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Offline 邱仁崇  
#1 Posted : 23 April 2016 16:23:30(UTC)
邱仁崇


Joined: 23/08/2015(UTC)
Posts: 2
As we all have known that 74490s are un-reliable to the most extreme extend. The early products of 74491 are also un-reliable. I am tired of and hate using them. Because I have just found 2 of my 20 turnouts are broken(I have been thrown away 7 broken turnouts). Before this, there have been 7 of my 20 turnouts broken. a more than 100-year-old entrepreneur shouldn't give trash to customers. the decoders(74461) are the same. After trying good 74491 on decoder, I found a fact that there have been 5 decoders out of 18 broken. luckily, I have not yet engaged diorama over the broken decoders. I don't know how I describe the nightmare. I don't know if the wiring of my layout brings about this, while some are still working very strongly. I am abroad out of Deutsch. I can't take serious jural action, like request for penal compensation. All i can do is to stop buying anything about Marklin. There are still many substitutes, like Brawa, Viessmann... and so on. I never seen an evil entrepreneur like Marklin that are still providing trash to global customers for so many years.
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Offline siroljuk  
#2 Posted : 23 April 2016 17:22:25(UTC)
siroljuk

Finland   
Joined: 29/10/2010(UTC)
Posts: 377
Hello whatever your name is.BigGrin

If you search 74490 in this forum, you can see that there are many of us that thinks same way. I do also. Cursing Cursing Cursing
BUT . . . these are toys, and mechanical toys. Then . . . You have realized that in this product there is unforgivable design flaw which Märklin has knew for long time. They have tried to make some workarounds but not succeeded. I have investigated this awful product and nothing can be done with those little switches in where the problem is. Switches are too weak, they dont' tolerate so high current that coils are demanding.

If you wish more reliable product there is one... Viessmann 4558, it is good even though the decoder is too fat to insert below Märklin turnout.

In Viessmann 's motor there is real motor not coil, and that motor can be modified via CV to make quick or slow motion.

Happy Training anyways

Regards

Jukka
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Offline marcelltrain  
#3 Posted : 31 July 2019 09:16:36(UTC)
marcelltrain

United States   
Joined: 21/08/2018(UTC)
Posts: 6
Location: Florida, Miami
Same problem, and I know this is a toy, but it is very expensive to call them "toy", Marklin should check seriously this issue
Offline MaerklinLife  
#4 Posted : 31 July 2019 09:40:02(UTC)
MaerklinLife


Joined: 03/02/2016(UTC)
Posts: 490
The issue has been fixed, it was in 2015. There were an extended trade in that allowed you to exchange your old drives, regardless of age, with new and correted ones at your dealer. What more could you ask for?
Offline marcelltrain  
#5 Posted : 31 July 2019 09:47:24(UTC)
marcelltrain

United States   
Joined: 21/08/2018(UTC)
Posts: 6
Location: Florida, Miami
Great, and....can I do something now? I mean, can I get any replacement for that accesories?
Offline MaerklinLife  
#6 Posted : 31 July 2019 09:48:58(UTC)
MaerklinLife


Joined: 03/02/2016(UTC)
Posts: 490
No, the trade in campaign ended last year after having run for several years.
Offline marcelltrain  
#7 Posted : 31 July 2019 09:50:36(UTC)
marcelltrain

United States   
Joined: 21/08/2018(UTC)
Posts: 6
Location: Florida, Miami
Ok, anyway, thank you for your information, it is good to know about this
Offline JohnjeanB  
#8 Posted : 31 July 2019 10:29:41(UTC)
JohnjeanB

France   
Joined: 04/02/2011(UTC)
Posts: 3,083
Location: Paris, France
Hi
No the situation is not as bad as you said and no Marklin has not fixed the problem
With later switch motors and provided
-you short the end switches then in digital ( with a decoder to limit the command timng) they work well - your source of power is strong enough (I use 100W power supply) all is ok
I tried Viessmann motors and they were even worse.
With over 50 of these switch motors I have typically one problem per year
Cheers
Jean
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Offline MaerklinLife  
#9 Posted : 31 July 2019 10:48:17(UTC)
MaerklinLife


