Loksound 3.5 failed good 'n' proper

[MartynJPearson]

Having a running session this afternoon, I heard a bang that couldn't be attributed to the running train. And a strange smell in the air which seemed to emanate from my Bachmann 25. Found it wasn't responsive to the controls (fortunately everything else on the track worked), so had the body off and lo and behold...

 

 

The decoder did return its address on the programming track, next steps are to bung another decoder in the loco to make sure the rest of it's electronics are OK.

 

Interested in what might have caused it - presume it is just component failure. As it is a very old Loksound 3.5 it won't be under warranty, unless ESU do a repair service? Not entirely sure what the component was (capacitor maybe?), if that's what it is, would sourcing one and replacing it be worth a try, or should I just consign it to the bin?

 

Shame, loved the sound on this one, especially while it was just sat there ticking over.

[charliepetty]

5 hours ago, MartynJPearson said:

Having a running session this afternoon, I heard a bang that couldn't be attributed to the running train. And a strange smell in the air which seemed to emanate from my Bachmann 25. Found it wasn't responsive to the controls (fortunately everything else on the track worked), so had the body off and lo and behold...

 

 

The decoder did return its address on the programming track, next steps are to bung another decoder in the loco to make sure the rest of it's electronics are OK.

 

Interested in what might have caused it - presume it is just component failure. As it is a very old Loksound 3.5 it won't be under warranty, unless ESU do a repair service? Not entirely sure what the component was (capacitor maybe?), if that's what it is, would sourcing one and replacing it be worth a try, or should I just consign it to the bin?

 

Shame, loved the sound on this one, especially while it was just sat there ticking over.

But it is about 15 Years old !!!!

 

Charlie

[Phil Bullock]

Still got 40 v3.5s going strong! Not what a Yorkshire chip peddler wants to hear I know…. 😄

[daltonparva]

Sometimes the motor functions still work even with damage like that, see if you can still use it as an ordinary decoder.

[charliepetty]

On 11/03/2023 at 20:41, Phil Bullock said:

Still got 40 v3.5s going strong! Not what a Yorkshire chip peddler wants to hear I know…. 😄

Just shows how good ESU decoders are !!!!

[spamcan61]

It's a tantalum capacitor, they do have an annoying habit of going pop unexpectedly. If you or you know somebody handy with a soldering iron might be worth having a crack at replacing it, nothing to lose at this point.

[Phil Bullock]

7 hours ago, charliepetty said:

Just shows how good ESU decoders are !!!!

Spot on Charlie! They are starting to become limited though…. Speakers are hard to get and they don’t support ABC braking….

[MartynJPearson]

Thanks for the responses.

 

By way of an update, and to help anyone else in the same boat, I took the plunge, ordered a replacement capacitor (wasn't much of a plunge, mixed bag of 20 for just a few quid) and soldered it in place of the blown one.

 

Onto the programming track - address read from the decoder (and it did the little motor jerks) so that was a good sign.

Onto the main, turn the sound on and, sure enough it started up!

Open the throttle, and yup, it moves too.

 

So quite chuffed that it seems to be working again. Wonder if I'll get another 15 years out of it.... :)