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Offline phils2um  
#1 Posted : 02 May 2021 09:11:51(UTC)
phils2um

United States   
Joined: 12/01/2016(UTC)
Posts: 165
Location: Michigan, Ann Arbor
Has anyone out there opened up a CS3? The main STOP bar on mine no longer works. I can only turn track power on and off with the touch screen or with remote devices. I'd like to see if I can repair the bar or switch or just have to live with it as it is. I don't want to send to back to Germany for repair.
Phil S.
Offline marklinist5999  
#2 Posted : 02 May 2021 11:38:29(UTC)
marklinist5999

United States   
Joined: 10/02/2021(UTC)
Posts: 3,044
Location: Michigan, Troy
No, but do the red leds still work? The contacts may be dirty. Before I dared to open it up, first I'd try plastic compatible spray contact cleaner by CRC. Home Depot carries it in the electrical dept. It's $10 for a large can. I use UT on locomotive wheel and car wheel lightning contacts. I'd spray it sparingly under the stop bar, and in between the edges. Give a minute to dry out before booting it up.
Personally, if it operates fine otherwise, and you can live with it, I wouldn't send it for repair. If you really want it repaired, I'd call Marklin USA in Mo. And ask if they do repairs or can recommend a n authorized who does.
Offline kiwiAlan  
#3 Posted : 02 May 2021 12:13:39(UTC)
kiwiAlan

United Kingdom   
Joined: 23/07/2014(UTC)
Posts: 8,067
Location: ENGLAND, Didcot
Originally Posted by: marklinist5999 Go to Quoted Post
No, but do the red leds still work? The contacts may be dirty. Before I dared to open it up, first I'd try plastic compatible spray contact cleaner by CRC. Home Depot carries it in the electrical dept. It's $10 for a large can. I use UT on locomotive wheel and car wheel lightning contacts. I'd spray it sparingly under the stop bar, and in between the edges. Give a minute to dry out before booting it up.
Personally, if it operates fine otherwise, and you can live with it, I wouldn't send it for repair. If you really want it repaired, I'd call Marklin USA in Mo. And ask if they do repairs or can recommend a n authorized who does.


Spraying under the stop bar won't get very far. The switch is a microswitch mounted on the circuit board. There is a plastic piece that converts the stop bar movement into a limited movement for the microswitch so it doesn't stress the circuit board.

To the OP, you need a Torx driver, from memory it is a number 8 or 9, to remove the screws accessed form the bottom. It will need to have a shaft at least three inches long as some of the screws are down quite deep holes. Once you get in there the piece I mentioned above is a clear plastic item that is clipped to the circuit board over the microswitch. It sounds to me as though this may have cracked. I got one out of marklin service for nothing by being persistant in emailing despite them wanting me to send the whole unit back, but I just pointed out the unit worked fine, I just needed this bit to get the stop bar working and eventually they sent one.

You can see where i did a repair on a cs2 in this thread, the post I linked to it is possible to see the slots at the bottom centre of the PCB where the plastic bit clips in (i didn't check further down the thread to see if there is a photo of the other side with the clip). The cs3 is likely to have a similar arrangement.

thanks 1 user liked this useful post by kiwiAlan
Online JohnjeanB  
#4 Posted : 02 May 2021 20:09:34(UTC)
JohnjeanB

France   
Joined: 04/02/2011(UTC)
Posts: 3,078
Location: Paris, France
Hi Phil
I cannot say for the CS3 but for the CS2 (same casing with telescopic feet) the unit opens by removing all Torx screws including the one under the warranty seal
Then it looks like this (This is a CS2 NOT a CS3)

60215 IMG_4339.JPG

Here is the other side of the plastic case with the touching nose circled in red (in contact with the micro switch)
60215 IMG_4352A.jpg

