Light Mountain Problem

[trainstamp]

I have a light Mountain loco that is shorted and I would like to return it to the factory for repair or replacement. Since this engine is most likely out of production now, what are my chances of getting a replacement?

[jonathan]

My first choice would be to call the service dept directly and ask what would be the best option.

The following is pure speculation:

I notice in the parts dept, there are mechanical and electrical parts available for the 4-8-2.  My guess would be the service folks still have the ability to repair your loco, even if out of production.  Hard to say without knowing the exact cause of the short.

If your loco is beyond repair, again, a guess might be offering you a 2-10-2 light.  It's a Spectrum of somewhat equal value.

If this loco means alot to you, perhaps a third option would be to discover what it causing the problem and ordering the parts necessary to make the repair.

Still, I think a phone call to the right person would be the most economical first step.

Regards,

Jonathan

[bobwrgt]

Have you checked the wheels on the tender for the short. They might be turned or twisted. When did the short start and do you know how. You might be able to fix it yourself. ..

Bob

[trainstamp]

Bob,
That was the first thing I checked. I have another one of these engines and I tried the tender from the good one and still got the short.

[jonathan]

TS,

Perhaps you could define what "short" means for your situation.  Since you seem to have elliminated a possible tender problem, there are ways to explore the loco for other problems.

What are the symptoms?  When you apply power to the track, are there no lights, hum, or sputter?  If it is completely dead, perhaps you have an open circuit instead of a short.  Easier to look for a bad connection.  If you are running on DC that makes it even easier.

If you get a light but no movement perhaps something is caught in the wheels.  Something like a track nail is hard to see.    Over lubrication can prevent good current flow as well.  Just a couple of guesses.  Let us know what it does, or doesn't do, when power is applied to the loco.

Regards,

Jonathan

[trainstamp]

By short I mean that when this loco is placed on the track (it is DCC ready but has no decoder) and power is turned on, nothing happens except that the power pack short light indicator comes on. No headlight, no movement, nothing. To me, that means a dead short. As I said previously, I tried another tender from a known good engine and got the same results. My feeling is that the motor has calved or the belt has jammed causing the motor to short out. I don't smell any burning, however, but I don't want to leave power on long enough for that to happen either.

[Doneldon]

ts-

A short is an electrical condition such that power flows with no or miniscule resistance. An example would be a screwdriver laid across your rails. Circumstances like a jammed drive belt are not shorts. They are mechanical conditions which prevent the proper operation of your device, be it a locomotive, a turnout or whatever. It's important to make this distinction because you'll need to follow different procedures to diagnose and fix the problem. Good luck with your Mtn.
                                                                                                                                 -- D

[trainstamp]

In case anyone else has this problem, I finally found what was causing the "short".
When I removed the engine shell it ran perfectly but when I put the shell back on, it shorted and would not run. By loosening the rear screw that holds the shell in place it ran OK but when I tightened the screw, I got the short. Off came the shell again and I began looking at the small circuit board where the fire box light is situated. There are two tiny screws that hold the board to the chassis so I removed these screws to have a look underneath this circuit board and found the problem. The components that are soldered to this board protrude through the bottom of the board and where touching the chassis. To fix it, I removed some of the soldered material and then placed two layers of ultra thin plumber's tape between the board and the chassis for insulation, then put everything back together and no more short. It runs fine now.

[jonathan]

Congratulations!  I love it when a little tinkering leads to a simple fix.

I will put this little tidbit in my memory bank for future reference for my Mountains.

Thanks.

Regards,

Jonathan