Dapol coach problem (melted axles)

bbdave · September 04, 2012, 12:45:27 PM

I wasn't sure where to post so feel free to move this.

I have 3 Dapol coaches which have been fine they sat on a siding for a while till recently when i cleared all the stock off for scenic work. Today i decided to run some trains but when i put one of the coaches on the track i saw there was a problem the axles have melted can anyone tell me the cause if one is known i have taken pictures but not touched the axles as yet.
I know all i need to do is probably replace them but what will stop it happening again?.

Looking back i did have some dodgy running a while back some unexplained stopages i just put it down to my old dc controller but it could have been these axles shorting.

Dave

zwilnik · September 04, 2012, 01:04:11 PM

That looks nasty! It does look like they've had a serious bit of current across them and melted the plastic, but I'd have thought the plastic axle is meant to insulate each conducting wheel (assuming they're light bar ones) from each other.

It might be worth contacting Dapol to let them know as it's potentially a recall or replacement wheels issue if their light bar coaches are prone to shorting across the insulator and melting.

Elvinley · September 04, 2012, 01:06:52 PM

I've had a couple of their light-bars melt coach roofing, but never seen anything like this!

Gnep · September 04, 2012, 01:20:04 PM

When you cleared them off the layout, did you put them on a surface (radiator?) that might've gotten hot? It looks like the wheels might have conducted the heat up to the axles and the plastic used there has a lower softening temperature than the bogies?

Strange...

EtchedPixels · September 04, 2012, 01:30:49 PM

The plastic piece is a small cylinder of plastic into which the two half axles are pushed. I've seen them split (more often than they should too) but not seen melted ones before and the two halves should never touch. I guess in your case they were too close together and perhaps did.

Not clear though if they melted because of a short across the wheels or because the coach was perhaps shorting through the power pickups and the whole half axle got hot. Is there any visible heat damage elsewhere on the bogie eg behind the pickups ?

One to ask Dapol - you'll pretty much have to go to them to get replacement axles anyway for the lightbar coaches.

bbdave · September 04, 2012, 02:00:00 PM

They were taken straight off the layout and put into the box i have no lightbars fitted so i guess they shorted through some other method.
Checking the other two coaches one shows slight melting to one axle the other no damage at all. In double checking the first the bogies are also quite badly melted.

I use an old Duette controller i guess this can't have surged as the locos would have gone pop as it is only on when i'm running them
I have emailed Dapol about this as i think it must be a fault with the coaches

Dave

bbdave · September 05, 2012, 06:22:38 PM

Update Dapol seem to think it's my HandM Duette controller that has caused it

Dave

bbdave · November 13, 2012, 05:41:34 PM

Just an update i had been in contact with Dapol and they said they would send some replacement axles which i was happy with but they have now stopped replying to my emails so a big thumbs down to Dapol

Dave

GrahamB · November 13, 2012, 05:52:22 PM

Have you e-mailed Dapol Dave directly?

I had a poor response from Dapol once, posted my concern on another forum and got a pm from Dapol Dave within minutes! He then took control and sorted everything.

bbdave · November 13, 2012, 06:07:48 PM

I think thats who i've been mailing at Dapol i only seem to have major issues with Dapol so i think i'll avoid them from now on

Dave

GrahamB · November 13, 2012, 07:24:16 PM

You have a pm.

RussellH · November 13, 2012, 07:41:14 PM

Hi Dave and All,
Dont know if this helps but Iv seen a couple of cases of the axles touching inside the tube and shorting out the track but only on the NGS limited edition cargo wagons. Easy fix of carefully pulling out a wheel, filing down the end fractionally and refitting - but sadly not in this case. (Also seen a few more cases like EP say's of the tube cracking sometimes completely in half - all fixed with superglue if you have enough of the bits!).

Going back to your excellent photos particularly the 2nd and 3rd ones - I think there maybe more going on as the pinpoint pickups on the end of the axles have also deformed along with the bogie frame.

Regards
Russ

bbdave · November 14, 2012, 03:45:27 PM

Basically Dapol said it would be my fault as there was to much voltage getting to them which had caused the melting, which it can't have been as there is only power when the locos are running so any extreme over voltage surely would have damaged them. But as this was the only case it must be my fault

As i said they did offer to replace the axles but i have sent several emails to them after waiting the month or so for them to get stock but i now get no replies i have tested my controller extensively and it doesn't over volt.

I havn't told them i'm a qualified sparks just in case they tried feeding me some torus excretia

Dave

Anthony Lloyd · November 14, 2012, 04:02:24 PM

I know this may sound either stupid or obvious ... but what type of layout do you have (as in free standing, shelf, table top)...

... could it have been a radiator or something similar that was on UNDER the layout at any time that caused the heat if they have just been sat in a siding and its only occurred to one end of the set of three?

Just a thought.

EtchedPixels · November 14, 2012, 04:40:56 PM

Quote from: bbdave on November 14, 2012, 03:45:27 PM
As i said they did offer to replace the axles but i have sent several emails to them after waiting the month or so for them to get stock but i now get no replies i have tested my controller extensively and it doesn't over volt.

If they sent you an offer to replace them then that ought to be enforcable if you have to twist arms and pull the odd leg off. Taking it up privately with DapolDave on rmweb is probably a better starting point however as it'll bypass anyone further down the food chain who doesn't know what has been going on.