How to Prevent the RS-18 DCC Motor Issue

[@ESUDCC]

Great video Rapido! While it's always frustrating when there's a problem, it's teamwork and perseverance like this that never fails us! Thank you everyone for your patience as we worked with Rapido to resolve this problem!

[@rapidotrains]

Thanks, ESUDCC! We couldn't have done it without you.

[@simplsquam]

Ah yes, the beautiful friendship of two train companies

[@SMTMainline]

The honesty in this video is incredibly refreshing, most companies would try and cover up or ignore the problem but instead there is acknowledgement and then a solution. Nothing in this world is flawless, and problems are bound to occur once in a while. What matters is how it's handled and I appreciate how it's being done in this case.

[@rapidotrains]

Thanks for your kind words!

[@michaelcudby787]

I, sir, couldnt agree more. There is way too much no resposibility, in the mode railroad industry.These guys are awesome. Thankyou Ropido. Cheers Michael NZ

[@locoluke4149]

Stuff like this is why I wish I could afford Rapido models. Y’all are wonderful

[@rapidotrains]

Thanks!

[@richardnelson-ux1zz]

I'm glad you're jumping on the problem with the motors need stronger motors

[@NRS8400]

This is a great video by an even better company. Stepping up and addressing the issue despite the challenges the solution may present. Thanks for being up front about it. While I'm past the point of being able to fix the engines with CV values, I'm quite confident that the engines will come back fixed and ready for service. Can't wait to see them and I understand it may take a while, but I'm sure it will be worth it. Thanks, Neil Schofield

[@rapidotrains]

Thanks, Neil! We'll get those models out to you as soon as we get to them in the queue. As you can imagine, we have a big backlog.

[@grublet2093]

What a great company! You take full responsibility when you've got a problem and you get that fix out to us and stand behind your product. I'll be buying a lot more Rapido in the future knowing if I have a problem you guys will be there with the fix!

[@rapidotrains]

Thanks, Nathan!

[@SignalLightProductions]

You guys are awesome! This just goes to show how much pride y'all take in what you do. Right on!

[@rapidotrains]

Thanks!

[@spacemarine88]

Well done team on quickly and effectively dealing with an issue.

[@rapidotrains]

Thanks!

[@canadiantimberwolf1]

Nice that you are willing to cover the costs.. Very Classy...

[@rapidotrains]

Thanks! We want our customers to be happy.

[@MAYNE_line]

I was just talking to Dave about my RS18 you guys have there, he said it was complicated, so I’m glad to see you all are working so incredibly hard to get everything fixed up! These V5 LokSound decoders seem to be problematic all on their own...my Royal Hudson is running beautifully now though as well, I’m proud to be a Rapido Customer ;)

[@cprtrain]

Rap;ido demonstrates that they care about their product quality. Thanks for the update.

[@rapidotrains]

Our pleasure!

[@rampagedm]

awesome work guys, glad you found the problem quickly and a fix for it. this is why i love Rapido Trains

[@rapidotrains]

Thanks!

[@henriknilsson7851]

I have three brand new PRR RS-11s. I hope this programming change fixed the issue. I just could not turn down such beautiful locos!

[@rapidotrains]

It should, as long as you didn't run them for too long beforehand.

[@henriknilsson7851]

@@rapidotrains I have not yet run them at all, so we should be good!

[@gmcliff555]

You people at Rapido, are the BEST !!!!

[@rapidotrains]

Thanks!

[@TonyFleetwood]

I'll go down to the train room now and make the changes so! I only got mine Friday, so i havent even had time to run it. I really appreciate the quick resolution, and i also have NCE so this is quick and easy and not a real hassle!

[@rapidotrains]

Great stuff!

[@dougbailey392]

Cost of original motor vs new... pennies, cost of opening all and reprogramming.... dollars. But you do stand behind your product and that is PRICELESS.

[@rapidotrains]

Thanks! Thought the cost is more than pennies, unfortunately...

[@rexremedy1733]

Commutators, axle bearings, winding ratio, and core balancing are the possible design weaknesses. Motor failure can often occur if the commutator surface is too rough and coal powder accumulates in the commutator causing a short circuits between windings. The Decoder registers lowering resistance as increased load on the motor, and in order to regulate speed, increases the motor current, increasing the current through the commutator shortcircuit. That’s what burns the lower quality motor irreparably, when connected with a dcc decoder. That’s why most motors last longer without DCC decoder. In analog rail control, the operator sees the loco going slow and usually turns it off. That is the reason why the bad motors survive longer with DC.

[@rapidotrains]

Very well summarized. It was, indeed, the commutators.

[@armandito7383]

Great Video, Can tell the CV's descriptions? technically what changes does, thanks so much

[@blanetrain9584]

Interesting to see that newer models will now use coreless motors in them, although I initially thought it would be like the ones Kato used in their P42 which were contained within the trucks themselves

[@rapidotrains]

Not all of the new models - first we're using them in tight spaces like the N scale engines and the SW1200.

