Heljan Class 27 power issues

[Hunslet 102]

Hi all 

Looking for some advice. I have a year 2006 Heljan class 27 loco with power issues, dc control.

 I have had it on a rolling road and put power to all 8 wheels in every permutation and they all turn fine.

Put the loco on the track and it stutters to start on full power before kicking in and off it goes. Power is a gaugemaster twin controller. Reduce the power to about half full power and it merrily continues, but reduce it any further towards zero and it comes to a halt, then same again as above.

Brass strip to all wheels, which are clean,is touching and red and black wires to each power bogie are soldered in place. Directional lighting is also working.

Track is clean and I have also tested it on an independent piece of straight track not attached to the layout with the same problem.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

[Matt]

Only thing I can offer is that some early Heljan 27s came with wheels that were impossible to keep clean (brass looking?). Mine ran like a dog but a new set of wheels solved the issue. 

[Hunslet 102]

Thanks Matt

I will check the wheels on the loco and take it from there. Hopefully if that is the issue then a new set of wheels will resolve the problem!

[andyman7]

Although a new set of wheels will sort the problem I have found that cleaning the old style using the thin end of a track rubber is pretty effective at getting the oxidisation off.

[Hunslet 102]

23 hours ago, andyman7 said:

Although a new set of wheels will sort the problem I have found that cleaning the old style using the thin end of a track rubber is pretty effective at getting the oxidisation off.

Thanks for the advice, worth a try, nothing to lose!

[Geep7]

The original brass wheels that Heljan fitted to their early locomotives (Class 47, Hymek etc.) whilst not as bad as Lima wheels, would tarnish quicker than you could clean them (OK, I over-exaggerate). I have an early Hymek which I fitted a set of Heljan replacement wheels to, and it transformed it. Unfortunately, I don't think there are any replacement sets available anymore. They were originally available from Howes, when they were the spares agent, but since that has changed to Gaugemaster, i'm not sure if they made any more.

[young37215]

I had similar problems with a Heljan 27 which was transformed by swapping the nasty brass wheels for some of the more up to date ones. I picked them up second hand on Ebay but even then they were not cheap. Guagemaster had some in stock when I last checked but it would cost around £50 to change the wheels. 

[steviesparx]

The replacement wheelsets for Heljan are bizarrely expensive...

 

I found it more cost effective to buy a new chassis from Olivia Trains E-Bay site.....Olivia Trains Cl 26 Chassis

 

They're £42 plus £6 p&p now - I think I paid less back in the day, but like everything else....

 

Mine did come with the silver wheels, which I actually used on a Hymek - still have the rest of the chassis / motor / PCB for spares

 

It would also give you a new motor if you needed to check that as the cause of the stutter...?

[Type 2]

40 minutes ago, steviesparx said:

The replacement wheelsets for Heljan are bizarrely expensive...

 

I found it more cost effective to buy a new chassis from Olivia Trains E-Bay site.....Olivia Trains Cl 26 Chassis

 

They're £42 plus £6 p&p now - I think I paid less back in the day, but like everything else....

 

Mine did come with the silver wheels, which I actually used on a Hymek - still have the rest of the chassis / motor / PCB for spares

 

It would also give you a new motor if you needed to check that as the cause of the stutter...?

I'm pretty sure these chassis still have the older brass wheels on them - I hope I'm wrong though

[Hunslet 102]

22 hours ago, steviesparx said:

The replacement wheelsets for Heljan are bizarrely expensive...

 

I found it more cost effective to buy a new chassis from Olivia Trains E-Bay site.....Olivia Trains Cl 26 Chassis

 

They're £42 plus £6 p&p now - I think I paid less back in the day, but like everything else....

 

Mine did come with the silver wheels, which I actually used on a Hymek - still have the rest of the chassis / motor / PCB for spares

 

It would also give you a new motor if you needed to check that as the cause of the stutter...?

I assume the class 26 and class 27 share the same Heljan  chassis?

[steviesparx]

On 11/05/2023 at 18:38, Type 2 said:

I'm pretty sure these chassis still have the older brass wheels on them - I hope I'm wrong though

I bought two - both came with the newer silver wheels...

 

Also, E-bay picture shows silver wheels fitted, so more than justified to return under 'not as advertised'...

Edited May 12, 2023 by steviesparx

[Type 2]

2 hours ago, Hunslet 102 said:

I assume the class 26 and class 27 share the same Heljan  chassis?

Yes, same motors/gearing/wheel/electronics, same with 33's.  Only the plastic mouldings are different

 

7 minutes ago, steviesparx said:

I bought two - both came with the newer silver wheels...

 

Also, E-bay picture shows silver wheels fitted, so more than justified to return under 'not as advertised'...

 

That is great to know, thanks for feeding back!

Edited May 12, 2023 by Type 2

[Hunslet 102]

Hi all 

So once being advised that the 26 and 27 shared the same chassis, I switched the non brass wheels from my 26 to the 27, but the same problem still happens!

Is there anything else I should check, although I am not familiar with dismantling an enclosed Heljan chassis, before I go down the route of a replacement chassis, which I would assume would be the cheapest alternative rather than outsourcing the locomotive for repair if unable to find the fault 

Any help, advise, tips, greatly appreciated.

Edited May 17, 2023 by Hunslet 102
Spelling

[young37215]

I'd be buying the new chassis, even if you can get the existing one repaired I suspect the cost will be similar to that of the replacement chassis plus you get the better wheels.