 Joined: 18/12/2020(UTC) Posts: 7 Location: California, Palos Verdes
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Hi All,
Having let my locomotives sit in storage for ten years and never having lubricated them properly in the first place, I've learned from this forum about cleaning the armature, brushes, wheels, etc. with isopropyl alchohol/lighter fluid. It has been extremely rewarding to see my trains running again and I've enjoyed the process as well.
So I bought a few "vintage" locomotives from eBay and unfortunately, my success rate in getting them running is only about 50%. It all looks so easy on youtube, but I seem to end up breaking one or both of the wires connecting the field magnet (copper coil at the rear). Am I doing something wrong or are there some tips that can help me improve my success rate?
If this is unavoidable and I need to solder the wires back:
- what soldering iron is ideal for this?
- how do you hold the locomotive, the wire and the soldering iron at the same time?
- does the copper wire need to have insulation to keep it from shorting?
Thanks for your advice.
Randall
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 Joined: 21/12/2012(UTC) Posts: 1,498 Location: Hrvatska
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Since these are thin wires, a 20 watt soldering iron is quite sufficient. I hold the wire with tweezers against the appropriate place and with the right soldering iron, the locomotive is heavy enough not to move. The wire has insulation on it so it does not need to be further insulated. I recently had a locomotive under repair that had a common wire in the middle of the winding break, so I improvised a winder  You need to have a lot of patience to rewind it all and work slowly and carefully so that the insulation on the wire is not damaged  If the wire coming from the very end of the winding breaks (it is usually the right back) then it should be unwound all the way  I wish you success for a happier end to this unhappy year!
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 6 users liked this useful post by 1borna
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Joined: 18/12/2020(UTC) Posts: 7 Location: California, Palos Verdes
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Wow, thanks for your advice. What a task that must have been to rewind it all! Any tips on how to keep it from breaking in the first place?
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Joined: 21/12/2012(UTC) Posts: 1,498 Location: Hrvatska
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4 users liked this useful post by 1borna
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