D605Eagle Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 I have a problem with a new western I have bought. When it runs it rattles quite loudly, and it appears to be coming from one driveshaft which is flailing around. Neither seem to be straight. Also the plastic coupling on the top of the noisy tower seems to be molded slightly offset too. I'd send it back but like a fool I fitted lots of the detail pack to it (and broke two of the valences in the process) before I ran it. Has anybody ever come across this problem with any 6 axled Heljan model and cured it? I have 4 others (non western) and they all run very quietly. Jim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baby Deltic Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 It could be the Voith transmission. You could contact Howes, they can supply sprues with various components if you want to have a crack at fixing it yourself. Otherwise take it back to the shop. It doen't matter that you've detailed it. If it doesn't work, it should be treated as any other faulty goods under warranty. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
D1030western musketeer Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 I have 2 noticed that the newer batch of westerns are not as smooth as the last. i tested D1073 and that to makes a noise and hence tested another one at the time in the shop and that did the same. I had or have had this with 2 of my 47s but after a slight oiling settled down. richard. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
royaloak Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Have you run the loco in to give it a chance to free up/ wear joints in? The drive shaft may have a bit of flash at the end which is making it tight in the joints causing it to flex, this can either be removed with a knife or run the loco for a bit to see if it will wear away. Okay quality control should pick things like this up but considering the faults I have had with brand new cars I can forgive a model loco manufacturer quite a bit (even Bachmann when a 20 I bought had a bogie that would not move sideways stuck because a wire was trapped). From a box a brand new model can be a bit tight so needs running in (to a greater or lesser degree), okay it should work reasonably well and quietly from the box but its a mass produced item and some poor ones will get through the net. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
D605Eagle Posted April 16, 2012 Author Share Posted April 16, 2012 It must a be a rare issue as an internet search brought up nothing. I've taken both the driveshafts out and they are both bent. One of the UV joints on the tower is quite badly molded. Infact nearly all the detail parts are not up to Heljans usual molding standards which is a pity. Lots of flash and some air pockets in the plastic too. Not had any issues with that sort of thing with any Heljan loco I've bought up until now, and I have quite a few! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigwelsh Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 Take a picture and send it to Howes saying you've already started detailing it when you noticed what caused the running issues. Hopefully they'll get some spares from this new batch they can send you a fret of. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian daniels Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Has anyone mentioned any problems to the Heljan UK agent at Howes rather than on here? Howes/Heljan do not know of any problems yet. Please ring them and let them know! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
D605Eagle Posted April 23, 2012 Author Share Posted April 23, 2012 Right, I got two sprues for Howes for the driveshafts, but theres a whole load of other stuff on there too, including bogie tower halves, so I made up new towers and instead of relying on clips I cleaned, filed and matched the halves and glued them together. I also glued the bearings of the worm drive into the plastic as they were flapping around like crazy. Now the wessie runs super smooth and quiet. Infact its my best running diesel. The issue wasn't bent driveshatfs, it was the drivetrain components flapping around in the bogie towers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
southernelectric Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 I have 2 noticed that the newer batch of westerns are not as smooth as the last. i tested D1073 and that to makes a noise and hence tested another one at the time in the shop and that did the same. I had or have had this with 2 of my 47s but after a slight oiling settled down. richard. Did you get the noise problem with D1073 Western Bulwark sorted? Did a bit of oiling settle it down? My D1073 is somewhat noisy too (although nowhere near as noisy as my other recent Heljan purchase - a Hymek D7061). See the recent posts on this thread here: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/34744-Heljan-western/page__st__50 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Sidelines Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 What else do you expect when you outsource manufacturing to China? I have a number of old Westerns and Hymeks - superb. I have a new Enterprise with yellow panel and Lion both made in China. On Enterprise the skirt and lower body mouldings are not the same colour as the main body shell. Lion didn't run well and Howes sent me one new wheel set. It is also noisey. Could we make them in the UK for the same price - probably not. I was amused at one of the previous comments above making comparisons with new cars. You could say with new 'anything'. We seem to be living in a virtual world. If something doesn't work - well just send out an update and a new patch to fix it. I think I will open another bottle of the Home Brew. Ray Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
southernelectric Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 What else do you expect when you outsource manufacturing to China? I have a number of old Westerns and Hymeks - superb. I have a new Enterprise with yellow panel and Lion both made in China. On Enterprise the skirt and lower body mouldings are not the same colour as the main body shell. Lion didn't run well and Howes sent me one new wheel set. It is also noisey. Ray Maybe so, but my Bachmann and Hornby locos are all China-made and don't exhibit the poor construction and performance I'm seeing with these Heljans! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigherb Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 I think you'll find they have all suffered there share of problems. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
D605Eagle Posted September 25, 2012 Author Share Posted September 25, 2012 Update.. I now have two futher westerns from the latest production run and both of them suffered the same issues as my first. I have rebuilt both the bogie towers in them and now they run superbly. The quality of the paint and castings of the body shells is exemplary, the quality of the drivetrain components is far from it. The bagged detail parts are not very good either. I don't know if Heljan are planning to make any more westerns in light of the Dapol release, but if they do they really need to address these quality issues at the very least. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
