Skip to main content

Replies sorted oldest to newest

Ouch. Some people need to realize if they don't understand what they are doing then it's better to leave it alone. This guy will learn an expensive lesson. 

To that I know enough to be dangerous (I do my own ERR and PS3 upgrades, and a couple for local guys) but I'm not doing board component level replacements in most cases. I leave that to the more experienced. I know my limits. 

Alex - the first thing I would do is drop it on the floor.  This is what a certain reputable gentleman did recently with an engine of mine which wasn't running.   As it was explained to me, sometimes dropping it knocks everything back in place.  The gentleman obviously knew what he was doing because the engine promptly ran when placed on the track!  

-Greg

P.S. Yes, my engine was dropped, and yes, it initially ran when placed on the track.  The rest is my embellishment because I have a sense of humor.  It goes without saying dropping it was an accident and he couldn't have been more apologetic.  

Thank you for posting the video and the issues found.

I too have run across repair attempts by others that were, well, just confusing.  I am guessing there are some stories to be told.

For example I ran across a scale berk that would not run.  The person that attempted the repair thought it was a motor control board failure and had purchased the replacement board. It turned out somewhere along the line, a person wire nutted the incorrect wires together.  After correcting the wires, the engine came to life.  And the original motor control board was fine.  Relearning a lesson - don't assume anything until you do as thorough check/inspection as possible.  A lesson that I learned when starting out in my career.  But that's another story.

 

The biggest problem I have seen is someone not familiar  with electronics' is they find a board problem may see a burn's out part on the pc board electronics and right away try to buy a new board and install, Without finding out why the board burnt or smoked in the first place, hence guess what happens ? they burn the new board out and then come on the ogrforum and ask for help. biggest mistake you can ever make. there is always a reason when some part draws excessive current and the board burns' up again !

if your not sure what you doing it's best to ask someone the knows how to figure what the real problem is! did you see what happened to Alex M train he had to repair because damage  due to person working on engine did not know what he was  doing ! an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Alan

AlexM, I feel your concern.  I too had to repair my BB after abusing its smoke units by either over-filling or starving them; ruined the smoke units and broke the RCMC as part of that; Mike R. did the initial repair of all that and provided a good base for the next repair.

The main smoke unit failed some time later and I did that repair myself - sloooow and meticulous with loads of help from the forum: https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...opped-working?page=1

 

Pretty surprising that what seems to have started out as smoke unit maintenance turned into this debacle. On the other hand, engines which are packed with smoke features like the VLBB are not exactly designed for ease of maintenance. And in any case we all have bad days! I once shorted a Legacy diesel’s smoke unit resistor to the engine’s frame but fortunately the main boards were unaffected.

Truthfully, the VL-BB is one engine that's not that difficult to do most routine maintenance on, it has a very good mechanical design as far as the locomotive is concerned.  I've had a few of these open, and I managed to repair them without toasting every board in the locomotive!

There are a lot of locomotives that are MUCH harder to work on, try popping the top of the early Legacy Lindbergh Atlantic with whistle smoke some time.   Now there's an ugly experience!

I won't comment on the tender's disappearing coal load mechanics, that's another story.

O Gauge Jim posted:

Thank God for pre-and post war Lionel that still runs like jack rabbits and can be serviced and repaired by anyone with a reasonable knowledge of electricity and how motors work.

Jim

No guts no glory lol ; in the repair of my BB mentioned above, I imposed upon the forum and its members to get me through the ordeal and they DID through 3 pages of posts and questions; now, I am dangerous; I think nothing of taking a shell off and having a look; however, I am not stupid - I am beyond having hands steady enough to do any micro soldering; if that comes to be for a repair, I will defer to Harmon Yards, GRJ, Alex, and others.

O Gauge Jim posted:

Thank God for pre-and post war Lionel that still runs like jack rabbits and can be serviced and repaired by anyone with a reasonable knowledge of electricity and how motors work.

Jim

My modern stuff runs fine. In fact I've got 25 year old TMCC and Railsounds equipment that runs like new, at that's first generation stuff. Modern stuff is just as reliable and requires less maintenance (I'm not changing brushes and cleaning commutators on my Pittman powered steam locomotives). Follow a few simple rules:

1. When running modern stuff have proper circuit protection. Fast blow fuses or magnetic/electronic breakers and TVS diodes. Keeps from melting a board in a derailment.

