# Bachmann wheels and shorting



## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

Just a heads up: the other day I was running a freight train. I noticed I was hearing an arcing sound and getting intermittent shorts. I was able to track it to a specific car. The car had Bachmann wheels on it. When I picked it up and put it down, it started smoking a bit--or it might have been water vapor. I felt the truck and one of the wheelsets was very warm

I took the thing apart and could see no obvious reason for a short, except that maybe some water had gotten past the insulating hubs and along the axle. I left it apart, and when I tried it again the next day it was not shorting, which leads me to suspect it was water which had gotten into the metal axle, which on Bachmann trains is covered with a plastic sleeve.


Just a heads up--if you are using these wheelsets, you might experience shorting


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Water and probably salts from the water or nearby, making a conductive path. Another MLS member had shorted one with graphite I believe. 

Do you leave this particular car outside? 

Regards, Greg


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## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

Call it a scale hot box









We use mostly Bachmann metal wheels and haven't seen this yet, but I'll be on the look out. We don't use track power to run the trains anymore (battery), but the track is still energized to power switch stand bulbs. So we can still have a short.


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## George Schreyer (Jan 16, 2009)

The insulating gap on the Bachmann metal wheels is quite small and can be bridged with corrosion from the wheels. There have been others that experienced shorted wheelsets. Clean them up as best you can, dry them out and lay a fillet of RTV around the axle at both wheels on the backside of each wheel.


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## BarrysBigTrains (Sep 4, 2008)

I have a commercial customer, who had an employee who was so pleased with conductive grease he caused a short in a couple of my drives (owned by the employer). Have other problems now, but that one is gone.

Barry - BBT


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