Gloucester Road Posted November 4, 2010 Share Posted November 4, 2010 This is by no means a bash on Dapol as i think their entry years back into n gauge has really moved the scale forward. However i am currently frustrated by issues they seem to have with quality control. I have in my roster 2 class 66, 1 class 67, 1 class 156 and a Virgin Voyager. Both class 66 are earlier models so we know about some of their running issues. My current (pun intended)issue has to do with my 67, 156 and Voyager. All three seem to have had issues with lighting, the voyagers have completly failed ie: puff of smoke no lights. The set itslf runs very well but no lights now. My class 67 came with all lights working for about 6 months but it would not go slow ie: super creep. After six months puff of smoke lights fail in one direction now we have super creep. Just ran my 156, it stalled out ,puff and red lights went out in both directions, white lights stayed on it now runs better than it ever has. Not sure what is going on, but at least they still run sans some lights. Ok, rant over just frustrating when you spend good money and then products only last for so long. Stephen Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Al Posted November 4, 2010 Share Posted November 4, 2010 When you say "puff" - do you actually have proper smoke occurring? If so, which controller are you using? Cheers, Alan This is by no means a bash on Dapol as i think their entry years back into n gauge has really moved the scale forward. However i am currently frustrated by issues they seem to have with quality control. I have in my roster 2 class 66, 1 class 67, 1 class 156 and a Virgin Voyager. Both class 66 are earlier models so we know about some of their running issues. My current (pun intended)issue has to do with my 67, 156 and Voyager. All three seem to have had issues with lighting, the voyagers have completly failed ie: puff of smoke no lights. The set itslf runs very well but no lights now. My class 67 came with all lights working for about 6 months but it would not go slow ie: super creep. After six months puff of smoke lights fail in one direction now we have super creep. Just ran my 156, it stalled out ,puff and red lights went out in both directions, white lights stayed on it now runs better than it ever has. Not sure what is going on, but at least they still run sans some lights. Ok, rant over just frustrating when you spend good money and then products only last for so long. Stephen Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloucester Road Posted November 4, 2010 Author Share Posted November 4, 2010 The voyager and class 67 sure did. The controller is a MRC tech 2 for n gauge here in the States it runs US locos and Farish locos just fine and has done for some years. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Etched Pixels Posted November 6, 2010 Share Posted November 6, 2010 You may want to talk to Dapol - if they failed like that its hard to believe the fault wasn't present at manufacture, and the manufacturers liability for that is longer than the 6 months warranty cards (plus no vendor wants customers unhappy or to ship busted goods so they are generally helpful). The voyager one surprises me - the wiring on those is pretty sane, while there have been a few reports of 67s with light faults due to wiring flaws. Do you have any weird and wonderous ancient electronic nasties on the layout - relcos etc ? For the original 66s btw Dapol issued a note about extra lubrication points which it seems a lot of people never saw - following that advice and lubricating the other stops made a huge difference to the pair of origjnal release EWS ones I bought. Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Al Posted November 6, 2010 Share Posted November 6, 2010 For the original 66s btw Dapol issued a note about extra lubrication points which it seems a lot of people never saw - following that advice and lubricating the other stops made a huge difference to the pair of origjnal release EWS ones I bought. The real problem with the originals was really tight gearing that I could only cure by stripping out and freeing up each gear individually - oil simply wasn't enough. I have had to do this on 7 of these now, so it seems prone to occur on all the early ones. The tell tale sign is the current consumption - if it's over 200mA then something is too tight in the mechanism. Cheers, Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Etched Pixels Posted November 6, 2010 Share Posted November 6, 2010 It depends what problem you see. A good clue is to run it for a bit. If it starts slow and then speeds up as it warms up then the lubrication fix will do the trick (or at least help). Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Al Posted November 6, 2010 Share Posted November 6, 2010 It depends what problem you see. A good clue is to run it for a bit. If it starts slow and then speeds up as it warms up then the lubrication fix will do the trick (or at least help). Alan Alas that's precisely the problem these all had. I tried your method on the first and it didn't cure it - also running for extended periods of time the loco would begin to slow and stutter after about 1/2 hour of running. This was down to the strain being put on the motor by the stiff gears. Freeing them up the loco drew 1/2 the current (150mA compared to 300+) and could be left to run for hours with no trouble. Also it would resposive control was available immediately out of the box from cold - prior to this it was sluggish for several minutes of running. Cleaning out Dapol's own sticky lubrication was an additional help - it just did not want to thin down regardless of additional oiling (with MaGer). This also was not a loco that had been sitting for a long while - it was bought only days after the first release, so the factory oil had not dried out - it was jsut extra sticky to begin with! The other 6 displayed the same issue and I simply went straight to the gear fix/clean out with them given experience of the first. All were also cured. One was so bad that it had burnt out its motor (and gears were so stiff that turning them by hand required effort) so that also had to be replaced - a warning not to try keep running these if they exhibit issues, or it can get very expensive! I get the impression the later plastic chassied 66s are better and certainly should be as they use Dapol's current motor which I've found a smooth reliable unit in other locos. Cheers, Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin_m Posted November 6, 2010 Share Posted November 6, 2010 The voyager and class 67 sure did. The controller is a MRC tech 2 for n gauge here in the States it runs US locos and Farish locos just fine and has done for some years. Google tells me that this is controller has pulsed power at low speeds and its top voltage is 14V rather than the more usual 12V. I wonder if Dapol's lighting circuit has less safety margin built in than those from other suppliers, and these slightly unusual controllers (in a UK context) are driving the LEDs a little outside spec? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Etched Pixels Posted November 7, 2010 Share Posted November 7, 2010 Cleaning out Dapol's own sticky lubrication was an additional help - it just did not want to thin down regardless of additional oiling Eep - it should have dissolved with real lubricant - its not sticky oil - its transit grease... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloucester Road Posted November 7, 2010 Author Share Posted November 7, 2010 Google tells me that this is controller has pulsed power at low speeds and its top voltage is 14V rather than the more usual 12V. I wonder if Dapol's lighting circuit has less safety margin built in than those from other suppliers, and these slightly unusual controllers (in a UK context) are driving the LEDs a little outside spec? Should type before hitting reply. Edwin m thanks for that info, I did wonder about this as i saw it too after posting this thread. I was just frustrated when the lights went out. The locos themselves run fine now even the 66s after being lubricated better. Thanks guys. Stephen Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Al Posted November 7, 2010 Share Posted November 7, 2010 Eep - it should have dissolved with real lubricant - its not sticky oil - its transit grease... Well it doesn't dissolve with real lubricant! Cheers, Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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