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Offline cookee_nz  
#1 Posted : 17 May 2017 10:37:36(UTC)
cookee_nz

New Zealand   
Joined: 31/12/2010(UTC)
Posts: 3,948
Location: Paremata, Wellington
Fully my fault I admit, but like many others here I'm sure, I grab things when I can for the eventual day I can actually use them. You always think it will not be that far away.

Tonight, on a whim I decided to check my Faller Car System vehicles that I'd had for a number of years, ok at least 10!!. And they were used when I got them abnd I reckon a further 10 years old before that so easily now 15-20 years or so so but were all going and in good condition.

Opened the first one, and was greeted by runny blue liquid. What the??

I would seem the rechargeable batteries on this one are well-past their use-by.

Would they have gone the same way if they had been regularly used?, who would know. I'm sure there must be some users here with early-generation Car System vehicles, are they still working on their original batteries? What is the experience of other users?

I don't know if this one can be recovered or not. Probably the acid has migrated through all the wires as often happens and I think the chassis and drive will need to be stripped and cleaned.

The liquid washed away easily enough and no remaining stains but it's a reminder about the potential problems of long-term storage of many items.

We've had Coaches and Packaging go yellow from UV light.

I'd had a 6041 Switchboard battery go bad and corrode the PCB.

We all know about Loco oils turning to glue when left unused for long periods.

Styrene stuck to painted bodies or paint peeled off.

Zinkpest and variations of course.

And I'm sure there are other unexpected disappointments people have found when they returned to something put away many years before in excellent condition and now damaged in some way.

I'm hoping I can find a suitable replacement Battery pack here for this, it's a pity Faller didn't make them removable, they are certainly easy enough to get to.

The other four vehicles don't show any signs of leakage so I shall charge them up and see if they are actually still serviceable. if not, there is no point in buying replacement batteries until I'm actually going to use them but it's probably worth removing those batteries as a precaution, or simply making a point of giving them a charge and a run every few months.

Worth checking your stored items from time to time just as a precaution. Stored differently, this could well have leaked over other items and done who-knows-what damage.

FallerCS-P1040574.jpg

FallerCS-P1040575.jpg

FallerCS-P1040576.jpg
Cookee
Wellington
NZ image
thanks 5 users liked this useful post by cookee_nz
Offline Carim  
#2 Posted : 17 May 2017 10:55:57(UTC)
Carim

United Kingdom   
Joined: 15/09/2014(UTC)
Posts: 649
Location: London
Thanks for the heads-up; I guess this sort of things happens to most people once in a while. I know it's really annoying when it does happen. I just hope that you can get that truck working again.

Carim
Offline H0  
#3 Posted : 17 May 2017 11:12:21(UTC)
H0


Joined: 16/02/2004(UTC)
Posts: 15,254
Location: DE-NW
Hi!
Originally Posted by: cookee_nz Go to Quoted Post
Would they have gone the same way if they had been regularly used?
Rechargeable batteries typically must be recharged from time to time. Usually they can no longer be used once they were completely discharged for a longer time.

I am not sure if this recharging also helps to prevent them from leaking.


Somewhat related: a Central Station 1 or ECoS does not need batteries while it is stored away.
In fact it does not need batteries at all when you always shut it down properly.
Leaking batteries can damage the CS1 - we have seen reports of that kind.
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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Offline PJMärklin  
#4 Posted : 17 May 2017 12:01:13(UTC)
PJMärklin

Australia   
Joined: 04/12/2013(UTC)
Posts: 2,206
Location: Hobart, Australia
Originally Posted by: cookee_nz Go to Quoted Post
... I grab things when I can for the eventual day I can actually use them. You always think it will not be that far away.



Hi Cookee,


How true! You can say that again!

I only recently installed the last required (but I still have a few in reserve) of one quarter-of-a-suitcase worth of Brawa signal and other lights (miniature globe - not LED) that I purchased "with an eye to the future" in Zürich in 1983 !
Brawa have long since ceased making signal lights. Whilst I have had no need for replacement globes, to their credit replacement globes are still available.