On the other side of the main PCB, there is a tiny SMD switch (apparently of mediocre quality as I had also problems with my CS2).
These mostly disappeared after multiple operation of the stop bar.
I do not recommend to inject loads of contact fluid into the unit as some high impedance circuits may be ruined by it.
Cheers
Jean
Offline marklinist5999  
#5 Posted : 02 May 2021 21:21:41(UTC)
marklinist5999

United States   
Joined: 10/02/2021(UTC)
Posts: 3,044
Location: Michigan, Troy
Indeed, the CS3 has bottom torx screws. The stop button looks the same on top.
Online JohnjeanB  
#6 Posted : 02 May 2021 22:16:11(UTC)
JohnjeanB

France   
Joined: 04/02/2011(UTC)
Posts: 3,078
Location: Paris, France
Yes indeed the CS3 has Torx screws but I don't want to open mine (works good and still under warranty).
But when you put the 2 units side by side you realize all they did is to change the motherboard and a better - same size - screen.
Cheers
Jean
Offline phils2um  
#7 Posted : 03 May 2021 07:22:59(UTC)
phils2um

United States   
Joined: 12/01/2016(UTC)
Posts: 165
Location: Michigan, Ann Arbor
Thanks everybody for the input. The LEDs are fine. I know there is some kind of mechanical problem between the bar and the switch. The bar no longer "clicks". Guess I just need to screw (unscrew?) up my courage and go at it.
Phil S.
Offline phils2um  
#8 Posted : 05 May 2021 00:51:32(UTC)
phils2um

United States   
Joined: 12/01/2016(UTC)
Posts: 165
Location: Michigan, Ann Arbor
OK, I opened up my CS3 to check out the STOP bar. A couple of notes anyone doing this should keep in mind. The body shells don't easily separate at the back. Persistence and very gentle persuasion will eventually get it apart. Same goes for getting it back together again. If you fiddle with it enough it will finally mesh and you'll know when it does. Don't force the shell halves back together.

First thing to disconnect is a battery that is housed in the bottom shell half. This is a common two pole polarized connector on the motherboard. Disconnecting this allows the two shell halves to be completely separated. The motherboard is attached to the upper shell half with two additional torx screws.

There are two ribbon cables between the display/touchscreen and motherboard. They are not very long BE CAREFUL! These, along with the cables connecting the two control potentiometers to the mother board use connector devices I've never seen before. The ribbons have bare conductors on one side. The cables slide into clamping devices mounted on the motherboard. I broke a leg off one of the clamp retainers for the potentiometer ribbon cables before realizing how they workedCursing Cursing Cursing ! What I thought (and appears from above) to be a plug is actually a captured, tapered wedge that forces the ribbon cable's bare conductors against their respective contacts on the motherboard. The wedge slides out about a mm or two while remaining attached to the board mounted connector. The ribbon cable can then be slid out of the connector. Luckily, the wedge piece could still be used. The two potentiometer ribbon cables must be disconnected to get at the STOP bar. I did not need to disconnect the display cables. And, looking at the number, size, and spacing of the conductors on these cables, did not want to take a chance disconnecting them! Just be careful not to stress them.

In the end I was not able to discern what was malfunctioning with the STOP bar. I was able to completely remove it and the clear plastic piece KiwiAlan talked of in Post#3 for inspection. I could not see anything noticeably amiss or broken on either. The surface mounted microswitch on the motherboard mechanically works fine with a noticeable "click" so I don't think that is the problem.

