MTH Operating Reefer Car Recycle switch - Stay's On

Per MTH website, attached is instruction booklet for "Operating Reefer Car - Mathieson Dry Ice No. 5015"

I believe you have a problem with the microswitch.  You'll need to disassemble to expose the microswitch. Under Light Bulb replacement instructions it shows what screws to remove.  You only need to reach the point as shown below - maybe only half the screws that it takes to get to the light bulb.

Here's a video of the microswitch in action - the microswitch is the black component with the red, white and blue wires.   When the closed door starts moving (you activate the car on the OTS track) the metal lever on the microswitch pops out.  When the door returns to end the cycle, the sliding door presses the lever back against the microswitch body.    This stops the cycle.  Of course the OTS activation control should have been released by this time...otherwise the cycle will restart.

For example, during the cycle, you can take a toothpick or whatever and manually close the microswitch lever; this should immediately stop the action.  Release and the mechanism should continue on.

Usually, some minor mechanical adjustment (bending it) of the microswitch lever solves a continuous-operation problem.

Thanks.  I bent the metal on the switch with a tweak and it is working fine.  It was not depressing the switch enough.

I have one of these MTH Operating Reefer cars, and it would only click when I activated it (through a Gargraves 108 UC/UL track section).  But then I discovered that it works fine as long as the track power is turned on (unlike Lionel's milk car, which I believe does not require track power to operate).  Is this normal for this car, to require track power being on?   Or could it be something about the way the Gargraves 108 track is wired?

Thanks,

Dale

My activation track is how I activate it with the track power on.  I am not familiar with the Cargraves track section. I use mine on Lionel Fastrack.

Yes, it also behaves that way on an MTH Operating Track section.  The click you hear is a relay that, in conjunction with the door lever microswitch, starts and stops the door cycle.