Joe, sounds like dirty track to me. You will have a certain amount of rust albeit minor due to your location, but just run one of those very fine sanding block over the center rail & you should see big improvement. I too live on the coast & suffer same problem.

Thanks guys - i do have the roco rubber, and the rails are indeed clean - considering its kinda still brand new anyway! But the plot thickens - on a few occasions recently, at odd times, turning the MS speed knob anti-clock from medium speed, suddenly the loco will increase speed at a rapid rate, (the "bars" on the MS will show almost max speed), and then when I just touch the knob to slow it down, the loco will then slow down to a very slow speed.....could there be a fault with the MS, or is it some electronic gremlin in the loco.....
Joe

Hi Joe,

I still think you have contact problems. The fact that you get smooth running in curves but jerky on the straights is very typical for this.

If the track is indeed clean, then you might have dirty wheels or axles on your loco. I get good results by putting a small drop of WD40 or similar on each loco axle. The hesitant running then disappears straight away. You must be careful not to overdo it though.

Thanx Ray - the loco is brand new, so there is no dirt on the wheels or axles - I wasn't sure whether I should oil anything, as I thought it would have the necessary lubrication from the factory?
Its not so much jerky running on the straights, as a matter of fact it quite smooth running, even at crawl speeds, its the lights that flicker quite badly at times, and then the momentary stop n go kicks in....I will check the wheels tho.....
Joe

The flickering is mainly on the straights - but does occasionally happen on the curves also. If the flickering gets very bad, more at higher speeds than at low speed, the loco will momentarily stop, and then go again...
"But herewith the plot thickens even more.....!!"
Went to my friend last nite-he has the same start set-and my loco did exactly the same on his layout-the lights flicker like crazy, and the loco will stop start at low/medium speeds. Put on his loco to test, and no flickering at all.
Just to make sure, we tested my MS2, power box, and connection box on his loco and layout and everything ran perfectly. Put my loco back on track, and the flickering lights are back with a vengeance.
After probably an hour or so of testing and running my loco (and his) with both the MS2's over his whole layout (he has a very large set up, with only one feeder connection), we suddenly noticed there was no more flickering on my loco....
So off I dashed home, set up my MS2, and lo and behold no flickering - I had brought his loco home as well, to test it on my set up, and also no flickering....
Was/is there a loose connection somewhere in my loco, causing the flickering, but now has rectified itself??....will it come back again??.....I love my model trains....things would be so boring without it!!
as always, thanx for reading/listening
Joe

Joe,

I am relieved to hear this !

Regards,
John

thanks everyone - all systems up n running! I suspect you are right with the bad contact scenario-could well have been the wheels/slider; now that's its "run in" so to speak, all is well.( My buddy Terry-also with the same starter set- says he had the same prob at first with his loco,but not as bad, and only for a short while).
thanks again to all the forum guys-so nice to know there is always help at hand!
Now I am waiting patiently for my 39230 to arrive from Lokshop-they're still waiting to get it from Marklin tho....!!
Can't wait........
Joe

Yea, I'm waiting for the ICE 2 36711... been waiting since March 2010! Anyway, I have the 3099 converted to digital and its lights flicker too... sometimes the older locos flicker, but without problems life would be boring!

With some locos, lights flicker even while the train stands still (this is caused by inappropriate wiring); with other locos the flickering occurs only while the loco is running (contact problem at moving parts).

New c-track has a lot of time contact problems. There is then a thine film of residue on the track.

Sounds to me like this could be another case of a loco with the new type decoder needing to have a capacitor fitted.
Some recent 2011 releases have had the capacitor fitted, see the review of the Bluebird PA-1 set as an example.

The 37803 is the first non sinus V200 produced for some years, so Marklin may have goofed and not designed in a capacitor.

Hy Petter (iTrainX)

Why not take the 37803 with you tomorrow so we can test it on my layout ?

As a former manufacturer, I try to clean the manufacturing oils off the parts...but I am not always that thorough. Some manufacturing oils are also designed to protect the finished part from rusting too soon. Therefore the manufacturer only has to do a blow off or simple wipe to get the most off but not all of it.

I am not sure how Märklin deals with this issue but I suspect in your case, that the track and the locomotive had residual oils. These oils tend to be waxy in nature and may harden over time. As these oils only leave a very thin film, in the track's case. a good cleaning or wiping with some wood alchol will do. As for the loks, most of the time a long run will take care of it or in extream cases, a disassembly and thorough cleaning.

HI

i got me the Marklin 37531 BR 120. Have the same issue with the lights and sudden stops and when the stops occur it kind makes a squawking sound. Put some oil on the axle and gears( not to much) and it went away for a couple rounds and then came back. I tried with my MS1 to slowly increase speed and see, when does it start. If i run it slowly up to half of the bars on the MS it works fine. After that it starts every now and then. I think its more like a contact problem. Probably i have to take it apart and give it a good clean and maybe a new pick up shoe