Heljan Class 16: Repair Request
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- čas přidán 25. 07. 2024
- This nice Heljan Class 16 locomotive was sent to me by a chap called Neil. It had been sat in it's box for six years as a non runner. Can I get it going again?
ko-fi.com/00bill73561 - Jak na to + styl
This model is exceedingly accurate: the real ones stopped working and emitted great amounts of smoke quite regularly, too.
Another great video Bill. You've got to hand it to Heljan for building the unreliability of the original engines into their models ☺
Absolutely brilliant job Bill, you're much braver than me tackling a job like that. The fiddly nature of the internal workings of these modern locomotives is what puts me off them. I wouldn't even consider attempting to take the body off something like that. Well done mate
absolutely mind bogling how you repaired this loco.This is far beyond my capabilities.Well done Bill
Well done Bill = a fascinating journey into the world of Heljan engineering. I have a Heljan 'Hymek', very pleased with it since it looks good an runs very well, although, in common with a lot of other owners, all the wheels and axles were replaced early on.
The model rail equivalent of open heart surgery! Well done ! If you think this Heljan loco was fussy and tricky you should try a class 17 . You have to take the buffers off to get the body off complete with infernal springs that are a complete pain to get back in . They are not made for easy maintenance that’s for sure .
With the Class 17, once the bearings had been turned the right way up, mine gave no further trouble, though.
Great video Bill. I fully agree with you that the 3 pole motor is underpowered for the heavy weight of this loco. I recently bought one of these from Olivia’s Trains and the motor burnt out after a few months. I was running it at moderate speeds with small pulling loads. I had to have the motor replaced on mine. It’s a slow runner compared to Bachmann locos. Despite this it’s a lovely loco with great detail. It’s somewhat ironic that this model seems to replicate the problems of the real Class 16 locos which had to be withdrawn from service by BR in 1968 due to frequent engine seizures. Best wishes, Liam
You're a brave man, Bill, working on one of these locos. My one-and-only Heljan loco, a Class 17 Clayton, didn't even finish running-in, before the motor burnt-out! Not impressed with the manufacturer but very impressed with your repair.
From what I can make out on RMWeb, the class 17 is notoriously bad. There are some good ones, but more bad ones. I'm waiting to see if they have sorted the problems out with the next batch.
I have a Heljan class 07 and class 128. The class 07 runs fine. The class 128 however, runs fine one way, but, the opposite way it makes a weird noise. I need to take it apart and look into it.
Well done, you are very clever at fixing locos, even ones you have never seen before! I have some Heljan locos, and the thing I hate about them is the very tiny wires, not sure why they use such thin ones!
You're a brave and resourceful man. I'm afraid I would have looked at that one and just despaired. As you say at the end of the video, it will probably need to be treated with restraint, else the same thing will likely just happen again. I haven't ventured on a Heljan model, and I'm not sure that I want to. Though, of course, burnt out motors are, sadly, far from unknown in Hornby and Bachmann models, especially recent ones, it seems.
Quality recovery Bill. I would agree the internals look very fiddly. As you said the little motor is probably having yo work very hard just to move itself. If the motor keeps burning out then with the room under the body shell there may be space for a larger motor, but for now it works again. Another happy modeller can be thankful of all your skills.
Very impressive fix.
A really informative warts and all video and it is all the better for it. Fantastic. I have wondered about buying the model but they do seem to have a reputation for tending to burn out their motors.
Great intricate repair Bill, bet you'd rather have a Hornby or Lima.😊
Yet another great repair video, thanks Bill.
Nice one Bill. Just love your repair videos. I bet you have encouraged a lot of modellers to retrieve a broken train and fix it. Thanks for sharing
I hope so.
Another great video and a job well done
Michael
Quite surprised to see that the body is screwed on, all the Heljan models I have are awful clip on affairs (though they're a bit easier to take off than other manufacturers).
To get the bogies out is a proper faff on, need to disconnect one of those tiny fragile wire sockets from the pcb that gets the power from the pick ups, remove the clip holding the top of the bogie frame together so you can get the ring out of the chassis holding the drive shaft in place on the bogie. And then do all that in reverse putting it back together.
And yes, all the buffer beam detail is fitted as standard, straight out the box with the tension locks supplied in the additional detail bag.
Fantastic job. Well done 👍
A tour de force. It’ll probably now run for longer than the prototypes did!
Evening Bill. Another fantastic video 👍🏻
hi bill, great repair on a classic loco,pity non were preserved of this class.i think they had a Davy- Paxman engine from what i can remember
I have one of these and so far it has performed well. However, I have not demanded of it any great loads, especially on my helix. So, per your advice, I am forewarned and hence, now, forearmed, not to tax its power limits. Thank you for a fascinating and instructive video.
Well Bill i take my hat of to you,that was very brave the videos you post are brilliant
Another good video, thanks. I stripped a Heljan 47 that had a bent chassis due to Mazak and the bogies were attached to the chassis by a sort of gimbal which slotted into the sidewalls of the chassis. You released a retaining clip on top of the bogie and the bogie sort of fell apart allowing you to take out the gimbal. There is a well documented issue with some Heljan locos where the driveshafts fail so you get motor noise but no drive.
Very brave ! Just watching the video brought me out in a sweat.
