I'm sure this has come up before, but it's new to me, so I'll ask away. I just tried (for the first time) MU-ing my 2 F7s, but they run in opposite directions; how do I reverse one or the other so they will go forward (or reverse) in sync? I had to dis-assemble my first unit's motor to clean it before I installed new brushes; did I re-assemble something backwards? Please help! Mark in Oregon
You likely flipped the motor when you took it apart. Just flip the motor over and it will reverse the direction. When I take apart an engine, I mark the motor with Sharpie to indicate which way was up. That way it will go back together in the right orientation.
But...don't the "tabs" from the brushes need to face the bottom (i.e. track) side of the frame? Or do your mean flip it end to end? Thanks. Mark in Oregon
Since you replace the brushes, you may have reinstalled the contacts upside down. Draw an arrow pointing down on the motor. Flip the contacts. Make the arrow point up, and reinstall.
By "contacts", you mean...? I guess the key question here is, do I need to take the motor apart again, and turn the motor frame (with the magnets built in, I suppose) top to bottom? Thanks for bearing with me on this, I appreciate it! Mark in Oregon
OK See attached photo. The phosphor bronze contacts (the shiny copper metal parts) that should go down and touch the bottom of of the frame were likely installed upsidedown. The brass hexhead screw is where the motor brushes should go. You will need to take the whole engine apart again. Mark the motor so that the the orientation doesn’t get confused. Loosen the brass hex screws and move the phosphor bronze contacts to the other side of the motor. Tighten everything back up, and re-install the motor with the contacts touching the bottom of the frame. We are just flipping the motor 180 degrees top to bottom. This will reverse the polarity and make it go the same direction as the other engine.
Flipping end to end doesn't make a bit of difference. This is the same picking up the engine and flipping it. It will go the same direction regardless of which way the nose is pointing. Flipping the motor top to bottom is the only way to reverse the direction.
If I loosen the screws, move the contacts "to the other side of the motor", this means I'll be pulling the brushes, and that the contacts will still be contacting the "bottom of the frame", right? It's just the brass contact will be on the opposite side of where it is now; likewise with the silver one... I'm not usually this dense, I just want to get it right... Mark in Oregon
It wont inspire confidence that I haven’t tried this before, so I tried it on mine and took photos to help illustrate what I mean, and provide instructions. Step 1: Open her up and label the motor with a down arrow (I did both sides to help illustrate). Step 2: Loosen the cover to the brushes, and rotate the contact to the other side of he motor. You dont have to removed the brass brush cover as shown. Just loosen it until the contact is free to move. Step 3: Tighten the brush cover, or re-assemble the thing if you took it apart. Step 4: Repeat steps 2 and 3 on the other side Step 5: Flip the motor over, and then flip housing/end pieces so that the pointy tips are pointing down. Step 6: Re-assemble. -Matt
Excellent, I think I got it, Matt. Thanks for bearing with me on this, and making the effort to be so precise...taking yours apart and taking photos is going "up and beyond" for sure. Thanks again; will let you know how it all turns out. Mark in Oregon
And now that I took both of mine apart, I can say the motor has a way to find out which way should be up. The motor has a hole on the top side. The bottom is solid. So if your motor has its hole on the top, check the other engine. It might be the problem. You should be able to see this hole without taking the engine apart.
Will do, thanks...Hey,wait a minute. Isn't that "hole" your arrow is pointing to where the brush goes? Mark in Oregon
Nope, that hole is in on the top. You can't see the armature from the sides, as it is covered by the motors frame (Stator). The brushes screw into the stator on the sides. How far did you take the motor apart to clean it? This is a different view on how to observe the hole without taking the engine apart. Just a faint line on top of the motor when backlit.A whole lot easier than taking the locomotive apart. I find it moderately difficult to get all the tabs on the drive shafts lined up with the slots in the frames.
I think I read about this "observation" hole. I believe it's a feature of the later release models; the one I'm working on is an early release without this "hole". On the "fuel tank" it says "Micro Trains Kadee"...the newer unit I just got last week does not have the "Kadee" name. And I bet what happened is when I took the motor apart (completly) to clean prior to installing new brushes, I no doubt "flipped" the whole thing and re-assembled it "upside down"...so it runs the wrong way. Will try to get to it later this week and fix. Thanks again. Mark in Oregon
Matt, et al... Success! I decided to give it a go before I leave for the day; gave myself 20 minutes. I followed your instructions, and now they both run in the same direction. And, I still had time to post this! Thanks again for all the help. Mark in Oregon PS: now to figure out how to make them run a bit quieter...?
Ah... at last, a useful suggestion! Thanks John. But really, what is it about this design that makes it run so noisily? Having had the motor out and running, it (the motor itself) is totally silent. Is it the way the drive is designed, or what? Would lubing the inside of those "toothed drums" help? Other than the sound level, it seems to be a perfectly "sound" { } model, that runs well and looks ok... Mark in Oregon
About 1 1/2 - 2 years back when MTL announced the F7 upgrade, Joe D from MTL posted some thoughts and got comments on the drive chain. That might be a place to start. I do have a theory about the noise: toy trains vs. model railroads. Toy trains are expected to huff and puff and sound like a coffee grinder and they get designed that way. Model Railroad locos are seen and not heard (unless they have a sound decoder).
