Skipgear

I removed the boiler from the 4-6-0 and found that the other end of the red wire which attaches to the tender goes to the motor.  So that red wire represents the orange wire and is, in fact, attached to the correct terminal.  Now I can do the switch over to the plug (which I have from somewhere) that fits the tender fitting.  I was feeling a trifle anxious.  Now I can presson. 

In addition, I checked the front trucks.  They are on correctly according to your info.  The bolt attaching rods to wheels seems to be a screw fitting instead of a hex head bolt.  There does not seem to be a bow in the rods either.  It seems that someone is listening.

Jim

skipgear

One of the wipers did have flashing and I cleared it out but that bent the wiper up.  I'm fairly good at tinkering so I'll play with it.  I fixed a similar problem with wipers on some Life-like SWs.  I drilled out the old plastic, straightened the wiper and glued them down with epoxy.  That should work here too.

I found some connectors on EBay and ordered them today.  So now I have to put frog juicers in my turnout frogs so I can run DCC on my layout.  Then I'm off to the races!!!!

Thanks again.   

Jim

Hi skipgear

Yes there are six wires coming from the emgine.  The wrie labelled L- is not attached.  One of the wires coming from the engine is red but it is not soldered to the spot I would expect it would be.  I'm going to assume that it is soldered in the correct spot.

On the short tender there is very poor contact with the trucks and the wipers, so I'm going to try the trucks from the 4-6-0.

I'm going to wait a couple of days while I pick courage before I start.  I'm going to try it DC before I install a decoder.

I think that MT 2004-1 couplers are ones to fit the tender.  I'm ordering some today.

Thanks again.

Jim

Skipgear
I've just bought a 4-6-0.  It's likely from the second run. I haven't run it yet.  I took the tender shell off and found that one of the wires from the engine  is not attached.  There are seven wires from the engine and I can only see a need for six.  It is the third form the right as you face the front.  From the diagram it appears that this is for the front light.  Further all the wires are painted black except for the second form the right as you face the front.  IT is red.  I'm assuming this  is not he red wire for the decoder.

Further:  I'm planning on replacing the tender with the USRA short tender.  I have a couple of questions.
1)   Did you use the circuit board in the tender?
2)   Did you remove the electronic emission capacitors or the coils/inductors?
3)   Did you ever find a plug that fit the fitting on the tender?

I plan on using the trucks from the 4-6-0 as they have a much longer prong sticking up than the short tender trucks.  I'm also going to use the shorter draw bar  Do you have any other hints on using the USRA tender?  Thanks.  I'm going to use all of the suggestions for tweeking the engine.

Jim

Back again

I went back to running the 2-8-0 and it was back to running jerkily again.  I tried a different tenderand it went much better. On checking the errant tender, I discovered that the draw bar connection spring was spread so I tightened that and  I noticed that the spring on the tender end was se t up with one side inside the tender point while the other was outside.  Next I put them both inside where they belong and now it works much better.  All in all, it still does not work all that well.  I hope that running it in will make the difference.

The dead engine I'm going to leave until I'm ready to install the decoder.  I'm sure that it is the loose connection under the little friction cap.

So, once again this group has help me solve my problems.  Thanks.

Jim

Mathi

Thanks

I'll try that.  It would fit the symptoms and the apparent solution.  The other engine, the one that doesn't run, had a very loose screw there and I tightened it.  As soon as I finish my morning coffee, I'll be heading down to the train room.  Every little bit of information makes a difference.

Jim

Hi again!!

Well,  I fiddled with the noisy one a bit.  I discovered that if I pushed down on the cab roof the engine would move off slowly, very slowly and jerkily.  Then I put a very very tiny drop of oil on the motor end bearing, the one that shows.  I put a couple of very tiny drops of oil on the gears underneath.  It moved off again, quieter but still very jerky.  I put a good running engine behind it to push it a little.  I ran them around the loop, about 30 feet, a few times and then removed the pusher.  Miracle of miracles, now it runs fairly well.  It's still pauses a time or two, but the longer it runs the fewer the pauses.  Tomorrow I'll run it some more.  The other 2-8-0s that I own were never this bad at the start.  I'll try and run the hitches out and save the hassle with mailing it back  and waiting for it to come back.