[@DeltaModelRailwayClub]

What motor are you using in the Royal Hudsons?

[@rapidotrains]

Same batch, different specs. We will test to see if these CV settings help or not.

[@Bubs031]

does this include the tempo sets as well

[@grublet2093]

Yes the tempo 8s an rs18

[@railwaycityproductions6312]

yes

[@rapidotrains]

Yes, you should apply these changes to the Tempo RS-18.

[@sparky107107]

does this affect the Tempo models? I have not taken mine out of the box. mind you watching the full video helped answer that question

[@cartographer29]

Yes, Tempo's are the same RS-18 chassis

[@rapidotrains]

Yes, you should do this programming change to your Tempo RS-18s before you run them.

[@bdrastal]

Thank you guys for addressing the issue

[@rapidotrains]

Our pleasure. Thanks for your patience.

[@andrestone1849]

Great job and keep up the good no great work. OH! And I love my SOU B36's!

[@rapidotrains]

Thanks!

[@andrewferguson5653]

Thank you, Rapido! I'll fix my Tempo RS18.

[@ferdinandrodriguez5788]

Thank you for your honesty.

[@cmac9029]

So this doesn’t affect the DCC ready models right?

[@rapidotrains]

That's right.

[@MarkusGustav]

Does this affect every single RS-18 with DCC? I just ordered one after a year of saving/searching and just want to be prepared for what I may have to do. I’m super excited for my first Rapido though! Hopefully the first of many.

[@rapidotrains]

We recommend doing the CV change, but if you have any issues with your model please let us know and we’ll do our best to make it right!

[@MarkusGustav]

rapidotrains turns out the store I bought it from did it for me already! But thanks for the reply. I absolutely love the model, definitely be buying more Rapido in future :)

[@robbkardas3641]

Going forward all new videos should include an appearance by Janet.

[@WestCoastRails]

Mohan, perhaps for the novice Digitrax users, advise which mode to program in. Ops, Page, Direct .. ??

[@rapidotrains]

We're programming on the main, so that is Ops mode.

[@joncalon939]

The two characters in the centre of the display on a DT40x throttle should read Po (if it comes up Pg or something else, keep pressing the PROG button on the throttle until it comes up as Po). You should do this after acquiring the address on the throttle. BTW, I really love that throttle skin on the DT402... ;-)

[@ericwheatley1135]

my son just paid $300+ for a brand new Rapido RS-11 on Saturday 8-21-2021, and we read the manual and "wore" it in as recommended, and on Wed 8-25-2021, it just quit / the lights and sound were still working, but it just stopped rolling.. I picked it up and I have never felt a HO locomotive soooo hot.. Please let me know what options we have,.. Right now, we are looking at just returning it the place he bought it from / please let me know any thoughts of what to do before we return it.. thanks Eric

[@rapidotrains]

Hi Eric, sorry to hear this. Please contact our warranty department asap so we can arrange to have your son's RS-11 running as good as new. rapidotrains.com/contact-us

[@RFurneyJr]

This may be a dumb question, but do the B36-7s and RDCs share these same motors/potential issue?

[@rapidotrains]

Not at all, so no need to worry.

[@RFurneyJr]

@@rapidotrains Awesome!! Thanks for getting back so quickly! Keep up the amazing work guys, you're a bright light in the hobby for sure!

[@rdubstacks1289]

Hey guys! Thanks for the vid...you can bet I'll keep buying!

[@rapidotrains]

Thanks for your support!

[@ll-yo5um]

I would suggest writing these CV’s on the bottom of the fuel tank with a sharpie. At the club GSMRM.org we mark the owner’s number along with decoder make, and top speed of the engine on the bottom of the tank. We have several sharpies. Silver for black tanks, and the opposite for opposite colors etcetera. An example could be 20 for the owner, TSU for Tsunami, 70 since we keep road power at 70 scale mph. ʎɹɹɐ˥

[@rapidotrains]

Good idea!

[@bwan13]

I've got a question, if you're unit(s) come back after getting a motor replaced do you have to go through all of these CV changes?

[@rapidotrains]

Shouldn’t be necessary.

[@hohobbyist1098]

Not related to the video, but when do you expect the RS11s to be available for purchase at one of your authorized retailers?

[@rapidotrains]

They left our warehouse yesterday.

[@deanpurcell7771]

Do these CV changes affect the F10 problem at all? The independent brake only holds for 10 seconds or so.

[@rapidotrains]

No. We did not customize the brakes at all. They should be standard ESU brakes.

[@CM-ARM]

Good luck guys

[@paulsreef27]

Dealers that have this model presently in stock, would it have this issue?

[@rapidotrains]

They may need the CV fix if it already hasn't been done, but rest assured we will repair any models under warranty should there be an issue.

[@richardlangellotti6208]

Does this apply to the ARHS Lehigh Valley RS-11s also? Yeah, I haven't watched the whole video while typing this.

