Garage Sale Find: Lionel ZW 250 Watts - Now What?

It seems my last post didn't stick.

 CW, I have saved 2 "recently" moving disks slightly, though one was very short lived.

But it failed on many more.

Also..

 As a kid my transformers wouldn't blow the whistle after being in storage from a move.

 My Grandfather, by phone, had me rap on the bases with a big screwdriver handle, and some came back to life. (not the LW, or my 1065's, but the KW, 1033 responded)

 I know if the coating isn't there, at even one contact point, its not happening. I should have gone deeper explaining I guess.

The coating on most is very delicate. Chances of success are slim really.

 But nothing to lose in trying? 

I figured I'd provide an update, although I haven't gotten too far because I took a business trip for a week and work and family life have been keeping me super busy...

1) I picked up a "Postwar Lionel #91 electromagnetic adjustable breaker" from the bay and tried it out, it trips nice a quick so that is good.  I haven't quite 100% figured out the adjustments yet, but it seems simple enough.  I'll try to pick up a few more of these things.  I noticed other folks (this thread and others) have used other circuit breakers, but most I've seen would be inserted into a board and don't have their own casing, so this #91 seems like a good fit for me.

2)  Tonight I ordered some TVS's, kind of kicking myself for waiting so long to order them.  They will be be here mid-week and I'll solder them onto my lock-ons.

3)  I haven't ordered the replacement diodes (1N1190AR) for the whistle rectifier discs, quite frankly I'm a bit nervous to do that much surgery on this ZW, but I guess I need to build up the nerve to do it (put my big boy pants on, etc.).

4)  I don't think I'm going to replace the original circuit breaker as again this will require a bit more surgery than I'm comfortable with.  In fact "TurtleLinez" I'd likely use your guy to assist with these things but I'm not certain I've got it in the budget to ship this thing around and have someone do the work for me, but if you don't mind sending me his info I might just reach out to see what it might cost to have a PRO take a peek at this thing and fix it up.

Thanks again to all for your help, I'm looking forward to having this ZW for a long long time.

Best...Rich

quote:

1) I picked up a "Postwar Lionel #91 electromagnetic adjustable breaker" from the bay and tried it out, it trips nice a quick so that is good.  I haven't quite 100% figured out the adjustments yet, but it seems simple enough.  I'll try to pick up a few more of these things.  I noticed other folks (this thread and others) have used other circuit breakers, but most I've seen would be inserted into a board and don't have their own casing, so this #91 seems like a good fit for me

IMHO, the adjustment of a Postwar Lionel #91 circuit breaker is very simple. Just put your largest locomotive on the tracks with your biggest consist. Start the train running. Loosen the adjusting knob until the breaker trips. Then turn the knob back about 1/2 - 1 turn. The setting isn't critical, and you can always re-adjust it.

I have had many of these circuit breakers pass through my hands. It is possible to screw that adjusting knob down so tight that the breaker cannot trip. A few did reach me in that state. You can always test the functionality by creating an intentional short. As you have already observed, it should trip instantly.

quote:

3)  I haven't ordered the replacement diodes (1N1190AR) for the whistle rectifier discs, quite frankly I'm a bit nervous to do that much surgery on this ZW, but I guess I need to build up the nerve to do it (put my big boy pants on, etc.).

Have you determined that the original rectifier disks are bad? Lots of folks write about needing to replace them. Having rebuilt many transformers, I find that it is somewhat unusual to encounter a transformer with a bad rectifier disk. If there are issues with the whistle control circuit, it is usually the contacts in the whistle switch. I use a Lionel 5D test bench to determine whether the whistle control circuit meets Lionel's original specs.

Hi C.W.!

Thank you for the instructions on how to adjust the breakers, I'm going to try that out later today (after the kid's soccer games!).

I've been assuming that the rectifier disks are bad because the whistles on my engines are not working when I try them with the ZW, but they do work when I use my CW-80s.  I'll remove the cover again later as well and check the contacts for the whistle switches, it seems odd that both would have issues, which is why originally I thought perhaps I was doing something wrong.

I'm going to pick up a few more of the #91s from "the bay" this week to (I think), but don't tell anyone because I don't want to get in a bidding war ;-)  

All the best and I'll update later today if I can.

Thanks again...Rich

Here is how I clean the contacts on a ZW whistle switch:

Cut up some index cards into strips, 1/2 - 1 inch wide. Slide them down into the whistle switch, between the part that moves, and the board it is attached to. Work them down between the contacts by applying light pressure and gently working the switch back and forth. Once the strip is between the contacts, work the switch back and forth some more.

If the card comes out very dirty, do it again.

Often this is enough to clean the contacts.

If not, moisten the end of the strip with a little contact cleaner. Not too much, because you don't want to soften the cardstock enough to tear.

I have encountered a few that had to be disassembled for a more complete cleaning.

I think I mentioned earlier in this thread: make certain the springs that return the whistle switch to it's center position are in good shape and doing their job!

Good idea Rich!!  I need some #91s also. 

No, I'll wait a while, don't need them yet!  

Hi Mark, I ordered another #91 this morning and I'll likely order a couple more over the following weeks as they pop up.  I'll let you know when I'm done "cornering the market"!

Hi C.W., let me tell you, I think you must be the ZW Ninja or ZQ Guru or something because I used the dry card cleaning idea you posted yesterday and now the whistles are working intermittently, one side better than the other, so I'll likely pick up some contact cleaner later today to try some more.

So,

1)  #91's either purchased or on order to protect from surges and derailment/etc.

2)  TVS's should be here on Wednesday or so to protect from spikes.  Stupid question on this one, are these pretty much "set it up and forget it" kind of things?  Or do I need to replace them every once in a while or something?

3)  I'm likely going to hold on the changing of the rectifier disks to the diode project;  I'm going to continue cleaning the whistle contact points to get the whistles switches to work consistently.

4)  I'm going to leave the internal circuit breaker alone, please anyone feel free to yell/scream at me for that one.  If I do decide to replace it (after you all scream at me), I'll likely have the guy who TurtleLinez suggested do it for me, because I'd likely get in over my head if I did it myself.  Thank you TurtleLinez for sending me that person's info!

Thank you all for your help, I'm super excited to use this thing.

Best...Rich