I reassembled the CS3, and plugged in the power. The red LEDs lit up but the screen never came alive!OhMyGod Extremely concerned that I had just created a very expensive and not very effective boat anchor I carefully opened the CS3 again. After checking connections a second time, I closed it up once more. This time I put the xD memory card I had been using back in before I powered it up. It came alive!ThumpUp Don't think or know that the xD card made a difference but I'm not about to find out! Think I'll live with the non-functional STOP bar for the time being.Sad
Phil S.
thanks 5 users liked this useful post by phils2um
Offline marklinist5999  
#9 Posted : 05 May 2021 01:24:00(UTC)
marklinist5999

United States   
Joined: 10/02/2021(UTC)
Posts: 3,044
Location: Michigan, Troy
Phil, glad it's working after that. I will not ever try that.
P.S., seven of my cousins grew up on Mershon and Naves CT. Just north of Scio Church.
Online JohnjeanB  
#10 Posted : 05 May 2021 23:11:05(UTC)
JohnjeanB

France   
Joined: 04/02/2011(UTC)
Posts: 3,078
Location: Paris, France
Hi Phil
This is great for you.
Have you made pictures you may share with us. I may help quite a number of persons here.
Cheers
Jean
Offline phils2um  
#11 Posted : 05 May 2021 23:30:03(UTC)
phils2um

United States   
Joined: 12/01/2016(UTC)
Posts: 165
Location: Michigan, Ann Arbor
I should have taken some pics to post but did not. The potentiometer ribbon cable connectors (and display connectors) on the CS3 are identical in form and function to the pot ribbon cables shown in lower left and right of the first CS2 photo posted by JohnjeanB in Post#4 above. I will take some photos if and when I decide to have another go at the STOP bar.
Phil S.
Offline owidgie  
#12 Posted : 07 May 2021 22:40:43(UTC)
owidgie

United States   
Joined: 03/06/2007(UTC)
Posts: 149
Hi Phil, I have taken a few apart to fix this problem. I do have to admit I don't know where the problem is exactly because one can't see the alignment of the parts because the shells have to be closed.

Be persistent, it will click back in place and work and sound like it did before it was broken. I had to take one apart a couple of times to get it to work.

After it is working the next hard step is getting it back together. That was always harder for me than the stop button alignment!

Rick
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Offline cookee_nz  
#13 Posted : 08 May 2021 10:51:35(UTC)
cookee_nz

New Zealand   
Joined: 31/12/2010(UTC)
Posts: 3,946
Location: Paremata, Wellington
Originally Posted by: phils2um Go to Quoted Post
I should have taken some pics to post but did not. The potentiometer ribbon cable connectors (and display connectors) on the CS3 are identical in form and function to the pot ribbon cables shown in lower left and right of the first CS2 photo posted by JohnjeanB in Post#4 above. I will take some photos if and when I decide to have another go at the STOP bar.


Those connectors can be a trap for young players. I repair Laptops and tablets in my day job (the interruption between Märklin at both ends of the day) and we see all manner of connectors similar to that, but I can tell you, some of ours are less than 1/4 the size of those ones, and still getting smaller.

Any connector like that but without any form of release latch is probably a 'ZIF' connector - Zero Insertion Force. You just gently pull on the ribbon cable to remove. Personally I prefer the latch-type, something positive to feel locking into place.

The 'potentiometer' is actually a Rotary Encoder, quite common now in your car stereo, appliances, you name it. Ok as long as replacement are available. I had one start to fail in an Intellibox, gives unreliable speed control when they go bad.

Good that you didn't kill your CS3, but as Rick says, the Stop bar must have a reason for not positively responding, especially if the actual switch is responding positively.

If you dare to venture back into it I'd closely inspect the mechanical aspect of it, usually something has slightly unclipped, or become cracked and is flexing but sometimes, you just pull it apart, reassemble and it's like there was never a problem.

Cheers

Cookee
Cookee
Wellington
NZ image
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Offline marklinist5999  
#14 Posted : 08 May 2021 11:44:12(UTC)
marklinist5999

United States   
Joined: 10/02/2021(UTC)
Posts: 3,044
Location: Michigan, Troy
After reading above post's, I will mainly use the mouse to start/stop my CS3. Tapping lightly to initiate shutdown.
I would have rather Marklin made the stop bar of neoprene or a rubber, at least an overlay in the center. Also two or three red leds would suffice. It is good that it is wide though. If you need to panic stop because of a short, it's easy to touch.
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