southernelectric Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 I think you'll find they have all suffered there share of problems. Maybe so, but in my (very limited) experience returning to the world of model railways in the last 12 months, the quality of the Bachmann and Hornby stuff I've acquired is great. These Heljan locos feel somewhat cheap and in my humble opinion are not as well made. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
southernelectric Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 Update.. I now have two futher westerns from the latest production run and both of them suffered the same issues as my first. I have rebuilt both the bogie towers in them and now they run superbly. The quality of the paint and castings of the body shells is exemplary, the quality of the drivetrain components is far from it. The bagged detail parts are not very good either. I don't know if Heljan are planning to make any more westerns in light of the Dapol release, but if they do they really need to address these quality issues at the very least. I would agree. These QC issues should be addressed. I read about your bogie tower rebuilds, and this only serves to re-iterate my point in the Heljan Western thread: "These models should work properly out of the box without having to take things apart or mess about with stuff. That for me has been the big disappointment with these Heljan models. The paintwork coming off the cab of the Hymek and the loose-fitting box under the loco (electric heater?) smacks of shoddy construction." That Dapol Western looks awesome, I wonder what the blue version will look like. If Dapol's Western is a massive improvement on the Heljan I'll be saying goodbye to the Heljan that's for sure. I'm going to send both Heljans I have (Western and Hymek) back to KMRC for them to take a look. I'm seriously thinking of junking the Heljans as right now I'm very disappointed with them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Sidelines Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 Maybe so, but in my (very limited) experience returning to the world of model railways in the last 12 months, the quality of the Bachmann and Hornby stuff I've acquired is great. These Heljan locos feel somewhat cheap and in my humble opinion are not as well made. I can only think that you do not buy as many models as I do. It amuses my wife when I take delivery of a new model, to see how many loose detail parts appear before the model is un-boxed. Then there are the wheels to re-quarter and perhaps the valve gear to gently unbend, not to mention loose handrails and phosphor bronze contact strips to be eased into shape to maintain the lighting. Not a lot to choose between any of the big manufacturers I would say. Regards Ray PS That is what the hobby is about isn't it? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
southernelectric Posted November 2, 2012 Share Posted November 2, 2012 I can only think that you do not buy as many models as I do. It amuses my wife when I take delivery of a new model, to see how many loose detail parts appear before the model is un-boxed. Then there are the wheels to re-quarter and perhaps the valve gear to gently unbend, not to mention loose handrails and phosphor bronze contact strips to be eased into shape to maintain the lighting. Not a lot to choose between any of the big manufacturers I would say. Regards Ray PS That is what the hobby is about isn't it? No thats very true and you're right I don't buy that many locos. I own around a dozen or so including my multiple units. Kernow have tested the locos, the Western needed a new bogie as it was clearly faulty but other than that they could find no fault with them. The bottom line: The Heljans run just fine using a basic Bachmann controller in the shop, Kernow confirmed they are a little noisier than Hornby and Bachmann locos but not excessively so, which was my experience running them with the Hornby R8250 controller - hence why they went back to Kernow for them to take a look. I've since discovered that the Hornby R8250 I'd been using is apparently rated about a third of the power of the basic Bachmann controller (around 1/3 amp vs. just below 1 amp). That probably explains why the Heljans sounded like they weren't getting enough juice, especially the Hymek. The Hornby controller, I have concluded, is not the best controller to use with these Heljans because of their apparent higher current draw vs Hornby and Bachmann locos. The R8250 can't even cope with a loco and 3 lighted Pullman coaches on the track before cutting out for a period of time - as I discovered last weekend. The Heljans will be on their way back to me soon and I will test them out with my newly acquired Gaugemaster Model D controller (although I seem to have encountered a problem with that piece of equipment already). The Hornby R8250 will go towards my young nephew's expanding Thomas & Friends layout. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Moss Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 We once tried the gaugemaster D controllers and found them unsuitable for long periods of running with heavy trains. They get very hot. We told gaugemaster and they looked shocked when we said we were running ten coach trains for more than ten minutes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteskitchen Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Just found this thread after searching for ages to try and find what was up with my Heljan Western Pioneer. Huge thanks for the information about the bogie tower rebuild, I'd just done the same and its transformed my loco. Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
D1056WesternSultan Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 Just found this thread after searching for ages to try and find what was up with my Heljan Western Pioneer. Huge thanks for the information about the bogie tower rebuild, I'd just done the same and its transformed my loco. Pete. Have just found this thread too as my Western Champaigner is suffering the same problem. Hopefully a strip and rebuild will be the answer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
D1056WesternSultan Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Have just rebuilt one of the bogies but there is still a click. I superglued the worm bearings in so that there is no lateral movement. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
D1056WesternSultan Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 Another strip down and it would appear that one of th gears on an axle had a damaged tooth which I have reprofiled. Also one of the pick up wipers was catching on the rear of an insulating bush. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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