Joined: 19/12/2015(UTC) Posts: 16 Location: Redmond, Oregon
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I am a newbie with a brand new starter set (#29245) with an MS2 set up under our Christmas tree on carpet. It has been working beautifully. I bought the 78071 extension set with the railroad grade crossing. I put the crossing into my track, and it has never worked right (I've discussed in a separate post.) I finally decided to return it, so I took it out and replaced with the original track. Now my locomotive won't run. It is getting power - if I gently push down on either side, on the front, or on the coal car, the lights turn on and it tries to go. Sometimes it will go a short ways and then stop, other times it just sits there with no lights on. We cleaned the pickup bar, and the tracks to no avail. The wheels do not look dirty, either. I have checked all the track connections and the power connection. We have checked the tracks for power, and they are fine. We have only been running it a week! Does anyone have any idea as to what might be wrong? It is very frustrating to have a brand new loco stop working! Thanks for your help. Patty
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Joined: 15/09/2014(UTC) Posts: 684 Location: London
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Have you opened the loco up to check whether some bits of carpet have got stuck in the mechanism?
Kind regards, Carim
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Joined: 15/03/2003(UTC) Posts: 9,603 Location: Australia
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I wonder if there is a link between this problem and the problem with the boom gates..
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Adrian Australia flag by abFlags.com |
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Joined: 23/07/2014(UTC) Posts: 8,508 Location: ENGLAND, Didcot
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Originally Posted by: xxup  I wonder if there is a link between this problem and the problem with the boom gates..
That might be a possibility. Another thing to check, are you running on carpet? What are the possibility of a piece of fluff getting into the connections between the track pieces? Just where is the loco on the layout when you are pressing down and getting a response? If it is on the track piece that the controller and power supply connect to then check to see if the connections to the ms2 and power supply are making good contact. Also wiggle them while plugged in to check to see if there is a break in the wire. If you have the sort of box that has a pair of wires going to the track to make connection, are the little lugs pushed onto the track connections properly? They can be a pain to push on I have found.
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Joined: 19/12/2015(UTC) Posts: 16 Location: Redmond, Oregon
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Originally Posted by: xxup  I wonder if there is a link between this problem and the problem with the boom gates..
Yes, I am wondering the same thing. But I am so new to all of this, I'm at a loss to know where to begin to check it. I have an electrical question. The power box is one that has two wires coming out of it, one wire goes to the center rail, and the other wire goes to one of the outside rails. Right now I have it hooked to the inside rail. In that case, so there be power going to the outside rail, as well? When my husband puts his volt multitester on two of the rails, this is what he gets: 2 outside rails - no power Center rail and inside track - power Center rail and outside track - power Is that how it is supposed to be? Patty
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Joined: 19/12/2015(UTC) Posts: 16 Location: Redmond, Oregon
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Originally Posted by: Carim  Have you opened the loco up to check whether some bits of carpet have got stuck in the mechanism?
Kind regards, Carim No. How much of it and what parts would I take apart? I have the manual that shows all the parts and how they go together, but I'm leary of taking the whole thing apart. But I will if I have to. Patty
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Joined: 19/12/2015(UTC) Posts: 16 Location: Redmond, Oregon
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Originally Posted by: kiwiAlan 
Another thing to check, are you running on carpet? What are the possibility of a piece of fluff getting into the connections between the track pieces?
I guess that is a possibility. We'll take it apart this weekend and see if we can find any. Originally Posted by: kiwiAlan  Just where is the loco on the layout when you are pressing down and getting a response? If it is on the track piece that the controller and power supply connect to then check to see if the connections to the ms2 and power supply are making good contact. Also wiggle them while plugged in to check to see if there is a break in the wire.
The loco is several tracks before the track that gets the power. One time I got it to run, and it ran up and over the power track, but quit a few tracks after. So I don't know if that is important. I have noticed that the plug from the MS2 into the power supply is pretty loose, but what can I do about that? Originally Posted by: kiwiAlan  If you have the sort of box that has a pair of wires going to the track to make connection, are the little lugs pushed onto the track connections properly? They can be a pain to push on I have found. Yes, that is the set up, but I have not changed anything, and it worked great, then suddenly stopped working! Okay, here is something really bizarre. I stopped in the middle of writing this to check out the answer to a question above, and this morning the loco is working perfectly! All I did was move the loco to another part of the track, turn on the power to the track, turn off STOP on the MS2, and the loco took off! I stopped it at the place it wasn't working last night, and it started up right away just fine. WEIRD!!!!
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Joined: 16/02/2004(UTC) Posts: 15,463 Location: DE-NW
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Hi, Patty! Originally Posted by: mpferry26  this is what he gets: 2 outside rails - no power Center rail and inside track - power Center rail and outside track - power Is that how it is supposed to be? That's how it should be. BTW: brown wire has to go to 0, red wire to B. Older locos will not work if wires are reversed. It's too simple to connect the brown wire to B. |
Regards Tom --- "In all of the gauges, we particularly emphasize a high level of quality, the best possible fidelity to the prototype, and absolute precision. You will see that in all of our products." (from Märklin New Items Brochure 2015, page 1) ROFLBTCUTS  |
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Joined: 16/02/2004(UTC) Posts: 15,463 Location: DE-NW
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Originally Posted by: mpferry26  Okay, here is something really bizarre. I stopped in the middle of writing this to check out the answer to a question above, and this morning the loco is working perfectly! All I did was move the loco to another part of the track, turn on the power to the track, turn off STOP on the MS2, and the loco took off! I stopped it at the place it wasn't working last night, and it started up right away just fine. WEIRD!!!! Some problems "disappear" by running the loco a few rounds at full speed. How is the humidity in your train room? Humidity shouldn't be a problem in a heated room during winter. |
Regards Tom --- "In all of the gauges, we particularly emphasize a high level of quality, the best possible fidelity to the prototype, and absolute precision. You will see that in all of our products." (from Märklin New Items Brochure 2015, page 1) ROFLBTCUTS  |
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Joined: 25/11/2004(UTC) Posts: 1,106 Location: Guelph, Ontario
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Hi,
The first thing I do when I get a new Set from Marklin : Clean the Track with Lighter Fluid ( don' t smoke or have Candle's light ) you may also use rubbing Alcohol.