Nice challenge, fine results.
That wasn't easy. Awesome work, sensei.
Allways an interesting bill great stuff
Nice one Bill!!
Brilliant job Bill. I have four Heljan locomotives and have not had any problems myself, but well done Great video. Bill From Western Australia. Bill Just remember it would probably as much as the locomotive for postage of spares to WA though.
Stay Safe Best Regards
Just like the original Class 16 - Unreliable! 😂
hi yes, due to clown designers at NBL,no proper ventilation or cooling system
I have three of these and they suffer from coagulated grease in the bogie drivetrains which puts excessive strain on the rather fragile motor. Cleaning out and replacing the grease with something lighter improves running and saves the motors. Some other Heljan diesels with this motor have the same issue.
Well done Bill, I would hate to work on something like that .... far too fiddly for old fingers like mine.😁
Nice job bill, considering it was out of your comfort zone 👍
Brilliant vid have you thought about using a 08 shunter to push dead locos in to the shed 😆
I don't think even a Wrenn or Dublo would shift this thing. I've actually tried shunting dead locos into the shed but it would need a shunter with a lot of torque and traction. Some sort of winch would be better.
Nice job Bill,i hate these modern type of motor setup with all those fiddly wires,having Lima class 37s and class 33s nice to work on,when i treated myself to a Bachmann class 37,when i took the body i thought what the heck is all this about !
Lovely job Bill
Nick Australia
Lendons of Cardiff are a great supplier of motors for model locos.
Hi Bill, Olivia's trains do spare motors for Heljan locos and they are better than the originals. Keep up the good work. Steve
Fascinating. I have 2 of these plus numerous other Heljans. They are ok at the moment but I will have to get an ammeter to measure current draw. I’ve currently got a problem with a blown motor on a Heljan AC railbus. I got a replacement motor courtesy Lendons of Cardiff who also swapped the gears over. It a bugger to put back together and it was a 21 pin with lights . I’m thinking of doing away with the PCB and hard wiring it into an 8 pin decoder with just motor and pick up wires . You think this might work ?
Thank you
Another good repair, Bill, especially on a machine you've never worked on before (exciting, isn't it?). Expensive repair for your client, but it's either that or scrap! Can heljan help with any reason why the motor may have failed? You hinted at an underpowered problem! Could you give details on the 'puller' device, please? I can't find it anywhere! Thanks, Jim L
Excellent stuff! Would you fancy working on a Hornby E2 that the wheels have gone out of sync and the motor has seized?
Hi Bill Further to you repair it is not that Gaugemaster does not have these motors it is just that they wont sell you one, as they keep them for Warranty claims. That is what they told me. However Olivias Trains have replacement motors from a new source and if you send them they old motor they will swap the flywheels over for £5 with the cost of the Motor being £30. Which helps if you not competent of changing the flywheels yourself I have the class 15 with a burnt out motor so will have to deal with this in time
Hi Bill, is possible to get wheel pickups spares for a diesel locomotive?
One of your best yet Bill, did you run it in?
I wouldn't run this for more than ten minutes at a time. Too much risk of motor burn out and I want the owner to get at least some use before it blows again. Running for the typical 20mins or half hour each way just too risky. And with a can motor not really necessary. Its not a new model.
Mine has also expired.😢
Hi Bill can you by any chance give us the correct name and size for the flywheel puller you used for the removal of the brass flywheels. Also what brand of molly grease do you use ? I tried stopping the video but just couldnt see the brand of the grease you are using.
What a great looking engine.
Also is this engine a dcc or dc engine as the lights look quite bright when you brought it out of the (tardis fixit shed) of yours haha. Is this as a result of all the circuit boards ?
Sorry for soo many questions but im always willing to learn as I have renewed luv for trains.
Thanks again to you for the gR8 and awesome videos you put on youtube for us to watch learn and enjoy.
Cheers from John in Australia.
The puller is a cheap unbranded thing off ebay. Try looking up pinion gear puller. The grease is Hob-e-lube but any molygrease will do. The model is DCC ready which means it can be fitted with a decoder but has a blanking plate to allow it to run on DC.
@@oobill thanks heeps m8 ,,
Muchly appreciated and thankyou from John in Australia.
Can i get a service?
We're can I get the moter from is it class 15 or 16
How about opening up the dead motor? Might tell you why it failed.
problem with those motors is that they are sealed can motors, hence why i prefer hornby ringfield or lima pancake ones
No point. If a can motor doesn't work bin it and replace it.
They seem to very expensive models!
I presume the owner paid for those replacement parts? Im all up for doing a repair for free but replacing the parts shouldnt be your cost.
When you took the body off and popped the motor retainer off if you look at either bogie you'll see where the drive shaft connects to to worm drive on the bogie. That is retained by clip cover which you pop off. Having worked on US models for over 30yrs I find that modern English models are designed overly complicated. Take Bachmann diesels which have the stupidest idea for a chassis, at least the older ones haven't taken apart a new class 47 yet. The upside down chassis idea makes it really frustrating and time consuming to repair or fit DCC sound. Heljan well after working on a few of their Garret's and class 33's things could be better.
why are models such hot house flowers these days ? i still have a few triang locos from when i was 6 ! ......... motors still going with the odd spot of tlc.