Tomorrow, while the first one is breaking itself in, the no-go engine will have its shell off and the wires checked.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Jim

Hi
I've just got my layout running again after a short respite, so I tried a batch of engines that I acquired during the shutdown.  Everything worked well except for two 2-8-0s. 

One seems to have gear slippage.  I can hear the motor running and occasionally the engine moves.  There is a nasty grinding sound and the engine stops moving again.  When I started it up initially, it ran perfectly for about 10 feet.  I've checked the linkages and there doesn't seem to be any jamming.

The other doesn't do anything.  There is no headlight or movement.  I checked with a voltmeter.  There doesn't appear to a short.  I tried another tender and that made no difference.

If this is home repairable.   I don't mind taking them apart.  However, I don't want to disturb the warranty in any way.

Does anyone have a suggestion?  Thanks
Jim

skipgear
I have two old computers down stairs.  They are on the way to the scrap heap.  I'll have a look.  That would be much easier then removing the header from the board.  That makes me confident that there is the fitting we're looking for on someones stockroom shelf, waiting to be found.  I'm ever the optimist.
Thanks
Jim

Hi once again

Well, the new plugs came in the mail and they didn't work either.

However, since I am planning on removing the capacitors and the coils, (noise suppressors), from the board, I am going to remove the male plug from the board as well.  The noise suppressors are required, I believe, in Europe, but not in North America.  They also interfere with DCC.

I have a male plug with the correct pitch to fit the board and the female socket to fit the new male.   I'm going to press on with that.  That should work out to about $2.50 each board.

I wish that I had thought of that before.

Jim

Hi again
I've found another source, (I hope).  This one has the bayonet mount of the same dimensions as the board.  I've ordered some.  These are $0.94 each. I should have them in a few days.  I'll let you know.  SIGH!!!
Jim

Well gang
I got the sockets from Litchfield station today, and they don't fit well.  They have the right pitch but they don't connect well.  I'm supremely dissapointed.  They will do another job that I've wanted to do but not this one.  So, back to the drawing board.
Jim

Skipgear
Thanks
I remember your previous picture now.  My problem was/is that the springy contacts would not touch both of the pins at the same time when they were on the inside.  The solution is now obvious to me.  I have to stretch the spring so that it will touch both pins as required.  Now, I'll finish my morning coffee and head down to the workbench.
Thanks again for your help.
Jim
PS  I'm waiting for the socket parts for tender connection, (earlier post).  I'll let you know how they work. 

Hi
Previously, there was a discussion here on whether the spring connectors on the spectrum drawbar fit on the outside or the inside of contact pins of the tender trucks.  There didn't seem to be a definitive answer.

It seems to me that they should go on the outside of the pins.  If this is   true, is there an easy way to assemble the truck to the tender?

I'm getting frustrated trying to get the assembly made.  So, I'm going to bed and hoping that someone has the answer I need.

Thanks

Jim

Skipgear
I'm sure that these are the ones.  They are the ones that litchfield station sells and they are the ones recommended to me by a fellow in the UK.

I'm planning on ordering a few female and one male.

I have the wires to colour code the harness when I build them.
Litchfield station has the harnesses made up, according to the colour code of the NMRA.  Bachmann seems to use a different orientation for their  harnesses.  So if you buy one from litchfield be careful about the connections.

I used to teach at the community college here, and I went in yesterday and one of the lab techs in electronics measured one for me and came up with the .050" pitch.  This confirmed what I'd heard.

The Allied electronic catalog doesn't have them but the Digi Key catalog has them.  They are from the same manufacturer that your link sent me to.

So, my next step is to order these things and make up a harness.  I'm waiting for the replacement motor, ( it's in the mail), for minitrix pacific and then the real work begins.

I'll be sure to post my results.

Jim