Wire in tender broke off (That's it, I'm tired of this train)

[Alex Butner]

Today, the wire the broke and now I can't run this train anymore. I'm stuck with it, if I try to get it replaced, it could take several months for a replacement, and I can't sell it either. It is now junk and I feel horrible. The only steam locomotive in G-scale that has lived for three months and now it has to do it. I can't return it, because it has been in my possession for three months and I can't sell it because nobody would buy it. This train has let me down. I'm going to find a better train. (Sorry Bachmann) I am tired of having to fix this thing every few weeks because something works itself loose or breaks. I have had too many bad experiences with this train. (Sorry again Bachmann)

[NarrowMinded]

What kind of train are you talking about, there are tons of people who will buy a non functioning train on here many of us tear them apart on a regular basis and repair wires.

Let me know what it is I might buy it.

NM

[Chuck N]

If you want help, tell us what kind of engine you have.  This has happened to most if not all of us at one time or another.  Can you get into the tender and see where the wire came from?  If so it should be relatively easy to solder in a patch.  If not send a picture of where the problem wire is in the tender and someone here will probably know where to reattach it.

Soldering irons and volt meters are two necessary tools to have if you are into model railroading, especially "G" gauge.

Chuck

[Barry BBT]

We can't be thinking BH, because there is one wire for the chuff and on the Annie the additional wire is for the rear light.
Neither of these would prevent the train from running.

I can't think of any G Bachmann loco which is dependent upon the tender to run.

a puzzlement.

Barry - BBT

[Alex Butner]

It's the plastic white square tab that allows the exhaust sound. First, one wire broke, then the entire white tab broke completely off. What should I do to restore the exhaust sound? (Set No. 90056 Summit Pass) I hope this doesn't repeat itself when I purchase the EBT 4-6-0 to pull my EBT coaches I got for Christmas.

[on30gn15]

Ahh, understand.
Had that happen on PRR loco. Managed to get spare wire from another modeler.

If you do get a hold of spare wire from Bachmann, carefully remove black outer insulation before installing new wire - it is too stiff to allow wire pair to flex enough to survive bending to plug in and then to survive forces on it due to relative movement between loco and tender.

Yeah, Bachmann needs to make a change there.
Will it happen?

I'm not at all willing to accept that no one at Bachmann had seen this happen before approving continuation of this design.
I dare Bachmann to prove me incorrect.

Here's how I made my own change.

(I'm looking at that knife blade and considering making some kind of political statement about how USA had to solve a Made in China defect but I'm too much a gentleman to do that, so I won't do that.)

Cut outer insulation back to here

[armorsmith]

Alex,

Along the lines of what On30gn15 did, I opened the tender and cut the wires inside the tender.  I then removed the wire and plug from the tender. I next relocated the hole in the end bolster from the side to center just above the draw bar.  Relocated the wires through the new hole and rerouted them back inside the tender and re-soldered.  This removed all the binding that the stiff wire and jacket created.

Good luck!!

Bob C.

[GovB]

Great info!

I have a Big Hauler Christmas loco that is showing signs of this same thing about to happen. Since she is already packed away I'll have to print this out and take care of this next time.

Thanks to every one. It really pays to watch this board.

Happy Railroading! GovB

[Barry BBT]

You don't need a new plug just some good wire to fix into the plug, solder the tips from the plug,  some shrink tube (of good quality) and replace the wire all of the way to the sound board (or one to the sound board and the other to the switch, depending upon which sound board you have)

If yo want the better wire and shrink tube, send me five bucks for the postage and I'll send more than you need or a replacement from Bachmann, same price (in stock).

Barry - BBT

P.O. Box 1119
Tolleson, AZ 85353-1103

[jsmvmd]

Dear Barry,

That is quite generous of you !  I hope Alex does it.  You are one of the good guys.

By the way, how is the Old Crustacean, since he does not post here anymore ?

Best Wishes,

Jack, Altoona, PA

[Barry BBT]

Jack,

I speak with TOC at least once a week.  He is a dealer for my products and is also the primary tester for any new developments.  So TOC is very important to me.  His testing ability and how he defines a problem is very rare, doesn't waste my time or his. 

Sometimes people just seem to want to "poke the bear".

Barry - BBT