It appears my U50 is in need of new brushes. Does anyone know how to remove the old ones ? I'm not sure if the hexagonal brush holder screws in or is a push in fit. Help would be great please.
Are they the Con-Cor ones? I have a number of N Con-Cor U50's that I've put decoders in but haven't had to work on any of the motors. Sumner
It's a Con Cor N scale. This loco was second hand when I bought it in the late 70's and it has been run a hell of a lot since then. I was running it yesterday and I noticed the DC controller was getting warm , the loco then slowed and behaved as if it had extremely dirty wheels. The wheels had almost no dirt on them. I've checked and cleaned the wheel contacts. There is a lot of sparks where the brushes contact the commutator if / when the motor tries to turn. The bogies and drive train all turn smoothly and freely. When winding the motor around by hand slowly it will advance itself to the next magnetic pole easily. I have a decoder to put in it so it's kind of a good thing this problem has appeared now so I can be certain it's running fine before the decoder installation. So at this point I'm focusing on brushes. How do I get 'em out ?
I've done a few searches (you probably did also) looking for more info on the motor with no luck. Some time back I did find a post on replacing the motor which I might try at some point. Here is the link to one part of the post on doing that.... https://jamestrainparts.com/2016/12/12/replacing-the-motor-in-a-con-cor-turbineu50c-855-chassis/ Report back on your outcome to the problem. I guess at this point I probably would twist the hex cap and see what happens but maybe someone else will respond. Sumner
If it's the Kato version, yes, the hex-head brush holders unscrew and then the brushes/springs come out. Check for clogged commutator slots, too. Generally, get the commutator real clean. I have never found these Kato motors to be noisy. They run smoothly and quietly on their own. Any noise is caused by the pinion gear/cup gear mesh which can be considerable if not correct. Doug
