Have a friend who owns several Life Like engines that run with a jerky motion. I suspect a cracked gear which causes a bind as it rotates but he says he hasn;t found anything. If it was just one engine I wouldn't worry but he has several different engines that have this problem. It doesn't appear that DCC has any affect. :tb-frown:
People always zero in on cracked gears for P2K, but it is usually a thumping sound with cracked gears. Jerky motion could be electrical contact problems. Either dirty wheels, track or maybe something in the wheel to wipers. Look for issues in the electrical pickup train of events.
Good idea, but the same problem is there if we bench test them. It's like somthing is dragging or binding but can't see it.
I have a GP9 P2K that has a jump will, then ever 4 ft or so it locks up, I flip the in the other direction, then back and it runs again, I think it to do with the bad gears or cogs. I read that they had problems with them in the past. I also read, that if you call walthers they will send you the replacement parts. Other have replaced the gears with Athearn ones. I have not yet got round to this.
This may be intermittent motor function due to intermittent contact, but it could be other things: dirty bushings and bearings, fibers jammed and wrapped around bushings and axles, worn gears, broken gears, sloppy thrust bearings, worn motor windings, dislodged magnets,... If a thorough inspection and evaluations shows the engine drives and wheels/pickups to be clean and in good condition, suspect the motor.
