And problem solved...

I'll post this along in case someone has the same issue. Who knows.

First I have to mention I got a reply from Athearn help recommending to lubricate the armature of the motor, specifically where the shaft meets the flywheel. "Lubricate that area with labelle medium oil and run it so it seeps into the bearings." 

I thought I tried that the other day but it didn't hurt to try again, so I did that, let me motor spin for 10 minutes at various speeds and it didn't really help.

Then I remember what I used to do on the old DC open frame motors: check the commutator and clean it.

I removed the board support (the little plastic that supports the decoder), that exposes the top of the motor. I didn't see any easy access to the commutator so I simply sprayed a tiny amount of CRC 2-26 on what I expect to be the top of the brushes (see below), I did that both sides and instantly the noise went away.

Now it's as silent as a kitten. It's actually impressively silent since there are no gear connected. It's amazing.

Roco motor chirping

Hello,

don't worry about the chirping of these Roco motors. This is simply caused by the brushes. Several years ago Roco modified the material for the brushes, there is now, beside the usual graphite, a higher percentage of copper. This causes the initial chirping sound, which can be a lot of annoying, but is harmless. When the motor has some hours of running time and the brushes have set therefor, the chirping disappears.

Lutz

Not something I can dismiss

@Lutz, I'm not worrying, however this is an extremely irritating noise that I could simply not dismiss. A friend of mine also dismissed this as "not a big problem", and I respectfully disagree. I would just not have used the engine in that condition as the high frequency noise is simply unbearable for me.

A bit of CRC 2-26 saved the day, which I was surely not expecting to do on a brand new motor.

Also fairly annoyed I had to strip down the engine to the frame after I thought I was done with it. Since I have it open I'm going to take a look at fixing the LokSound cube speaker issue.

Raphael, I agree that sound

Raphael, I agree that sound is very audible to me and would drive me crazy as well. I also find I hear noises in some electronic components that my fellow club members can not hear unless right next to the components. This turned out to be a benefit as it was discovered that the noise was due to an under performing power supply supplying the electronic components.

Many times strange noises will wear in and go away on there own. there are also times that strange noises are indication of something wearing out and when the noise goes away it is do to a component failure.

CRC 2-26

@Raphael, i have found this product is available in Europe too and i will give it a try.

Lutz

Squeaky wheel gets the

Squeaky wheel gets the grease?

Electric contacts cleaner

@Lutz, there are number of alternatives of Europe. Don't know the names, typically called something like "electric contacts cleaner" or similar. 

For example in France, I'd look for something like "Facom 006064 Nettoyant Contact".

Make sure it is safe for plastic -- for example do not ever use WD-40 which is sure to ruin any engine's plastic (it makes ABS brittle over time, don't ask me how I know...)

WD 40 is also flammable so I

WD 40 is also flammable so I do not like it around anything that can produce sparks.

Flammable

Interesting, I did not think of that. Are you talking about the spray solvent or the residue being flammable after the fact? I guess both.

AFAIK WD-40 is a mineral oil (or some kerosene derivative) and hydrocarbons for the aerosol part. The hydrocarbon solvent evaporates and these fumes could easily be flammable although I believe recent versions incorporate CO2 to avoid that. The oil residue could be flammable like most mineral oils given the right mixture % with oxygen.

However if you want to go that way, CRC 2-26 is not much better. The MSDS for it is quite entertaining as one would expect if you like that kind of reading (I do). Flammability level 3, light mineral oil, etc. No big surprise here. Flash point is higher for CRC 2-26 than WD-40.

Decant the 2-26

I have an old syringe with a needle point that I use to apply CRC 2-26. I simply decant a small amount into a cap or other small container and then suction it into my syringe.  From there I can apply a small drop precisely where I need to.  Less is more! When it comes to lubrication.

Great idea!

Thanks Nelson, that is a great idea! I always use the little straw that comes with it but it still splashes more than I want many times. I'll put a note on the can to remember to do that next time.