I ask this question to members of this forum, as I am experiencing an incredible amount of locos that are failing. In the last 12 months I have returned over a dozen locos while still under warranty. This is about a half of my purchases. The latest loco to come back to me was the insider club model 39095 - the problem a defective decoder. This model has a 5 year warranty and I used it for about ONE MONTH. Most of the locos that I've returned have had defective decoders. Therefore , the conclusion that I have come to is that Marklin are using inferior electronic components in their locos. I've written to various managers at Marklin and I've haven't had any replies. I am so disappointed with these products and I watch the Marklin TV episodes which show how the quality control is used in their factories - BS, or as you might say, propaganda.

Am I the only one receiving these inferior products or are you all getting them?

Regards
Greg

That's worrying, Greg!

I haven't had any decoder issues with any of the new locos I've bought in the last few years, but then I don't buy at the same rate as you do!

I sincerely hope that the failure rate for everyone is much less than the 50% you are experiencing. I wonder if any particular way of running your locos might make them more or less reliable?

I run each of my locos that are on the layout for 15 to 20 minutes at a time for an average of 5 or so sessions a week. After a week or two the locos gets put away and others take their places as I rotate through my collection. Each loco comes back onto the layout about twice a year. This amount of usage may be considered quite light and this may contribute to my experience of good reliability.

The only major components I've needed to replace are the cheap can motors that are fitted to many of the newer locos. I have had to replace them on two of my locos, a Prussian T16 and a Kof III. Both motors were easily replaced by me and the cost of the motors was insignificant.

Hi, risking to summon some bad demons, i must say that all my locos, including the new 241 A have run with no problems at all so far. In fact the only problem arised with a Brawa with a defective motor.
Regards

Hi Greg

Sorry to hear about this. I don't purchase that many new Märklin locos (only 2 per year typically now) but I purchased the Insider 39095 (a beautiful BR 95) and it worked fine. On the other hand I purchased last year the Marklin Insider 39952 (VT 95), it went dead after 2 to 3 hours operation, I went to my dealer in Paris who kindly offered to swap it, the next one was not OK either (also a decoder issue) only the third one was OK.

Because my layout is not so small I operate my trains a lot (total of 30 MFX sound locos). Their reliability is decent (It is OK for me).

What I observe sometimes is an unwanted change of parameters (on the Turmtriebwagen's access platform and on the VT 95) . So the first thing to do is to reset factory parameters. It worked for me quite a number of times. For the special case of the Turmtriebwagen, I had to search what was the new digital address was- took time but worked.

Conclusion: reliability is not too bad except a bad period on decoders in 2017. Also always perform a factory reset before giving up on a digital model that is not working.

Cheers

Jean

My layout video: Video

It has been many years that Maerklin and other manufacturers have been cutting corners in order to lower costs. This means that OEM decoders have fewer features than the commercial versions, that models may have less detail than earlier models. For example, most, if not all, locomotives from the 1960s to around 1982 had milled lighting channels, which focused the light into what looked like headlight beams in front of the locomotive or pilot coach. Today's locomotives just produce a diffused glow in front of the locomotive. IMHO that is not progress.

Many of you have seen topics where I have addressed this as hobby vs expert model. I do not expect Maerklin to make ultra detailed models, but it would be nice to see them step up a little bit.
This would mean the introduction of multicolored interiors, something that other brands have had since the 1980s. It would also mean that models of the Traxx and other hobby type locomotives would have more realistic reproduction of the brake pads and wheels.

I was really ticked off about the paintwork on the 37446 Re 482. This happened shortly after the problem with the 37360 Ae 610, which modellers managed to get Maerklin to correct, but in this case, they did not correct the flaw and all models released had spots where the red paint was visible when it should not have been. I was fortunate to have found a few Trix 22631 at a very good price and was satisfied with the model after a shell swap. That solution worked for me, but might not work for everybody.

My faith was partially restored with the 37462, 39460 Re 460s and the 39863 SBB Cargo ES64 F4. Nicely done.

I am concerned that it will become harder to source spare parts for classic models and also for the newer models. It used to be that you just needed brushes, traction tires and sliders, but today, the motors have to be swapped out, the cardan shafts wear out and there have been many models where the parts vary from year to year.

I also wonder what the lifespan of current parts will be for those who want to maintain an ersatzteillager for their collection.