Not to mention the many other things I have stored away in readiness as you say "for the eventual day"

Hope you resolve your Faller Car battery issue.

Regards,

PJ
Offline kiwiAlan  
#5 Posted : 17 May 2017 12:35:17(UTC)
kiwiAlan

United Kingdom   
Joined: 23/07/2014(UTC)
Posts: 8,082
Location: ENGLAND, Didcot
Originally Posted by: cookee_nz Go to Quoted Post
...
Tonight, on a whim I decided to check my Faller Car System vehicles that I'd had for a number of years, ok at least 10!!. And they were used when I got them and I reckon a further 10 years old before that so easily now 15-20 years or so so but were all going and in good condition.

Opened the first one, and was greeted by runny blue liquid. What the??

I would seem the rechargeable batteries on this one are well-past their use-by.


It is for this very reason that I have resisted getting any Faller Car System items, no matter how desirable they have been, and despite them being limited production runs.
thanks 1 user liked this useful post by kiwiAlan
Offline Minok  
#6 Posted : 17 May 2017 20:46:47(UTC)
Minok

United States   
Joined: 15/10/2006(UTC)
Posts: 2,310
Location: Washington, Pacific Northwest
Originally Posted by: kiwiAlan Go to Quoted Post
Originally Posted by: cookee_nz Go to Quoted Post
...
Tonight, on a whim I decided to check my Faller Car System vehicles that I'd had for a number of years, ok at least 10!!. And they were used when I got them and I reckon a further 10 years old before that so easily now 15-20 years or so so but were all going and in good condition.

Opened the first one, and was greeted by runny blue liquid. What the??

I would seem the rechargeable batteries on this one are well-past their use-by.


It is for this very reason that I have resisted getting any Faller Car System items, no matter how desirable they have been, and despite them being limited production runs.


Its a great reminder that when building your faller-system vehicles from scratch, or when acquiring them prebuilt, to make sure the batteries are removable in some way. Storage of things with batteries installed seems to lead to trouble more often than not.

I had an apple wireless keyboard I'd not used in about 1 year, and found the original fuji AA alkaline batteries had one that leaked. What a time it was getting those out of that very tight long aluminum tube.
Toys of tin and wood rule!
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Offline Rwill  
#7 Posted : 17 May 2017 22:44:56(UTC)
Rwill

United Kingdom   
Joined: 04/05/2015(UTC)
Posts: 777
Location: England, London
A couple of years back I did some work with a charity for deaf people – I may have mentioned before I am one. These guys supplied and fitted replacement hearing aid batteries for older people. Hearing aid batteries come in packs with a use by date and there were guidelines as to how long before that date they could be issued to “customers” – in many ways modern day nonsense but there you go. The charity discovered they had made a blunder and had a vast quantity of stock that was near date having issued new stock for some time. They had a young “work experience” kid and they asked her to remove the batteries from their blister packs ready for disposal. She found in the kitchen a large old biscuit tin and proceeded to fill it with hundreds of these batteries all neatly stacked. The following morning the fire brigade told us we were lucky to still have an office but the kitchen was a bit of a smelly mess!
Sorry this has nothing to do with MRR and is totally off topic it just reminded me of the story.
thanks 2 users liked this useful post by Rwill
Offline Minok  
#8 Posted : 18 May 2017 22:31:59(UTC)
Minok

United States   
Joined: 15/10/2006(UTC)
Posts: 2,310
Location: Washington, Pacific Northwest
Originally Posted by: Rwill Go to Quoted Post
... She found in the kitchen a large old biscuit tin and proceeded to fill it with hundreds of these batteries all neatly stacked. The following morning the fire brigade told us we were lucky to still have an office but the kitchen was a bit of a smelly mess!
Sorry this has nothing to do with MRR and is totally off topic it just reminded me of the story.


Indeed, as the occasional new stores of WW2 bombs discovered during construction these days illustrates, a product being past the 'use by date' does not mean that the product isn't effective or still have a charge.
Toys of tin and wood rule!
---
My Layout Thread on marklin-users.net: InterCity 1-3-4
My YouTube Channel:
https://youtube.com/@intercity134
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