I'VE GOT 25 PROBLEMS! Made in China Ringfield Motor with Manufacturing Faults! Model Railway Repairs

In this video we look at a Hornby Class 25 (catalogue number R2237B). This was a second hand purchase that runs really badly. I'll take you through the steps needed to get this working again and along the way discover a serious manufacturing fault on the Chinese made Ringfield style motor that has caused this model to fail.
#modelrailways #modeltrains #vintagetoys #hornby #hornbymodelrailways #hornbyrailways #hornbytrains
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[@dafyddthomas7299]

Most excellent job of repairing the 25.

[@JerseyBill-x9r]

You did a great job repairing the motor, but I don't think China nor Hornby are to blame for its running problems. Although the locomotive was handled carefully over the years the motor was not attended too properly and probably not at all. The commutator became covered in grease and oil, and the brushes became heated burning the grease and oil coating the commutator and the springs got hot and lost temper, (no longer a spring), plus this all melted the plastic that coated the commutator that further added more problems. Granted the motor is a cheaper version of the original without the metal sleeves for the brush spring assembly but the commutator plates looked nickel plated or brass so Hornby thought plastic would be fine due to the reduced heat from nickel and brass, they were wrong. You ended up with a fine runner with years of life left in the end so good job. Great video, Jersey Bill

[@williamscates3915]

Its clear this model never got the maintenance it needs to keep going. No hornby manufacturing issues, just bad owner issues. Be sure to keep it clean (i think you missed cleaning the old mess off the plastic face plate, but what was on there made it clear that it had been run too long). Cleaning, oiling and gentle running gets any ringfield thats in one piece going again. I've done hundreds of these motors over and like you say the removal of the metal brush guide rivet thingy was a cheap move. They did that in the early 90s to margate models. That was at the same time that the screws got put in to hold the brushes rather than the old folding retainer. It does sound like it needs oil on the face plate bearing. Good to see the differences All the best Will

[@stevenpeaketrainsandstuff3682]

Ringfields need maintenance, but once you work through any faults, I generally find they run quite well. I use silicone grease in the bearings of the armature, as well as on the gear teeth and bearings. Be sparing as you apply it, smearing it on attracts debris. It should quieten the motor down substantially. Good vid. Steven.

[@toucan221]

excellent advice with Silicon grease thanks for that 😃😃

[@RonCooper-nl4pn]

I have always used Silicone grease and I have never had any issues / problems with any of my O, OO, & N gauge models, I have always recommended to my fellow Club members. It’s Brilliant stuff and I still have the original Tin that I bought years ago !

[@stevenpeaketrainsandstuff3682]

@@RonCooper-nl4pn I reckon it extends the running life of the motor. Less heat, quiet operation and smooth performance.

[@railway187]

Great video 👍

[@toucan221]

AH now that I have watched the whole video, yes interesting to see bad plastic flashing, I shall watch for that If I buy something with a Ringfield motor in it, Thank you for sharing

[@toucan221]

by the way, just in case it didn't get any better, you can actually buy replacement kits for the Ringfield motor

[@kellypaws]

You shouldn't be criticising Hornby for a 'manufacturing fault' based on a model introduced in 1977. It's impractical and disingenuous, giving the thumbnail's impression that it could easily be something current, rather than as it is - a vintage product. Particularly given that the vast majority of today's current can motors are entirely unserviceable and stand little to no chance of lasting that long.

[@ProfPtarmigan]

I had a poor running ringfield from new that just needed one of the carbon brushes filing flat so it made a better contact on the copper ring.

[@DrAl60103]

That's not manufacturing issue - it's overheated and started to melt the faceplate - that's why the springs have compressed also. Common failing on smaller motors (N Gauge) of this design when they've been over-strained. You're actually lucky that it didn't burn out the armature.

[@AllensTrains]

Quite an interesting video - I watched it all the way through! Maybe you should have replaced the Ringfield with one of those CD replacement motors advertised on eBay? Thanks for uploading.

[@stephendavies6949]

Still a bargain at £15, now you've managed to fix it. I have many ringfield-motored locos (although not any 25s) in my collection and have carried out maintenance on all of them at least once, but have never encountered the problem you experienced. I also watch both OOBill & DansModelRailway YT channels and I can't recall seeing them come across it either.

[@user-wo6qn3vf9n]

I don't know why people buy cack models and then complain about them.

[@ModelRailwayNewsReviews]

Maybe because they didn't know it was cack when they bought it. Thought Hornby was the market leader?

[@user-wo6qn3vf9n]

Yes, the problem was Hornby was all you could get at one time.

[@charlesduncan3194]

You are lucky it was a small problem you have, ive lost about 20 hornby trains to mazak rot, with the cheep Chinese metal hornby are using ,the last train i had was a 20l8, royal scott ,they are still turning out rubbish today, the reason they get away with it is, the warranty is about 6 to 12 months, mazak rot sets in about 24 months well after the warranty runs out, when you ask for a repair they say its out of warranty. Do your self a favour and stick to bachmann i have. If you haven't seen mazak rot before go to the video class 31,s with mazak.rot also fixing 9f mazat rot

[@gerrynewton55020]

Bin the ringfield and replace with a CD motor. Will run 100 times better!

[@petersmith4455]

hi there, hornby quality is bad, the amount of times i see locos failing is quite a lot, we never had this problem in the Triang days, i understand hornby is seven million in the red

[@williamscates3915]

This is a much older loco, enough that you could say its almost tri-ang I never have any issues with ringfields. What locos are failing for you?