2-8-0 plug came off tender

[shawneehawk]

Hello, I was removing the wiring plugs from my Spectrum 2-8-0 for maintenance and trouble shooting, and the smaller plug with 2 wires came off the tender.  There were 2 small prongs coming from the inside of the tender, but after a few attempts to reattach the plug, they broke.

Am I correct in stating the wires for the small plug go to right and left rail pickups?  What are my options for replacing the plug, or would it be best to solder jumper wires from the pickups to the tender?  Red wire should go to red, black to black.  As usual, thanks in advance for any help.

Gary

[shawneehawk]

I might add that this is one of the earlier Spectrum 2-8-0's.  ca. 1999, or at least that's when I bought it new; so it's not one of the later releases with the factory installed Tsunami.  I don't know if that makes any difference or not.  It was a great runner; I installed a Tsunami myself in the fall of 2008, then had a devil of a time with the loco but not the decoder shorting out; there's a lengthy thread on this forum about that.  To make a long story short, I got the Connie running smooth again on DC and DCC.  It returned to it's box and did not run until recently, and again ran erratically.  I was in the process of removing the Tsunami and replacing the jumper plug in the 8 pin socket so I could test it on DC, and that's when the small 2 pin plug pulled loose from the tender, and the pins broke when I tried to reattach it.

Suggestions?  Help, please!

[Jim Banner]

Bypassing the plug arrangement is easy, and yes, the two pin plug is the power pickups from the locomotive to the tender.  The motor and headlight connections are in the four pin plug.

I would suggest, however, that you confirm that you match the left wheels on the locomotive to the left pickup wheels on the tender, and the same for the right wheels.  Black=left and red=right does not always apply in the older tenders.  A meter is a convenient way to check but a 9 volt battery and a 12 volt grain of wheat bulb in series make a good tester too.

One other suggestion - if you have the same problem again with another locomotive, check which way the pins are offset.  They are closer to one side than the other.  The most common reason for breaking off pins is trying to insert the plug backwards.

Jim

[shawneehawk]

Jim, I appreciate your reply.  After much searching, I located my digital multimeter and checked for continuity.  I snipped the other end of the plug on the loco and verified that the red wire matched up with the right wheels, and the black wire with the left wheels. 

On the tender, the red wire went to the right wheels on the front truck.  I could get no reading on the black wire and rear truck wheels.  I had earlier installed a Kadee  washer on the back truck, as the screw head is not large enough, and sometimes both the wiper and truck would slip off.  After I removed the washer, I was able to verify continuity between the black wire and the left wheels on the rear truck.  I am going to have to find some other method of keeping the rear truck and wiper on.  Could this have been some of the problem of the Connie starting then stalling?

So in theory, the fix is simple.  I should solder jumper wires between the locomotive and tender.  I will admit that I like the idea of the plug, so that I can remove the tender.  I read some previous threads, and it does seem like a lot of people leave the loco and tender attached.  I will do my soldering later this afternoon or this evening and post my findings.

Thanks again.
Gary 

[ryeguyisme]

i had to hard wire someones Tsunami Sound 2-8-0 at our club layout and it worked out pretty good in fact

[shawneehawk]

I soldered the red and black wires between the loco and tender, and put the loco on my DC portion of the layout to test.  It ran good in forward and reverse.  I then put the Tsunami back in and moved over to DCC.  Again, it ran (and sounded) good in both directions.  Initially.  Then it started stalling, at first briefly, then it stopped running.  I finally was able to determine that there was binding in the mechanism, and traced it to the siderods and crossheads.  I attempted to make some adjustments, but am not sure I got the valve gear positioned correctly.  Correct or not, I did get the Connie running again.  It did good in forward, but stopped again shortly after going into reverse.  I am able to see that the crosshead on one side is coming off the guide.  I don't have the eyes or patience to work on it any more tonight.

I am concerned I may not be able to get the rods/crossheads straightened out on my own.  I don't want to part with the loco as it has my own custom paint and lettering.  So what are my options at this point?  Is this particular mechanism still available?

[Jim Banner]

A quick phone call to the service department will give you a definitive answer to the question of availability.  Answers from anyone else would just be guesses.

Jim

[shawneehawk]

Jim and ryeguyisme, I appreciate your help and comments.  I've had issues with this Connie since fall of 2008.  After getting the initial problems figured out, the loco fell off the edge of the layout one night when I was working on it too late and too tired.  Then my cats got the mechanism again a few days ago upstairs on the work bench.  I have almost 60 locos and this is the only one that has ever been dropped.  I cannot figure out the binding problem, and have to believe it's a hangover from those 2 trips to the floor.  Fortunately, Bachman still stocks the chassis assembley H11408, so I've ordered it and hopefully the Connie will return to being the fine runner that it once was.  I'll post my progress after the part arrives.

Ryeguyisme, I'd like to hardwire a Tsunami  in and totally bypass the other plug.  I would say that it should be easy, but don't want to jinx myself.  Good old Murphy has been smacking the heck out of me lately.   

[shawneehawk]

I wanted to post a follow up on progress with the Spectrum 2-8-0.  I received the H11408 chassis assembly, but did not get around to it until this evening.  Once it was in place, I tested the Connie on DC and ran it in forward and reverse for 15 minutes each.  It runs very smooth, and there is no stalling or binding.  Tomorrow, I'll put the Tsunami back in; if I've learned anything at all, it is not to overdo it when it's late and I'm tired.  That's how it ended up in the floor the first time.

Thanks to everyone who has helped me, and I'll post my progress.

[shawneehawk]

I have plugged the Tsunami back in, and the Connie is running good on DCC, except it looks like the pilot is coming into contact with the top of the rails at times.  I may have to try to adjust it up?  Other than this, the Connie runs very smooth.  I found out during this process that my soldering skills need improvement.  Oh well, practice makes perfect, right?

I have recently picked up another Connie, and have had a Russian for 2 or 3 years.  They will both need converted to DCC soon.  Again, thanks to all; this is a really good forum.