Lokpilot speed issues

[fishbelly]

I just got down installing a Lokpilot.

I am having speed issues with it. Now I tested my track and it is good. It is a piece of test track about 3 feet long and the lokprogrammer power wires are soldered to the rails. 

The Lokpilot version I am using is Lokpilot Standard #53611, I cut the 8 pin connector off and hard wired the decoder to the appropriate terminals. All terminals are soldered.

In the lokprogrammer I go to motor settings and speed table. Under the heading, Use three values (VStart, VMid, VHigh), the max speed allowed to be set is 64. I left the table as what the default was. Index 1 Value 1, Index 2 value 24 and Index 3 Value 64. At these settings, the model at full throttle just crawls along.

So I go to the Use speed curve. Max speed allowed is 255 and I left all the values as is. With this setting installed, the top speed is about max yard speed. A bit faster than a crawl.

Model setup. 

Brand new Kato motor.  When run on 9v battery by itself not installed in the model. It hums along as a Kato should. Very quiet. When I install it and hook it up to the decoder, it has a buzz to it at low speeds. Does not run quiet anymore. Everything in the model that moves is lightly oiled or greased.

I tried a different decoder. A loksound 4 Select Direct not using the sound portion of it. No speakers. The model ran even worse. More motor noise.

I have no idea what to do to get the model to run a bit faster. Not yard speeds. There is nothing binding inside the shell. Everything moves freely. I am thinking that Loksound or the Lokpilot is not the decoder for my non-sound applications and that TCS may be the right choice here. I have ordered a TCS A4X with the hopes it will perform much better and help better with the motor buzz.

I do not have any friends locally that can help or are willing to seriously help me so I hope someone here might be able to give some guidance on where to turn or what to do. Any thoughts on this?

[Mark R.]

That buzz is caused by the BEMF in earlier ESU decoders. I'm surprised it does it with a Kato motor though. To prove if that in fact is what's doing it, try turning the BEMF off completely and see if the buzz stops. The last generation (Loksound5) do not exhibit this buzzing.

Mark.

[canrailfan]

First, the usual question, did you test the loco with DC power to make sure it was smooth running and the speed range was normal?

Is the LokPilot a brand new decoder or previously used? If it was used, did you do a full reset before doing anything else with it? (CV8=8, using throttle (POM), remove track power and turn it back on.)

It shouldn't be necessary to change any speed-related CV values unless you want do speed matching.

Make sure Function 3 is OFF. On the LokPilot this turns on switching mode which cuts all speed steps by 50% for slow speed switching. (Have you done any function re-mapping that may affect F3?)

Finally, you tested the motor before installing it. It may not be isolated from the loco frame. Check with a meter to confirm the motor is isolated.

Hope something here helps solve your problem.

[fishbelly]

David,

Really good info and I will check it all after work today. I did find one issue with it already. The screws that hold the motor cradle to the frame were pulling down hard on the motor shaft bushings and causing some binding. I removed the screws and the motor ran much better. I will check all the CV settings this afternoon.

[fishbelly]

Seems to be working better now. The decoder did have F3 set to switcher mode. I removed it. So that and removing the motor mount screws greatly improved the performance.

Thanks.

[fishbelly]

I figured out the real issue with the problem I was having. It was not a decoder problem. It was a user problem. Specifically putting one of the truck gears in the wrong place and causing a very serious binding issue. Problem fixed and this model now runs like a freaking champ!

This is the DCC and sound setup for my RS11. Originally I was not going to put sound in anything anymore. That changed after running my two EJ&E SD38-2's at a friends house. Sound is a must. I can always turn it off if it gets annoying.

I setup a new standard for all my locomotives. Before working on them, all the gear train gets a thorough wash to remove ALL grease and oils. At assembly, everything that moves or is a bearing surface gets greased. Not slathered in grease, but I use a paint brush and hit every surface with a light coating. The motor shafts get a small drop of oil where they ride on the shaft bearing. This is a HUGE improvement in operation. Just by itself without sound, this model runs whisper quiet and smooth as can be.

It sports a Loksound 5 DCC micro. I was able to install two speakers. The sound chambers are my own custom designed and 3D printed boxes and have a Knowles Grand speaker in each box. I was able to also get a Loksound Power Pack installed. I designed and cut a piggy back block to ride on the board. There are clearance cutouts for all the components underneath it. The lighting are LED's plugged right into the light holes and fit perfectly. I bridged the onboard LED resistor and put in 1 1K ohm resister instead. The lights were just way to dim with the stock 2K resistor. You can see the new resistor soldered standing up on the light pad at the end of the board.

This model is now done and buttoned up ready for operations.

[canrailfan]

Glad to hear you found the source of the problem. Nice job on the install!