I have decided to discontinue N scale services due to the unpredictable surprises which always seem to arise on these models.  Many N scale models require more time than what I consider reasonable.  In some cases it can take several hours to perform the needed work and I cannot in good conscience charge a customer for the true amount of time it takes to perform a repair.  So I lose valuable time which can be utilized on other repairs.  The only N scale models I will service are those submitted for warranty repair from Fleischmann under agreement with Modelleisenbahn GmbH

We can do anything you need including LED lighting installation in passenger cars, all types of sound and non-sound decoder installations, overhauls and extensive repair.  We service HO, Z,  and more.

Decoder Killer!

Are your locomotive's lights flashing (a warning from your decoder that there is excessive current draw) or does it run and stall? Does it run again after sitting for a while?  Or- Does it just generally run like crap? You likely have a clogged commutator.  Allowing this to continue will permanently damage the armature and the decoder.  It does not matter how old the locomotive is.......

An important motor primer all hobbyists should understand:

All motors are susceptible to commutator clogging and Märklin's new "maintenance free" can motors are no exception.  This condition can destroy the decoder if not caught in time.  The locomotive will tell you about it if you pay attention to the symptoms listed in the questions above.  Motors are often over lubricated at the factory and the oil eventually seeps in around the motor shaft bushing to the commutator.  Some motor designs are more susceptible to this than others.  Carbon shed from the brushes as the motor runs, mixes with the oil and continues to accumulate in the insulating grooves of the commutator until a thick paste of oily carbon is packed into the grooves.  This carbon paste is conductive just like  the motor brushes and it shorts the commutator segments together.  This causes the motor to draw excessive current, causing the armature to overheat.  The overeating can get so extreme that the solder connections between the armature windings and the commutator melt and sling off into the motor's interior or brush plate cover.  This heat can also melt and burn the thin shellac coating on the motor windings and cause the bare wires to make contact, which destroys the armature.  The photo below is a Märklin High Efficiency Propulsion DC motor from a locomotive I serviced.  A picture really is worth a thousand words.  You can see the extreme accumulation of brush debris on the commutator.  The commutator is shorted electrically, but  is still okay on this armature and it maintains a normal color.  An overheated commutator will turn dark or look badly tarnished or even distorted and no longer round.  Motor windings will darken in color if the shellac has overheated and burned. However, I seldom see darkened windings anymore as a locomotive's decoder is usually destroyed before this happens. 

You can help slow or prevent this from happening to your 5-pole High Efficiency Propulsion motors by using a small smear of grease instead of oil on the tip of the armature shaft where it comes through the brush plate.  A little oil goes a long way on motor bearings too, so on can motors, use only one drop.  I remove the can motor of every diesel and electric locomotive with cardan shaft drive that comes in for service.  I cut a service port into the plastic brush housing to allow for cleaning and future servicing of the commutator.  This does not harm the motor in any way.  I then clean the commutator and clean all traces of oil out of the motor and re-lubricate with one drop of oil on the motor shaft bushings.  If serviced  early enough, this saves the motor and decoder and gives the owner a way to access the commutator for future cleaning. 

I have had armatures like the one pictured above come in that have overheated and gotten so hot (in excess of 400 degrees F) that the the solder joints where the windings meet the commutator have melted and slung off and onto the brush plate!This armature's commutator is electrically shorted with oil and motor brush residue that has gotten packed into the insulating segments.  What's around the outside of the commutator is the excess brush debris that could no longer go into the insulating segments and just accumulated in the brush housing.

Brush residue beginning to accumulate in commutator insulating segments  (click images to enlarge)

Destroyed armature from overheating caused by brush debris clogging the commutator.  Brush debris, which is conductive, short circuits the poles of the armature and causes the motor to draw excessive current.  This overheats the armature and leads to a range of damage from heat discoloration of the commutator to melted commutator solder joints  or worst case, complete destruction as shown below. This one is an extreme case.  If a motor gets this bad, the decoder will likely be destroyed too.

We received this for repair

We returned this to the customer

 Before   

After

Which level of craftsmanship do you want inside your locomotive???