Bachmann Climax Plunger and Spring contact????

Pospete · January 10, 2015, 05:12:11 PM

Hi Mr Bachmann.
I just received 8 of the Plunger and Spring assemblies G850X-MT01-MT03, and I have found them to be useless. When you put the plunger into the housing with the spring, the plunger is too short to stick out of the Housing, so the plunger does not even touch the wheel. As a part, it is pretty useless. This plunger will only work with a Ball bearing that you do not supply with the part. I had a set of 824XX-G821X-00C02-1, which has the longer plunger, and at least I can have one truck done. The other truck I have managed to source some Balls. Has anyone at Bachmann actually tried to use the Plunger and Spring assembly because the plunger supplied is too short?

Chuck N · January 10, 2015, 08:49:58 PM

Will the LGB graphite plug and spring fit in the sleeve? The graphite plug is fairly long. Or could you use a longer spring? I'd think that the extra long springs that come with Kadee couplers might be useable for that.

Chuck

mickeykelley · January 10, 2015, 11:58:49 PM

Today I was just finishing up my 'new' Climax which I had decided to upgrade from the 'old' one I did have. I took a look at the power pickups to decide if I wanted any 'extra' parts for the future and noticed how the newer one had what appears to be a roller wheel on the plunger tip. Not sure if it will be any better, but looks better. But it appears if it goes, there are no replacement parts for it. Hopefully it's because they don't die. I had seen that plunger part and heard the stories, which is part of why I opened the truck bottom to check things out. Glad I didn't buy that part you got. Parts really seems to be an issue unless you happened to just stock up when they first came out and guessed right on what you might need.

Pospete · January 11, 2015, 03:22:34 AM

Quote from: Chuck N on January 10, 2015, 08:49:58 PM
Will the LGB graphite plug and spring fit in the sleeve? The graphite plug is fairly long. Or could you use a longer spring? I'd think that the extra long springs that come with Kadee couplers might be useable for that.

Chuck

Hi Chuck, I didn't try the LGB contact so I don't know if that would fit. The standard plunger is not long enough even with a slightly stretched spring to stick out of the Housing supplied. Luckily I had the longer plungers from the contact set for the shay. So I have one truck with plunger contacts and one truck with the older Ball bearing contacts. Not that it matters as I'm converting to DCC. Thanks anyway. I was just a bit surprised that the contact sets were........ as they were. If I had not got the other bits then the contact sets would have been pretty useless to use.

Pospete · January 11, 2015, 03:41:12 AM

Quote from: mickeykelley on January 10, 2015, 11:58:49 PM
Today I was just finishing up my 'new' Climax which I had decided to upgrade from the 'old' one I did have. I took a look at the power pickups to decide if I wanted any 'extra' parts for the future and noticed how the newer one had what appears to be a roller wheel on the plunger tip. Not sure if it will be any better, but looks better. But it appears if it goes, there are no replacement parts for it. Hopefully it's because they don't die. I had seen that plunger part and heard the stories, which is part of why I opened the truck bottom to check things out. Glad I didn't buy that part you got. Parts really seems to be an issue unless you happened to just stock up when they first came out and guessed right on what you might need.

I think the plunger with the rounded tip will be just as reliable as the older Ball bearing contact. Tho it never happened to me, I know that the Ball bearings could sometimes drop out. I was just mildly disappointed that on getting the replacement part, on their own they are useless and cannot physically do anything. I am a little surprised that Bachmann have not spotted this before. I had 4 of the longer plungers from the Shay contact set, and they are the right length. So with the spring and those plungers( from the Shay contact set) it works as it is supposed too. The shay Plunger is longer than the plunger sold as the contact set for the Climax. It just seems funny to me that to get the Contact set sold for the Climax, you also need to buy the contact set for the Shays. I expect it will catch a few people out.

Chuck N · January 11, 2015, 09:35:54 AM

You say that the assembly is too short to stick out. How much too short is it?

Could you get a piece of brass rod and cut it to the correct length and put it in the sleeve. This would extend the effective length of the assembly. Brass is a good conductor so it should work, especially if you put a little conducting grease in the sleeve.

The rod should be slightly smaller in diameter than the diameter of the sleeve. You want a loose, not tight fit.

Chuck

If the rod will fit snugly into the spring that would be best as then you can easily put in and take out the entire assembly, if needed. If the rod is in by itself it might be hard to remove later, specially if there is conducting grease in the sleeve.

Another option would be a small brass screw, minus the head. The threads on the screw would hold onto the spring making a more secure linkage.

Pospete · January 12, 2015, 09:52:21 PM

Quote from: Chuck N on January 11, 2015, 09:35:54 AM
You say that the assembly is too short to stick out. How much too short is it?

The plunger contact is so short it sticks out of the sleeve less than 1mm, so neither side will touch the wheel. I'd say it was a useless part. The plunger contact for the Shays is the correct length, it's longer, and with the spring engages the wheel correctly. I would hope Bachmann looks into this, otherwise they will end up getting more complaints.

Chuck N · January 13, 2015, 06:37:38 PM

Pete

I have been into this scale for over 30 years. There have been times when I have not been able to get "manufacturer" parts to keep my engines and cars operational. It is occasionally necessary to improvise. That is why I made my suggestions.

Part of the problem is that the importer, be it: Bachmann, AristoCraft or some one else, are importers, not the manufacturers. The company making the current equipment is in China. The importer no matter who it is does not have access to a complete set of replacement parts.

You can beat your head against a wall, or try to find an alternative solution.

The cost of maintaining all potential replacement parts is not cost effective in most current business models.

Chuck

mickeykelley · January 13, 2015, 10:51:58 PM

Don't disagree but personally I'm tired of throw away everything. At least in the old days stuff was made durable and to last. Now stuff is made cheap and the answer is usually sorry it's a China thing so just throw away the $500 train engine or as you suggest learn to jerry rig things. Very sad state of affairs IMHO but what we have to deal with until americans revolt against this cheap China crap and insist factories be brought back home. We were able to kick butt in WWII because we had factory capability. Now we would have to rely on China and hope we are not in a ******* match with them or their friends. Thank goodness some smart companies like Apple are starting to at least bring some manufacturing home.

Whew, now that I got that off my chest, what was the question?

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Bachmann Climax Plunger and Spring contact????