williams santa fe alco pa reverse board troubke

Actually, normally the Williams reverse boards are very robust.  FWIW, the transistors don't really carry the load, the rectifiers generate the DC from track voltage and the relays do the reverse function.

 

Do you have a picture of the reverse board you're using?

 

I have several Williams locos and only had issues with one board. They are very reliable.

 

I added power upgrades to my dummy PA and my E7 ABA's are all powered. If you are going to pull long passenger trains with scale cars, it may be a good idea for you to upgrade at least one of the dummies.

 

GRJohn is right, the relays carry the load, I am pretty sure the transistors are relay coil drivers, because the counter IC doesn't have enough current output to reliably drive the coils.

I bought this set used...it was cheap...looked like it hasn't run in a long time...while i fixed the board, I went through and gave it a thorough lube - took the motors off..which, btw at least appear to be big and healthy...lubed the gear boxes, all the axles...puts some oil on the motor shafts end...then just put it on the track and let it run...by the time I shut it down, it seemed to be limbering up pretty good. The board seems to be getting hot just running the trio, however...did some Web surfing...it appears to be the stock board...has two pair of pnp/npn transistors on the upper left corner of the component side...will probably do as you suggest and power the a-dummy to give it some help. Might just re-power the powered unit, like was done in real life, I read...is fun to tinker...

Most Williams reverse boards can draw up to 6 amps without any problems.  Some older and very early Williams boards couldn't handle this much and tended to overheat and fail.  You might want to replace yours with a 6 amp capable board.

I have not had any break down issues with my Williams engines. However I have replaced the circuit boards in one set of F-7's, took out the circuit board and added in a bridge rectifier as I wanted my engines to start the way I wanted(one forward and one reverse) and not like the reverse board's idea. I used a 6 amp 50 volt bridge rectifier for each engine.

 

A little info on Williams reverse boards; there are many that have been used through the years so you will need a number from the circuit board to ID it. A photo with the numbers on it is best, as Williams told me a few years ago they have used several different circuit boards, even in the Crown Edition.

 

Lee Fritz