Train will not run

[Burly]

New member here, Not sure I am asking in the right place or not. My 6 year old son is a HUGE train fan, he has had all the little play(push) trains since he was 2. Well today we graduated up to electric trains, he was SO excited, We bought the Bachmann E-Z track system. After we put the track together, the light on the train works but the train itself will not run, I followed the instructions on trouble shooting, made sure track was together correctly, rechecked the wire hookup, made sure cable was plugged in right on the track. Let it set 5 minutes for breaker to auto reset (f that was the problem) but still will not run, any info or help would really make a 6 year old happy.

[Yampa Bob]

Was this a complete set?  It would help to know what the locomotive is, brand, part number, steam or diesel.  I'm guessing it's a DC controller and DC locomotive.

Since the light works, the track is getting power.  If you turn the throttle up and down, does the light get brighter and dimmer?  Listen as you advance the throttle to see if the motor is humming.  If it is humming or buzzing, it is trying to do something. There might be something binding keeping the loco from moving. 

There is a possibility of a short circuit somewhere.  Turn the controller on, advance the throttle slightly and let it set a bit.  If the controller overload protection trips, then look for anything that may be shorting out the track.

Check underneath the loco for any foam packing material that may be lodged in the mechanism. Also, see if each drive wheelset will move sideways a bit.  All the mechanism should be fairly loose, so you can jiggle things. With your thumb, gently rock each driver wheelset forward and backward.  With the gear reduction, you won't be able to actually rotate the wheels, but there is a tiny bit of play.

With the throttle at about 1/3, push down slightly on the loco and try to manually make it go forward.  It's ok to let the wheels slide a bit.  Try the same thing with the direction switch set to reverse.  Don't force things, just give it a little assist.

There are more sophisticated ways to test the track and loco, such as using a digital volt-ohm-meter or 12 volt neon or led test light with probes, if you have access to such instruments, but we'll wait to hear your results.

I imagine your 6 year old is anxious to get it running, check a few things and report your findings.  Other forum members will be in shortly to add their assistance.  Let us hope the loco isn't defective, but it does happen.

[Burly]

Was this a complete set?

Yes , bought the set today

It would help to know what the locomotive is, brand, part number, steam or diesel.  I'm guessing it's a DC controller and DC locomotive.

It is the EMD GP40 Diesel, with DC controller

Since the light works, the track is getting power.  If you turn the throttle up and down, does the light get brighter and dimmer?  Listen as you advance the throttle to see if the motor is humming.  If it is humming or buzzing, it is trying to do something. There might be something binding keeping the loco from moving. 

There is a possibility of a short circuit somewhere.  Turn the controller on, advance the throttle slightly and let it set a bit.  If the controller overload protection trips, then look for anything that may be shorting out the track.

Check underneath the loco for any foam packing material that may be lodged in the mechanism. Also, see if each drive wheelset will move sideways a bit.  All the mechanism should be fairly loose, so you can jiggle things. With your thumb, gently rock each driver wheelset forward and backward.  With the gear reduction, you won't be able to actually rotate the wheels, but there is a tiny bit of play.

With the throttle at about 1/3, push down slightly on the loco and try to manually make it go forward.  It's ok to let the wheels slide a bit.  Try the same thing with the direction switch set to reverse.  Don't force things, just give it a little assist.

There are more sophisticated ways to test the track and loco, such as using a digital volt-ohm-meter or 12 volt neon or led test light with probes, if you have access to such instruments, but we'll wait to hear your results.

I imagine your 6 year old is anxious to get it running, check a few things and report your findings.  Other forum members will be in shortly to add their assistance.  Let us hope the loco isn't defective, but it does happen.

I will have to try these suggetions in the morning, it is in my son room and he is asleep., thanks for the help so far.

[Santa Fe buff]

Dear Burly,
   Try clearing you track or cleaning the locomotives wheels. But Bob may have your answer already. Oh, and welcome to the Bachmann Board. I came here when we just got Internet this year, and I saw the website on one my first Bachmann Set, and I was nosing around the site when I came across the boards.
I hope he loves his train set. I remember when I was 6 I got my first train set, but mine was a cheap Life-Like set, but from then on, I was hooked on model trains. I already like trains, but didn't know what model trains were. Well, have a good night.

Sincerely,
   Josh B.

[Jim Banner]

If the light changes (goes on and off) as you move the speed controller from stop to full speed and back, then you probably have motor problems inside the locomotive or possibly a bad power pack.

If the light stays on all the time as you move the speed control, then you may have the tracks connected to the accessory terminals of your power pack rather than to the track terminals.  The accessory terminals, if present on a power pack, are for supplying ac for operating turnouts and building lights.  But the ac cannot operate the dc motor that is inside the locomotive.

Note to Yampa Bob - If a locomotive has a dead (open circuit) motor, it will generally not draw enough power to drop the power pack voltage at the low speed end assuming a train set power pack with a rheostat speed controller.  A typical headlight draws only 5 to 10% as much as the motor in these locomotives.  So instead of the power pack voltage being reduced from say 12 to 2 volts (product of rheostat resistance and motor current), it is reduced only from 12 to 11 volts (one tenth the drop.)  This small a voltage change has very little effect on headlight brightness.  At stop, the arm of the rheostat disconnects from the resistive element in the rheostat and so no current output is possible, thus the headlight is off in this position.  With an upgrade power pack that use a potentiometer and an electronic control element (typically a transistor), the lamp will indeed dim.

