Scalextric cars with too much lubricating oil

Scalextric cars are electro-mechanical devices that need the moving parts to be kept in good condition.  Taking this view from time to time is very helpful especially when we maintain the older Scalextric cars.
The most frequent failure with the old open frame Scalextric RX motor is that of excessive lubrication.  Lubricating oil is good when applied to the right places, oil is bad when applied to the wrong places.  When we service an RX motor we remove oil from the wrong places and put oil in the right places.



The worst place for oil is the commutator of the RX motor as this mixes with the carbon dust from the motor brushes to form a conductive paste which shorts out the commutator segments.  This leads to overheating of the motor and eventually failure of the solder joints that join the armature wires to the commutator.  Once the solder joints fail the motor stops working.

The other place oil is not welcome is on the rubber tyres.  Oil will impregnate the tyre and make it go hard and brittle in just a few weeks.  So, remove all oil that gets onto the tyres immediately, especially if the car is to be placed in storage.

Another great insight from Scalextric Car Restorations