaft with it's spigots in the universal joints looked quite fragile Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PM47079 Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 The cups that are on the geartower which you plug the drive shafts into can and often do split which does cause problems with performance. I usually glue the cup in the metal bit of the gear tower with superglue and this usually cures this. I do have a very poor big motor from a 47 which I am wondering if I could transfer the flywheels off it onto another motor and try it out. Has anyone else done anything similar.? Just a thought really as I do have a 47 that has blown a couple of chips Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted February 25, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted February 25, 2018 I did wonder if the cup on the driveshaft would give problems Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIK Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Hi, My Heljan 47 draws 0.84 Amps continuous at 12 volts so a Hornby TTS with a maximum continuous current of 0.5 Amps might not be suitable. Also some of my Heljan loco wheels have been cleaned but have intermittent pickup. Heljan (via Howes) sell replacement wheelsets to cure such a problem. Might be worth checking if the pick ups are still pressing strongly on the backs of the wheels. Regards Nick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted February 25, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted February 25, 2018 Both seem to be running OK at present but replacement wheelsets maybe on the cards if they keep getting dirty One is running a gaugemaster decoder but I need something else for the other one Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
47707 Holyrood Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 As stated by many others Hornby decoders are no good for the Heljan 47's due to the high current draw that the motors need. They like to go up in smoke in no time. Bachmann 3 function decoders are what I have used in them with absolutely no problems but its all down to preference and budgets. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Ian Hargrave Posted November 30, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 30, 2018 A long time since Heljan 47’s featured on this forum.This is slightly off topic and isn’t about problems.Currently,Rails have quite a number on eBay at advantageous prices,most of them nicely weathered...BIN or make offer. Somewhat of a bargain IMHO. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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