[Yampa Bob]

Thanks for the reminder. We had a "family" tragedy last week, and my mind is not quite back to par yet.

Yes, I had considered the possibility of an open motor circuit since the light was on. I don't know the probability of that happening on a new loco, but I suppose it is possible. I would consider such a condition on a new loco as defective.  Hopefully he got the set from a local store that will replace it.

It's always frustrating for a father when he gets something nice for his son, and the silly thing won't work. 

[SteamGene]

Try putting just the locomotive on the section of track that has the power connected directly to it and see if it moves.  If it does and then stops, there is a very good chance that you have connected the roadbed and not the track.  Run your finger over the top of the rail on EACH joint, BOTH WAYS.  It should move smoothly.  If it does not, you have a section of track resting on a track joiner, and not in the joiner.  Fix it.  Go to the next.   Missing the rail joiner can happen to anybody.  I just found one myself. 
Gene

[Burly]

OK sorry it took so long to get back at this.

There is a possibility of a short circuit somewhere.  Turn the controller on, advance the throttle slightly and let it set a bit.  If the controller overload protection trips, then look for anything that may be shorting out the track.

Ok Tried that, but the power stays on.

With the throttle at about 1/3, push down slightly on the locjavascript:surroundText('^{', '}', document.forms.postmodify.message);
Superscripto and try to manually make it go forward.  It's ok to let the wheels slide a bit.  Try the same thing with the direction switch set to reverse.  Don't force things, just give it a little assist.

This did not help either

[Burly]

Dear Burly,
   Try clearing you track or cleaning the locomotives wheels.
I hope he loves his train set.

I cleaned the tracks and it did not help. And he loves any and everything that is trains.

[Burly]

If the light changes (goes on and off) as you move the speed controller from stop to full speed and back, then you probably have motor problems inside the locomotive or possibly a bad power pack.

This is what it does, the light starts off, then gets brighter the more you turn the power up

[Burly]

Try putting just the locomotive on the section of track that has the power connected directly to it and see if it moves.

Tried this and it does not make it run. I have taken the whole track apart and started over again, just to make sure.

[Guilford Guy]

Sounds like the locomotives motor is not getting any power. I'm doubtful there is a broken wire. There may be something faulty with the motor itself, and its possible something is lodged in one of the gear boxes preventing it from moving.
Bachmann has a warranty, but it may take a while for them to get the locomotive back to you.
If he is desperate  (it may take 3+ months for them to get the locomotive back to you),
http://trainworld.com/closeouts_blowouts_clearance/clearance_ho.htm, Item numbers 23550, and 23719, are excellent locomotives, and should not have any problems, yet are still fairly cheap.

[Burly]

Reading the paper work that comes with it, it states to not take it back to the store, but to bachmann itself. Does this sound right? Brand new set and will have to wait possibly a couple months to be able to use it?
  Also wanted to add, that I get 17.89 volts on the track with the controller on full.

[Yampa Bob]

I have never seen any Bachmann warranty that says you can't return it to the dealer for service or replacement.

If it was my loco, I would ask the store to replace it.  Then they can send it to Bachmann and wait the one or two months for a replacement. If they won't replace it then your only option is to send it to Bachmann, but I would be looking for another dealer for future purchases.

Don't let the dealer give you some sob story about not being set up to handle repairs, replacements or refunds.  At a local hobby store, you probably paid full retail. It should be his problem not yours.  If the dealer wants your repeat business, he will take good care of you. (and your 6 year old who must be disappointed as well)

I recently received a defective loco from Caboose Hobbies in Denver. I called them and they  said send it back to their store.  Within 3 days, I received a replacement, shipped at their expense, they even gave me a refund for my shipping cost.

When I called to express my thanks, I asked about the shipping refund, which is unusual.  The response was "Why should you be out any money, it wasn't your fault?".

Burly, if you have to send it back to Bachmann anyway, they will not void the warranty if you remove the body from the chassis and do some investigation.  You may find the problem and can fix it.  It sounds like you have a volt-ohm-meter and know how to use it. 

The members here will gladly walk you through the troubleshooting.  I feel you have nothing to lose and everything to gain, including valuable experience.  If you can fix it, you will be a real hero to your son, every father enjoys that.  My kids used to tell their friends "My Daddy can fix anything".  Wow, that created a challenge for me.  But that is your decision.

     

[Burly]

A little update:
I first want to thank everyone for the help, this seems like a very friendly place, will have to stick around. Bob it was not the stores paper work that stated to not bring it back to the store, it was the Bachmann paper work that came with the train set. Any way, I went and returned it with no problems, but it was the only one they had, so now we are having to wait and see if they get any more in soon. In the mean time I am going to look around online for anything. Anyone have any good suggestions for a good starter set, or is the one we got a good starter? BTW Bob, I really can use a volt meter, I am an electrical contractor  Any more input from anyone on the set we bought or any other good starter kit would be great. And yes, my poor 6 year old is on the sad side right now.