Regards

Mike C

Well another month has passed and another decoder has gone bung. This time it's in the 37007 small diesel loco. I've just about had enough of these cheap inferior decoders sold in the expensive "wonderful" Marklin products. I'm retaining myself from using bad language as I don't want to be thrown off the forum. However, if Marklin doesn't get its act together very soon, then I'm off to another manufacturer. There's another thread here on the forum referring to the status of the model train manufacturers, as to car manufacturers. Well I would put Marklin on the same level as FIAT (The Fix It Again Tony car manufacture.
If anyone has a direct line to Marklin, please send them this thread. Maybe, just maybe they might realise that they are destroying a previous quality product and brand name.

Hi Greg, it won't be much comfort but I find myself somewhat inclined to agree with the suspicion that your failures may have an actual cause rather than simply randomly failing.

Without knowing anything about your layout it's near-impossible to give anything other than general suggestions, many of which have already been provided by others.

But likely culprits include such things as poor electrical connections - hard to find for sure but these can introduce sparking and/or arcing which may not even be visible. You could have a stray wire, or worse, a single strand or two of a flexible wire that it giving an intermittent short-circuit. Some rolling stock can have issues where for example a poorly adjusted coupling may contact the center stud in a turnout or double-slip and also cause a brief short.

Be aware also that sometimes, electronic component failure is a cumulative event, meaning that whatever 'might' be behind the problems may not be enough to zap the decoder in one hit, but several such events over weeks or months may gradually weaken it until you reach the straw that breaks the camels back (so to speak).

I think it is worth heeding the experiences of others here, some of whom have quite large collections, and yet experience very few decoder failures. Sure, we'd like to think that the decoders are robust enough to take the hits, but to keep the prices sustainable there has to be a limit - military-grade decoders are certainly possible, but the price might make your eyes water. !!

I have seen some pretty bizarre things in my life and one that springs to mind was when I was servicing office equipment, specifically electronic typewriters, a well-known German brand no less. Anyway this particular customer was having an intermittent problem where the machine would suddenly have a fit, reset itself, sometimes losing whatever was in memory and so on. It finally turned out that the cause of the problem usually co-incided with when the Burger bar next door fired up their deep fryers mid-afternoon - there was quite a noticeable dip in the power, a so-called "brown-out" where the power briefly dropped below the usual range. This was more than the power supply in the typewriter was rated to compensate for so it would object. It needed a sparky to sort out but it was a definite cause and effect.

You may need to try to isolate whether your issues are coming from within your layout or beyond it and perhaps a quick way to intervene there would be to invest in a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply). Although the main aim of these devices is to provide short-term power in the event of a cut, they also have the bonus of providing quite a stable filtered output. They are now priced very reasonably so it may be worth looking in to.

But if the suspected interference is developing within your layout or peripheral wiring, you may have a much bigger job on your hands, potentially as dramatic as having to completely rewire your layout which of course may also involve lifting all the track. From that perspective, most of us would agree that having neat and tidy wiring starting with the first section of track laid will prove to be time well-spent in the long-run.

It may also be worth looking at your control equipment, what Controller/s are you using? What is the power source (Trafo etc)? These are also factors to consider.

I do not envy the task ahead of you in trying to find the culprit but you may be looking at the symptom rather than the cause.

Good luck!

Hardly had any problems with Locos although I tend to wait until any new loco has been on sale for a while.
Looking at the number of failures experienced with decoders I would say something other that just a decoder failure is causing the problem.
Rather than return to Germany can the locos be returned to a local dealer if bought from them.

Hi fellas,
Thanks for your thoughts.
I have made 5 seperate layouts at 5 locations, hence the quantity of trains. The layouts range from 10 square metres to 15 square metres, and each is fitted with a UPS. Therefore, voltage variations and spikes is not an issue. As for the Marklin service department - I don't want to publicly comment about it. I can say that I have on numerous occasions contacted them regarding these issues AND in last September I personally spoke to Frank Mayer expressing my concerns. Again, I don't want to publicly state what was said, however, if you are interested I can send you some details if you PM me.

BTW, I received 2 locos back from Marklin service yesterday and both of them will be in the post tomorrow to go back.

