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Offline APV  
#1 Posted : 29 August 2015 23:15:24(UTC)
APV

United States   
Joined: 29/08/2015(UTC)
Posts: 6
Location: Texas
I have an older digital engine that I acquired, it has not run for awhile. My problem is the engine constantly shorts out the track, usually when it runs over turnouts and curves, occasionally on straight track as well. I have adjusted the pickup shoe several times, and for a couple of rotations through the layout, it seemed to have fixed the problem. A couple of hours later I ran the engine again and the problem returned. I have run out of ideas. Are there any out there?
Offline Jay  
#2 Posted : 30 August 2015 00:20:34(UTC)
Jay

South Africa   
Joined: 01/05/2010(UTC)
Posts: 303
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Hi APV,welcome to the forum. It might help if you gave members a bit mrore information like a description, Catalogue number etc. Of the loco.
A short occurs if the centre studs make contact with any one of the two outer rails. Physically this can happen if the slider makes makes this contact.
However on some older locos and rolling stock I have had this happen on the C track turnouts where the gap between the rail and the centre studs are
very critical and the older wheels "close " this gap causing a short.
Jay
Offline APV  
#3 Posted : 30 August 2015 01:57:06(UTC)
APV

United States   
Joined: 29/08/2015(UTC)
Posts: 6
Location: Texas
Thank you!
The engine catalog number is 39607. If I understand you correctly, the loose play in the wheels of this engine could be making contact with the center studs running the length of the turnouts? I was also thinking the decoder has a loose connection inside the shell of the engine.
Offline xxup  
#4 Posted : 30 August 2015 02:14:47(UTC)
xxup

Australia   
Joined: 15/03/2003(UTC)
Posts: 9,452
Location: Australia
I have this model - a personal favourite..

Not so likely, but has happened to me: Take the body off the chassis and double check that the wires are not squashed between the body and the chassis - it can happen at the mount post.. A slight movement can cause the short. If you find it a repair can be done using shrink tube..

More likely: If the bogies are not mounted correctly the chassis will be too low (i.e too close to the track).. I will get this one out of the box so you can have some measurements to check the height.. --> When the loco is on a table top the top of the buffer should be 16mm above the table top..
Adrian
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Offline NZMarklinist  
#5 Posted : 30 August 2015 04:56:08(UTC)
NZMarklinist

New Zealand   
Joined: 15/03/2011(UTC)
Posts: 1,757
Location: Auckland NZ
The 39607 RE460 is not so old. It was produced in 2002/3 and should be fine on C tracks, unless it somehow has the incorrect wheel spacing !?
Perhaps somebody could post the correct spacing or "gauge" for APV to check. ?
I have 39602 which is the same Lok with the standard red livery and it works fine on any C Tracks

An internal investigation would be my suggestion, and look for what Adrian suggested. As it has, or should have, the large C Sine motor with
a ribbon connection there should be no connecting points on the motor to short on the body, as is ocasionally the case with Eloks and Diesels, (although I've never found this in an ex factory model) !

I purchased my 39800 V200 on ebay from MiWuLa in one of their sales some years ago and, as Adrian has suggested, it had the wires from the decoder to the C Sine driver board trapped under the body mounting post and it literally "Blew up" in spectacular fashion, flames smoke and all, at it's first corner Scared Cursing
Investigations by the train Dr, found repairs to the decoder board, and trimming the excessively long wiring, and a nice new Loksound V3 M4, with more sounds than the original decoder, fixed it, thankfully BigGrin
Glen
Auckland NZ

" Every Marklin layout needs a V200, a Railbus and a Banana car", not to mention a few Black and red Steamers, oh and the odd Elok !

CS1 Reloaded, Touch Cab, C Track Modules, K track layout all under construction. Currently Insider
Offline mike c  
#6 Posted : 30 August 2015 05:56:55(UTC)
mike c

Canada   
Joined: 28/11/2007(UTC)
Posts: 7,865
Location: Montreal, QC
Here is what I would look for: The 39607, like most modern Maerklin locomotives, has a clip on slider rather than the slider that was affixed by a screw to a base plate. It is possible that the slider mounts may be damaged, causing the slider to sit partially askew. A replacement slider will cost a few dollars (check with AJCKids or Micro Macro Mundo).

The other possibility is that the movement of the slider bogie is somehow being limited. Is it possible that the cable from the slider is snagging and preventing the bogie from turning? I have seen this occur on at least one locomotive when opened and then reassembled.

Question. When the locomotive "shorts out", does it remain on the tracks or does it derail? If the train remains on the track, then this might indicate an internal (wiring) rather than mechanical short.
On classic locomotives, it was possible to unscrew the slider rotate it 180 degrees and reinstall it. On the newer models, it can only be clipped in in one direction.
What you can do to test the model is to remove the shell and observe the wires as the model moves to see if there is a space where the wire is hindering movement. You can provide a little more slack between the main board and the slider if required. The chassis is connected to the ground and if there is a problem (pinch/strip) with the slider lead, it may cause a short against the frame.

Regards

Mike C
Offline APV  
#7 Posted : 30 August 2015 16:21:52(UTC)
APV

United States   
Joined: 29/08/2015(UTC)
Posts: 6
Location: Texas
What a terrific community! I am really impressed by all of the suggestions from around the world. Thank you. To answer the immediate question, no the engine does not fall off the track when it shorts out- just glides to a stop. I will remove the cover today to see if there are any pinched or obstructing wires, as well as check the mounting of the bogies. Another possibility, after running the engine again late last night, is the track screws. I used some small flat head wood screws purchased at a hardware store and I think this could be part of the problem as the engine usually shorts out after traveling over them. The screws were used sparingly around the track and tightened below the height of the center studs in the marked holes. I am going to give them an extra turn to see if this solves most of the problem. It doesn't however, answer why the engine usually shorts out when crossing certain turnouts since there are no screws in the vicinity. Again, thank you!
APV
Offline APV  
#8 Posted : 30 August 2015 22:08:36(UTC)
APV

United States   
Joined: 29/08/2015(UTC)
Posts: 6
Location: Texas
Ok, after an afternoon of trouble shooting here are the facts:
1) Marklin engine 39607 (newly acquired) is the only engine on my layout that is shorting out.
2) The engine shorts out intermittently but not consistently at various points along the track to include turnouts.
3) I identified several track screw heads that could be contributing to the problem and have removed them, grinded the heads down and reduced their diameter with a Dremel tool before re-screwing them into the track.
4) After continuous running to trouble shoot (adjusting track screws, etc) it appeared the episodes of shorting stopped. The engine was making full circuits on the track with no problems. Then I hooked up a few passenger wagons and the problem resumed. The problem also resumed after letting the engine sit for awhile.
5) I removed the body of the engine and saw no obvious problems with the wiring but then again, I'm not a trained technician.
I can only guess the problem is in the pick up shoe or a short in the wiring inside the body of the engine which I am going to re-examine later tonight. It's frustrating, it's a beautiful engine that I want to count on.
Thank you.

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