# Aristo 0-4-0 Motor Issues



## bfrein (Aug 28, 2015)

Hi All....

I picked up an Aristo 0-4-0 switcher on Ebay a while back. Seller claimed it ran...tried it this weekend....no go!

I tore it apart (very simple) and found the wires from the rear wheel pick ups were unsoldered. I resoldered them and while upside down, it ran great. When I placed it on a 4 foot piece of test track, it was jerky and was tripping the overload on the transformer.

Fast forward to today....I soldered wires to the motor and ran them to an old 7.2v RC battery pack. The motor ran great upside down once again except the motor stated smoking. I took it off the battery for a bit and tried it again....motor started smoking. I reconnected the track power pick ups and tried it again....this time, nothing....except the front light and the firebox light.

Seems to me the motor is fried. Where can I find a replacement? Are they available? Am I stuck with an Aristo 0-4-0 boat anchor?

The upside is....I was able to get some knowledge on converting to battery power before trying with other loco's.

Another plus is that all the track is laid....for now (dont tell the wife) and I am running my aristo Critter on track power. Nothing like sitting with a beer and a cigar watching a train for hours on end.


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## Tom Parkins (Jan 2, 2008)

Boy I like that last sentence. When you mentioned cigar, I thought surely Gregg would be right on this post. 

About your 0-4-0. I'm not sure I quite followed all of the sequence of testing and wire and battery hook ups. Running upside down does not test wheel contact. Dirty wheels will cause issues, magnified on the 0-4-0. 

Something may be binding when the engine is placed on the tracks as the weight shifts. This would not be noticeable upside down. 

When you hooked up a battery, did you make sure that there were no connections back to the rails? That would cause problems. 

You may have to remove the motor from the block--no wheels or gears-- and test just the motor to determine if it is fried. If it runs smoke free, then you need to look at the gears and wheels. 

Worse case and motor is fired, there should be enough guys with bashed 0-4-0s to get a motor relatively cheap. 

Good luck---keep us posted.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I am indeed smoking a cigar reading this!

I'm sure someone will come up with a spare motor, but you should be sure to figure out the binding problem.

I don't know if you can fit one of the new 0-4-0 blocks to the loco, I think someone has done it, a lot of cutting.

It would be worth checking with Navin at crest-electornics.com to see if this is available. 

Greg


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## Dan Pierce (Jan 2, 2008)

Another option would be to remove the motor and push this engine with the LGB powered tender assuming you can keep the drivers aligned with the side rods which brings up the possible issue that it may be the side rods creating the binding.


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## bfrein (Aug 28, 2015)

I was able to get some time to pull it apart this week and with the motor out and not connected to any wheels....it doesnt run at all.

I did speak with the seller and went over everything with him and he has agreed to take the item back for a full refund. I suspect he knew there were some issues.


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## Tom Parkins (Jan 2, 2008)

Good work checking it out. Nice of the dealer to do that, but a shame you had to go through all of that aggravation. Now go smoke another cigar and hopefully you can come up with a better running engine.


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