I haven't bought any so called new locos especially steamers, I have 2 reasons: the price is to high for me and the possible failure due to whatever reason. Lou from Hong Kong has sent me a Turmwagen (39770) and asked me if I can fix it, he bought it new but never worked, I've sent it back to Märklin and it returned without being fixed (no parts (decoder) left to fix it). another was the 37160 changed 2 decoders for a friend (ESU) and on the Stummi's forum there had been many problems announced.
It must be an issue with Märklin as I was advised when asked the question how long will it take to repair the Turmwagen due to increased workload it will take longer than usual. Märklin or for that matter any other company will never admit that anything is fundamentally wrong with their products.

on the other hand if I would be a CEO I would be very interested to reduce the failure of my products and the silly part is you can have as many quality control points in your factory when you add parts bought from outside, especially decoders, who knows what is wrong with them and Märklin wouldn't have the expertice to identify the fault within the decoder.

John

The need to keep costs in check is vital but finding a balance with quality and durability is obviously vital as well.

Adding mechanical features such as powered pantographs and piezo smoke units will definitely add complexity and increase potential failure rates. Adding more sounds should not have any effect on reliability however, since a decoder with lots of sounds is not really any more complex than one with just a few.

On the other hand I do agree that all of the sounds being thrown onto newer models are of little value to me when I run my locos on my layout. But just as with modern phones the features are what grab potential buyer's attention even if they are seldom actually used. We seem to live in a world of shiny objects and very short attention spans unfortunately.

Might be difficult to get spares for any model around 18 years old. With a number of locos mentioned I am not sure what is wrong with this one but possibly the decoder. If this is the case then does not not work with another decoder if there is one with similar characterisitcs. Maybe ebay has a cheap version for sale.

These threads make me wonder that so far I have never had any problems with Marklin other than if I remeber one turnout motor after a few years and a signal that did not work out the box.

Ooops wrong number. Some Kibri Churches did have sound I believe. Did not say we did not need decoders but we don't need the number of sounds etc. To me at appears the more technology that goes into model rail the more number of failures there are.
Controlling a loco in the past was easy now it can be done with a mobile phone plus lots of other non Marklin equipment.
Our member Drongo has lots of loco problems and even after two have been repaired they still don't work. Dont know if it has been tried but do the locos run on another layout using a different type of control etc. Marklin is not perfect but in that case it does appear most unusual.

Brilliant solution since a humidifier added to the air handler would be much more expensive.

My understanding is that this model has quite a history of decoder problems, and I believe that the decoder has faulty software as it is the very first item to be supplied with an msd/3 decoder with more than 16 functions. I suspect that the software design was not finished before these were shipped, as several people have reported here that they have blown up motors and decoders in this model.

Mine is on its way back to Marklin as it blew up the decoder and resulted in distinct 'cooking motor' smell emanating from the model. It stopped on the tracks and the cs2 reported a short circuit until we took it ff the tracks. Prior to that it had also had failing sound, but that came right when we turned off the track power while loading some more items on the track. The Vt95.9 had only been operating for a couple of hours before failure.

I believe later models have revamped software in the decoder to get around whatever caused the problems in this model. There have certainly been some software updates issued for the mld/3 & msd/3 decoders since then.

Another 2 locomotives are on their way back to Germany - 39392 and 36504. Both are 5 year warranty items and I've had them less than 2 years.

That is my situation as well Mark.

I have been buying fewer of their products recently because of quality issues and the hassles of getting warranty work done from the US. The things that I have which are of good quality are beautiful models - in fact the quality of the casting, paint and imprinting is far superior to many older Märklin items which I own.

But I have had numerous quality issues with a number of their products in the last few years, especially the ones made in Hungary. Sometimes I look at models and I think that I want to buy them, and then I think about the hassles of returning them if they are defective and I just hold off and enjoy the models which I already have. After all MRR is a hobby which we do for fun not for the chore of returning defective items for repair.

Yep - it is not just the hassle but the shipping costs as well. I have bought a lot of locos from a dealer in British Columbia and I now have almost half the price of my 2016 Insider railbus and trailer invested in all of the shipping - initial, return, shipping it back to me after repair. At least the dealer covered the shipping to Germany and back, or maybe Märklin did, I really don't know or care.

If it dies again I probably won't even bother with the warranty and just repair/replace parts myself. I do not run it very often because I am sure that it will fail again eventually, and at least it moves and makes sounds right now.

So the five year warranty is a comfort but not really a solution to poor quality control on Märklin's part. My bank account is happy that Märklin can't get its act together and honestly, I have all of the models that any sane person really needs.