Sloppy assembly (Quality Control)??

[peckhamboy]

Firstly sorry for the length of this post but I have a tale to tell.
Purchased a sound version from my local shop, got it home and put it on the test track.
Lights and sound all lovely and working very well until I opened the throttle when everything died.
On testing I found that there was no connectivity between any of the wheels which meant no current being collected.
Took it back and reluctantly had to accept a refund as the shop could not source a replacement.
Hattons was showing many in stock and so the next one came from them.
Put the replacement on the test track to find EXACTLY THE SAME THING HAPPENED.
Lights and sound OK proved that the wiring and chip were not at fault and so it must be something mechanical.
I was not going to go through the painful procedure of getting another replacement and so got the tools out and this is what I found.

On releasing the wheels from their slots I could see that each brass pick up had been forced OUTSIDE of the wheel and was trapped against the brake rigging.
There was enough initial wheel contact to get current to the chip for the lights/sound test but as soon as the wheels moved they pushed the brass away and all connectivity was lost.
With the help of a bright light and slim tweezers I was able to get the pick ups to their correct position inside each wheel.
It was fortunate that they had not been damaged by the clumsy assembly and sat correctly against the inner flange.
Refitted everything and to my relief it worked a treat so that I could give it a run on the rolling road.

A few points:-
I could not support my local shop with this major purchase because of stock issues.
The person who assembled this model had no idea of current collection and where those little brass tags should be sited.
This cannot be an isolated incident as the two shops involved in this purchase are hundreds of miles apart.
Surely Dapol have heard of other instances of this nature because the odds must be too great that my purchases were the only ones with this major fault.

[Joel Dapol]

Hello, I am sorry about the problems you have had with your 08 shunter. So far we have sold several thousand 08 shunters and most people have had enjoyment from their model without any issues. Indeed most people tell us how well the product runs and how controllable and smooth the model is. This would suggest that in the main, pick up reliability has not been an issue. As with all model locomotives, we have had a couple of niggles over poor pick up, but the incidence of faults have been very low indeed, with reliability levels placing this particular model as one of our best and most dependable performers. I know this does not help you with your problems but it does suggest that your implication of inadequate QC checks is incorrect and you have indeed been unlucky.

Out of interest, you do not state whether this is a factory fitted version or has been fitted by a third party. I only ask as all 08's sound fitted in our factory are tested 100% prior to despatch as part of the fitting procedure and we would not have shipped a model that was not functioning after decoder and speaker fitting. Unfortunately, I can not vouch whether this is the case for third party fitted versions (although I am sure most would).

Anyway, I apologise once again for the inconvenience caused and and hope now after your rectification you can enjoy your model.

[peckhamboy]

I am surprised that you have not found any other instances of this fault because it was the factory fitted version 011D and was the second purchase with exactly the same problem.

[Joel Dapol]

Yes, I was equally surprised and disappointed as well that you had two occurrences of the same problem. But the reality is we have had very few 08's returned as faulty and I can only again apologise for the inconvenience caused and thank you for rectifying the situation yourself.

[Mark1909]

I have two fo these models, one being the 011D and I returned it to Dapol for rectification about two years ago. The engineer managed to get the cab light working and shunting lights at the cab end working. These lights at the radiator end do not work. An email from the repair team suggests that the CVs are locked and can not be over ridden to get around this problem. I also bought the 003D version just after they were released, the cab light on this doesn't appear to work. Its a real shame as the loco is a fantastic model and represents the 08 perfectly. I/m now looking at replacing the decoders and hoping that this will rectify the problems.

[Andy Dapol]

Hi Mark,
Thanks for the question and I'm sorry for the slow reply. I'd wanted to check on one or two things before answering.

Without knowing the actual model involved (as the lighting was changed to add shunting lights after SKU# 7D-008-012 - so SKU 013 onwards) these require a 6 function decoder for full operation, so the 7D-008-003 version would not be fitted with shunting lights and can be used with a 4 function decoder).

Models with shunting lights require a 6 function decoder (front white, front red, read white, rear red, cab light & shunt lights) use of a 4 function decoder will mean the cab and shunt lights do not operate. Its perfectly OK to use a decoder with a higher number of functions than required. A lower number will mean some functions will not work.

Its difficult to say if the problem might be decoder programming or a fault. None of the CVs are locked on any of our products, so these can freely be changed.
From your description the cab LED (LED, wiring or plug) has failed, or perhaps a 4 function decoder is being used if SKU is above 012?