[@rapidotrains]

Did you watch to the end yet? 😁 The RS-11 had the settings changed at our office. You don't have to change anything.

[@richardlangellotti6208]

@@rapidotrains After all this holiday stuff is over, then I'll finish it. Those RS-11s are great, but I need to tone down the momentum. If the train ahead of me on the club layout has a problem, I can't ever stop in time.

[@ricklambert2435]

Does those cv”s work for the sw1200 “s to. I got 2 of the sw1200” s the RI and the soo and thay are running jerky on speed step 1 and 2 and 3 runs a little better .

[@rapidotrains]

Should need to, but if your model is having trouble please reach out to our warranty department: rapidotrains.com/contact

[@railer5516]

Where did you get the skin for the digitrax throttle?

[@rapidotrains]

A friend of ours in Calgary made it for us. Not sure if she is still doing them.

[@railer5516]

@@rapidotrains that's awesome I'd love to have one done for my throttle of my favorite rr

[@laheu]

Thanks guys

[@ericwheatley1135]

just last night, 8-26-2021, I stopped off at my train club adn I saw someone unboxing a brand new Rapido RS-11, just like the one my son bought last Saturday 8-21-2021 / the were running it around the layout, per wear in instructions, and after about 40 minutes, it just stopped, and like ours, it was hot to the touch.. / I think these new RS-11's have a major drive train issue.. / Thanks

[@rapidotrains]

The motors were faulty in this batch, however we will replace them under warranty. Please contact our repair department and we'll make it right. rapidotrains.com/contact-us

[@Poliss95]

Shouldn't the tune at the end be Space Adventure? ;-)

[@rapidotrains]

We used that once, before we knew that we had to pay for the use of old music. Now we wouldn't even know how to get permission to use it. The perfect accompaniment for any Yeti or Cyberman appearance... 😁

[@jetbee1106]

My classification lights only show a white light. No other colors. Off then white, then off, then white again. Any fix for that? I think green or red should show up too when you cycle F 11. Thanks.

[@blanetrain9584]

They had planned to include the other class light colours, but due to technical issues with having them work directionally, they only came with white class lights but hadn't updated the manual to reflect this

[@dckmusic]

From Rapido's RS18 support page: At the time the RS-18 manual was printed, the intention was to have working, multiple-colour classification lights installed. However, due to unforseen technical issue that could not be rectified in a timely manner, it was decided to revert to only having white class lights in order to not further delay the project and eventual shipment to customers.

[@craigramsay53]

On one of the Canadian Railway Modellers sites they said that white is it-- working green or red did not end up in the final product.

[@bradfordsmith3030]

Rapido notes on their RS-18 support page that, due to technical issue, the class lights were only able to be made white. rapidotrains.com/warranty/product-support/ho-scale-mlw-rs-18-support

[@rapidotrains]

The RS-18 only has white class lights. The RS-11 has white and green.

[@thecanadianrailfan2354]

What motor is going to be in the h6gs and will the 1392h6g have Leakey boiler pipes

[@rapidotrains]

A very good one. Have no worries...

[@thecanadianrailfan2354]

rapidotrains cool thx

[@jlttrains2773]

How do I know if mine has the new motor or not?

[@rapidotrains]

If you have an RS-18, it does not have this programming. If you have an RS-11, it does.

[@jlttrains2773]

rapidotrains would this include the RS-18 in the tempo set?

[@jomama05]

Class act from y’all

[@rapidotrains]

Thanks! Honesty is the best policy...

[@marineraptor6696]

at 4:11 your using i guessing professional ESU lok programmer. i have retail lok programmer.

[@rapidotrains]

You should be able to overwrite the defaults with any LokProgrammer.

[@LukeLovesTrains-Mr.RailYard]

Pretty cool thanks for sharing

[@rapidotrains]

You're welcome.

[@cedarvalleyrail8419]

The title of this video should be changed to "How to Prevent the RS-18 DCC Motor Issue"

[@rapidotrains]

Good point. We'll change it.

[@BriansModelTrains]

Why not be like Apple and blame the users? Great video and great people ( Not Apple....I mean Rapido Trains ).

[@rapidotrains]

Thanks!

[@Cristiano_fan31]

Hi I like your rapido trains I need rs 18 tempo train set

[@rapidotrains]

These are sold out now, but stores may have them in stock still.

[@stephenriley9084]

Jason, Important things first. Make Jordan watch a 1960s Cyberman. Secondly, a trousers down message from a manufacturer is rocking horse poop! To fess up publicly is uncommon and by providing a solution first off, publicly is commendable. I used to work in the electro mechanical industry and right now I empathise with your pain. However, your customer base can only be reassured by your up front post. Mazel tov! Kindest Regards Stephen.

[@rapidotrains]

Thanks, Stephen. We appreciate it!

[@WestCoastRails]

BTW...Luv my new RS18 :)

[@trainships1795]

CYBERMEN FROM DOCTOR WHO SERIES.