Joined: 03/02/2016(UTC)
Posts: 490
Jean, I don't know where you bought your drives, you might have gotten old stock. The problem has been fixed. The drives I bought from later years clearly shows changes made to the pcb. And, most importantly, I have not had any problems since. The problem is clearly gone, before that, I had a failure rate of almost 100%. Now I have none.
Offline David Dewar  
#10 Posted : 31 July 2019 15:39:10(UTC)
David Dewar

Scotland   
Joined: 01/02/2004(UTC)
Posts: 7,332
Location: Scotland
Only had one fail over many years. I clean them once a year as dust and grit can get under the C track. I never attach turnouts with screws etc to the baseboard and they can be lifted easily.
Don't know who the original poster is but the failure rate quoted including broken turnouts does not seem right to me.
Take care I like Marklin and will defend the worlds greatest model rail manufacturer.
Offline JohnjeanB  
#11 Posted : 31 July 2019 22:10:56(UTC)
JohnjeanB

France   
Joined: 04/02/2011(UTC)
Posts: 3,083
Location: Paris, France
Originally Posted by: MaerklinLife Go to Quoted Post
Jean, I don't know where you bought your drives, you might have gotten old stock. The problem has been fixed. The drives I bought from later years clearly shows changes made to the pcb. And, most importantly, I have not had any problems since. The problem is clearly gone, before that, I had a failure rate of almost 100%. Now I have none.

Hi
I buy them in Germany (MSL-Lippe to be exact) so they are as fresh and as recent as can be. The latest went faulty after 6 month of use (purchased in Dec 2018)
Märklin went through a lot of changes:
- weak motor with only one end switch
- strong motor with only one end switch
- strong motor with only two end switches
- strong motor with only two end switches and spark suppressors
to name only a few of them.
IMO, if you short the end switches and if you use digital decoders (60832 or so) then the decoder supports the switch-off spark quite well and all is OK.
Yes Märklin replace them free of charge but the pain to replace them and replace all landscape around is aggravating. So it is better to skip the warranty and do the end-switch changes
Cheers
Jean
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Offline Drongo  
#12 Posted : 02 August 2019 06:30:29(UTC)
Drongo

Australia   
Joined: 03/06/2008(UTC)
Posts: 1,221
Location: Sydney, NSW
Originally Posted by: siroljuk Go to Quoted Post
Hello whatever your name is.BigGrin



If you wish more reliable product there is one... Viessmann 4558, it is good even though the decoder is too fat to insert below Märklin turnout.

In Viessmann 's motor there is real motor not coil, and that motor can be modified via CV to make quick or slow motion.

Happy Training anyways

Regards

Jukka


Viessmann have just released a new decoder/motor specifically for Marklin/Trix C Track turnouts - 4568. The decoder sits neatly under the decoder as does the Marklin unit.

I'm yet to receive my order so I haven't tested them.

I also hate the Marklin turnout products - I think their electronics are made in China without the proper supervision. If Marklin wish to correct me on this point, I certainly welcome it.

Regards
Greg
Take it easy . . . . or any other way you can get it !!!!
Offline MaerklinLife  
#13 Posted : 02 August 2019 07:23:14(UTC)
MaerklinLife


Joined: 03/02/2016(UTC)
Posts: 490
Originally Posted by: JohnjeanB Go to Quoted Post
IMO, if you short the end switches and if you use digital decoders (60832 or so) then the decoder supports the switch-off spark quite well and all is OK...
...
So it is better to skip the warranty and do the end-switch changes

Each to his own, but I don’t think this should be a task the end user should need to perform. Also, many would not want to do it.

To be honest, it is not a fix, it is a work around. It should also not be the default action to do on new (and perfectly working) drives as they are not prone to fail because of the switches. Not saying it can’t happen, just saying it most likely will not.

The problem with the end switches was fixed around April/May 2015. I believe this where the supressors got added.

I changed my drives then and have not had a single problem ever since. Judging from the amount of complaints in the later years (they have dropped significantly) other users are not experiencing many problems either.

Some users may have gotten old stock from the dealers in the months/years after 2015, so it is first last year and now that we start to see the effect of the new drives.
Users may also have bought used drives on eBay or whatever that were older. The only way to know for sure is to check the date on the drive. It must say at least 220515 (May 2015 or newer). Drives with earlier dates will eventually fail.

My only complaint is that Märklin did not go out and say that they have fixed the drives.
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