2. When working on your trains make sure to not pinch any wires when reassembling things. Make sure all insulation and mounting surfaces are exactly as you found them when reassembling them. Only touch circuit boards if the item you are working on is on and antistatic mat and you're grounded.

3. Read the instructions that come with your model/control system before you operate something. 

Lest you think I'm an electrical whiz I have no formal training in electrical engineering. I read instructions, research, and ask questions before doing something I'm unaware of. There is no need to fear technology or think it's fragile. Learn about it and understand it. The fear is of the unknown. Once you know how something works there is no reason to be afraid of it. 

Without this modern stuff I wouldn't be in the hobby. Command control, modern sound, and smoke blow away postwar air whistles/battery horns and smoke pills in the fun department. I was born 16 years after the postwar era ended and grew up running my dads postwar stuff. Learned how to fix it then moved on to learning about the new stuff. New stuff is just more fun. Without it I doubt I'd have come back to the hobby after grad school. Don't short electronics and they'll live a long, long time. 

Lou1985 posted:
O Gauge Jim posted:

Thank God for pre-and post war Lionel that still runs like jack rabbits and can be serviced and repaired by anyone with a reasonable knowledge of electricity and how motors work.

Jim

My modern stuff runs fine. In fact I've got 25 year old TMCC and Railsounds equipment that runs like new, at that's first generation stuff. Modern stuff is just as reliable and requires less maintenance (I'm not changing brushes and cleaning commutators on my Pittman powered steam locomotives). Follow a few simple rules:

1. When running modern stuff have proper circuit protection. Fast blow fuses or magnetic/electronic breakers and TVS diodes. Keeps from melting a board in a derailment.

2. When working on your trains make sure to not pinch any wires when reassembling things. Make sure all insulation and mounting surfaces are exactly as you found them when reassembling them. Only touch circuit boards if the item you are working on is on and antistatic mat and you're grounded.

3. Read the instructions that come with your model/control system before you operate something. 

Lest you think I'm an electrical whiz I have no formal training in electrical engineering. I read instructions, research, and ask questions before doing something I'm unaware of. There is no need to fear technology or think it's fragile. Learn about it and understand it. The fear is of the unknown. Once you know how something works there is no reason to be afraid of it. 

Without this modern stuff I wouldn't be in the hobby. Command control, modern sound, and smoke blow away postwar air whistles/battery horns and smoke pills in the fun department. I was born 16 years after the postwar era ended and grew up running my dads postwar stuff. Learned how to fix it then moved on to learning about the new stuff. New stuff is just more fun. Without it I doubt I'd have come back to the hobby after grad school. Don't short electronics and they'll live a long, long time. 

this guy 2

Attachments

Images (1)
  • this guy 2

I'm much rather work on the VLBB then say, the 0-6-0 docksider.  I hate trying to get the docksider back together.  My VLBB went right back together no issues when I had it open to repair it.

But if I had been asked to 'fix' that BB, and I found the issues Alex did, I would have offered to just buy it off of him cheap, and then converted it to DCC.

To be fair, the idea that owners/operators routinely maintained and overhauled locos etc “back in the day” with two teaspoons and a tableknife, isn’t really true. 

My late father had a layout using Triang and Hornby Dublo, back in the early 1960s. He routinely took locos no more complex than Lionel PW ones to the hobby shop for maintenance and repair, and the shop obviously did enough of that sort of business to remain open. 

He simply didn’t have the tools, skills and workshop space. He wasn’t incapable of using his hands, but his army experience as a heavy vehicle mechanic during the War had not taught him about electrical equipment, he knew that it was possible to do expensive damage through inexpert attention, and wasn’t about to risk that on what was, after all, an expensive item - those Triang locos were as big a bite from his earnings, as top-of-the-Line Lionel locos are today, if not more. 

Alex M posted:
Pingman posted:

Alex, I  hope you will post a video of the VLBB after you have it in tip-top shape.

(And please edit the thread's title with the date you add the video so we'll be sure to watch it.)

 

I certainly will

Alex 

I find myself bookmarking most of Alex's exploratory and repair posts.  They are always great reference material to have on hand.

Add Reply

Post

OGR Publishing, Inc., 1310 Eastside Centre Ct, Suite 6, Mountain Home, AR 72653
800-980-OGRR (6477)
www.ogaugerr.com

×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×
×