Clean the Wheels of the Locomotive with the same.
It is part of Manufacturing that the Track gets a film of OIL or Solvent on it and it helps if you clean the Track before Use. This Oil gets also on the Wheels of the Locomotive and then you can have poor contact and the Locomotive may/ will run erratically .
Use your Finger and run them over the Track if you get a Dirty/Black Finger your Track needs cleaning.
Regards Martin
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marklin-eh |
 1 user liked this useful post by Hoffmann
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Joined: 28/11/2007(UTC) Posts: 8,243 Location: Montreal, QC
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The brown wire connects to the ground (rails=0) and the red wire connects to the centre rail (B). As you are using the MS2, it is possible that the MS2 simply no longer recognized that locomotive and the next time you tried it, it worked as normal again. This can happen from time to time. I don't see why the crossing would cause the train to stop working, unless there was some kind of wiring issue (short). If you have any future problems of the same nature, my first recommendation would be to power down the layout and then try again. You should also check for dust in the mechanism (wheels/gears) and make sure that the slider is not bent or otherwise damaged. You should be able to test the lights by using the F0 function on the MS2. Normally on start up, the lights will be on, but once you select that locomotive address, they will go off until you activate them.
Regards
Mike C
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Joined: 19/12/2015(UTC) Posts: 16 Location: Redmond, Oregon
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Originally Posted by: H0  How is the humidity in your train room? Humidity shouldn't be a problem in a heated room during winter. Tom - we live in the high desert, so humidity is not a problem here. Plus the train is set up not far from our gas fireplace, which heats our house. So I feel confident that I can rule that one out.
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Joined: 19/12/2015(UTC) Posts: 16 Location: Redmond, Oregon
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Originally Posted by: Hoffmann  Hi,
The first thing I do when I get a new Set from Marklin : Clean the Track with Lighter Fluid ( don' t smoke or have Candle's light ) you may also use rubbing Alcohol.
Clean the Wheels of the Locomotive with the same.
It is part of Manufacturing that the Track gets a film of OIL or Solvent on it and it helps if you clean the Track before Use. This Oil gets also on the Wheels of the Locomotive and then you can have poor contact and the Locomotive may/ will run erratically .
Use your Finger and run them over the Track if you get a Dirty/Black Finger your Track needs cleaning.
Regards Martin
Thank you, Martin! Yes, the night it stopped working, I was running my finger around the track and it came up black. I found a post that said to use rubbing alcohol, which we had in the house, so I cleaned the tracks with it. It didn't help immediately, but then the next morning the train worked, so I'm sure that helped. We are going to take the track down today (Christmas tree comes down) and put the train away for a short time, so I will do a thorough cleaning of the locomotive while it's down. Patty
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Joined: 19/12/2015(UTC) Posts: 16 Location: Redmond, Oregon
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Originally Posted by: mike c  The brown wire connects to the ground (rails=0) and the red wire connects to the centre rail (B). Thank you for that explanation, Mike. I was a bit confused when Tom mentioned it, but this clarifies it. Yes, my tracks are set up correctly. Originally Posted by: mike c  As you are using the MS2, it is possible that the MS2 simply no longer recognized that locomotive and the next time you tried it, it worked as normal again. This can happen from time to time.
Now that you mention that, my husband did comment that prior to the train not working (the evening before, I believe), the MS2 had "forgotten" the train, and would not run it. But when I started it up later, it was recognizing it again. I think he just pushed the wrong button, and moved the setting to the next train, which was empty. So I doubt that affected anything, but who knows? Originally Posted by: mike c  I don't see why the crossing would cause the train to stop working, unless there was some kind of wiring issue (short). If you have any future problems of the same nature, my first recommendation would be to power down the layout and then try again. You should also check for dust in the mechanism (wheels/gears) and make sure that the slider is not bent or otherwise damaged. You should be able to test the lights by using the F0 function on the MS2. Normally on start up, the lights will be on, but once you select that locomotive address, they will go off until you activate them. I'm not sure if you mean the mechanism and lights of the crossing or the locomotive, but I checked the crossing, and the lights flash as soon as power is put to the track, and stay on no matter if the loco address to pointing to an empty slot or the actual locomotive. After trying everything I can possibly think of, and trying everyone's suggestions, I have decided to return the crossing, and get something different. I'm not happy with how it works, not to mention the constant blinking. Back to the locomotive, this morning, with the crossing gone, the loco worked fine. I put the crossing back in the setup, and the loco stopped working until I gave it a bit of a push down, then it started up again and kept going until I stopped it. I took the crossing out, and it still didn't want to start until I gave it a push to get the power connecting. I'm hoping that cleaning the loco thoroughly will fix this problem. If it doesn't, you'll hear from me again when we get the base to our layout up and the tracks set up again. Thank you so much, everyone, for all your input! I would have been totally lost and frustrated without it! Happy New Year! Patty
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