mi-go-a-go-go Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 Hi Guys back again I have been getting locos out to service and fiddle with over the past few weeks. Couple of issues picked up and sorted (and headaches to ponder over ) But I have once loco that is just dead. my Bachmann 31-460K SECR grey c class. It had a decoder in but the DCC control said there was nothing there. Swapped decoder for blanking and tried on DC Still nothing. And i mean nothing no buzzing no attempt to do anything. Have checked wires, pickups and plug to tender all looks good. I suspect its the circuit board.. but thats not my area Anything I can try? Thanks in advance Cheerho Richard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Tomlinson Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 Working with the Blanking Plate in place, and not the decoder, can you get wires to the two motor feeds? If you can and apply power you'll know if the motor turns or not. If it does then the problem is somewhere in the electrics. If so, and you don't need DCC then just connect the relevant wires together and go round the PCB. John. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Mick Bonwick Posted February 2, 2021 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 2, 2021 1 hour ago, mi-go-a-go-go said: Have checked wires, pickups and plug to tender all looks good. Does that mean checked visually or checked with a multi-meter? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisr40 Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 Hi Have you done the easy check on wheels and pick ups being clean first ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mi-go-a-go-go Posted February 25, 2021 Author Share Posted February 25, 2021 Long delay in getting back to this as I had to borrow another C class to make sure I was getting it right. Pickups fine, wheels fine, electrical continuity seems fine (fiddly thing to do) Placed power to sides of motor....nothing no hum no vibration nothing. Did same with borrowed loco it was spot on ran fine. So I have contacted Bachmann to find out how much a replacement motor is. Does anyone else deal in such spares. Or have suggestions of what I try next (with lubricant/WD40/turps) Cheers Guys Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Johnster Posted February 25, 2021 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 25, 2021 Before you take the plunge of ordering a new motor, take the old one out of it's cradle (lever gentlly with screwdriver, and see if it runs when it is not in the cradle. I suggest this because it is possible that the gear meshing is too tight and is preventing the motor from turning, although you would be aware of this after a short time because the motor would get hot, or that there is a short somewhere which is triggered by the position of the motor in the cradle. A multimeter would ascertain this, and they are cheap and a worthwhile investement. Don't assume that there is electricacl continuity because the joint looks and feels solid; I have wasted many hours as a result of this assumption. Put the meter on it and check. If there is a problem that is preventing current getting to the motor at all, it will prevent it getting to the replacement motor as well. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mi-go-a-go-go Posted February 25, 2021 Author Share Posted February 25, 2021 Hi Johnster I'm just about to take the motor out so i will give that a try and give it a light oil first. lets hope it goes well. cheers Richard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mi-go-a-go-go Posted February 25, 2021 Author Share Posted February 25, 2021 interesting . remove ....light oil...and its spinning again. I have replaced it in the cradle and now giving it a running in session. If i don't post again its all good. Cheers Guys 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Right Away Posted February 27, 2021 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 27, 2021 On 25/02/2021 at 14:47, The Johnster said: ...... A multimeter would ascertain this, and they are cheap and a worthwhile investement. Don't assume that there is electricacl continuity because the joint looks and feels solid; I have wasted many hours as a result of this assumption. Put the meter on it and check. If there is a problem that is preventing current getting to the motor at all, it will prevent it getting to the replacement motor as well. Great words of wisdom; the primary tool, albeit an instrument, in anyone’s modelling workshop arsenal for proving and tracing. Personally, I would not recommend taking a screwdriver to a motive power unit unit, even just to fit a decoder without having access to a meter. Locomotive circuitry is by and large, relatively straightforward; it is the space in which it resides which gives most grief - enter the indispensable multimeter. As The Johnster relates, a visual check cannot reveal a “dry” joint, or one where the continuity is breaking down. If it’s any help, my second “C”, a couple of years back, began to have an intermittent problem, the engine suddenly stopping dead. After some testing and substitution of 21 pin decoder, it transpired that the socket did not grip the decoder pins sufficiently, even after “tweaking” the pins. I therefore dispensed with the whole 21pin assembly and hard wired an 8 wire decoder. A job well done, a very sweet runner since. An example where the multimeter played an essential part in proving the routing of the wires in the tender. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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