engine wiring

[bachor]

hello-

my son pulled off the front wheel set of a 'santa fe' engine that came with an old Bachmann set.
i took off the plastic housing. a couple of the wires are now detached. there are red, black and green wires attached at 3 points (i believe it's 3 - i don't have engine in front of me right now) . it's a pretty simple wiring set up but i don't know which wires go where. is there a simple diagram out there so i can solder the wires back in the correct configuration?

thanks in advance for any help!

jim

[ABC]

How old is old? Can you give us the year it was purchased (new)?
But at any rate, my guess would be that the green wire supplies power to the light, the red and black each would go to one side of a truck use a handy dandy multimeter to determine which one.

[bachor]

hi -

thanks for getting back to me - it's from a used set i got off of ebay - i'll look at it tonight and get back to you as to how old it is - my guess is around 10 years -

thanks - jim

[ABC]

What type is it F9, F7, F3, FT, GP-40, GP-35, SD-40, etc...? At any rate here is a link for the list of diagrams http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/references.php

[bachor]

i'm (obviously) really green about all this stuff. i'll post tomorrow what info i can find tonight. thanks!

[pipefitter]

Jim, here's some things to check... Is your loco shaped like this?


Or like this?


The first (red/silver) one is an "F" and the second (blue/yellow) one is a "GP" series. Yours probably won't look exactly like these. I'm 99% sure that as yours is from a train set it has 4 axles (like the ones in the pictures) - is this true?

Finally does one the two "trucks" (with the front pair of axles or rear pair) have plastic/rubber bands or "tires" around the wheel treads (flat surface that rolls on the rail). Some locos have these for added traction. Or are all 8 wheels on the loco all metal?

Finally, can you tell if all 4 axles are powered? If so they would be connected to gears and you would not be able to turn them with your fingers. This is the way the newer locos are made.

The older locos (with the plastic wheel "tires") have 2 axles powered. They have a flat motor integrated into one of the two trucks. The wheels on that truck are geared to the motor and can't be spun with your fingers. The other truck is the one that picks up power from the track and has wires but no motor. You can spin the wheels with your finger.

It would be very helpful to know if your loco has all four axles powered or two axles powered. Please let us know. I hope this is helpful. If not ask more questions

Cheers,

Robert

[Doneldon]

Make sure you collect power from the same rail on each truck if you have eight-wheel pick-up.  If you cross the pick ups you will have a dead short.  Pay special attention to this if you must take a truck apart.  Be sure that you maintain the polarity both within a truck and between trucks.

          --D

[bachor]

thanks for everyone's comments. based on the pix robert posted (thanks robert) my engine is an 'F' series type.

there are 2 contact points with small screws on the back wheels to attach the wires. i assume that means only 2 of the axels are powered. i have 2 bad camera phone pix. one of the 2 contact points on the back of the engine and the other showing how the wiring currently looks. - can't get the pix to attached to this post -   i can send along these pictures if you can give me alternate an email address.

thoughts anyone?

thanks!

[Joe323]

Wonder if its worth the trouble of fixing this engine.  you could probably replace it at a train show or your local hobby shop for $10 or $20 I would think.

[bachor]

you are right joe, it is too much effort for what it's worth! - but i now see this as a challenge! - i assume it just a matter of soldering the right configuration of wires to the right terminals - i'll give up if it gets to be too much of a pain - thanks

[pipefitter]

... i assume it just a matter of soldering the right configuration of wires to the right terminals ...

Let me look in my parts box. I think I have one of those old Bachmann F-9 chassis. I switched the body shell to an Athearn chassis. If I do I will post a photo of the wiring.

I'm like you in wanting to make things work. I like to get an old loco running as much as buying a new one

Robert

[Joe323]

you are right joe, it is too much effort for what it's worth! - but i now see this as a challenge! - i assume it just a matter of soldering the right configuration of wires to the right terminals - i'll give up if it gets to be too much of a pain - thanks



Never hurts to learn I have several engines that Would like to fix but since I switched over to DCC Its not feasible to fix the cheaper locos and covert them to DCC.

[Doneldon]

bachor-

"Challenge?"  In my lexicon that equals "expensive, time consuming, frustrating and still doesn't run all that well.  If I dood it I be a fool.  I dood it!"

          --D