Hi Friends,
Can someone help? I have a 2023 Alco with the front copper wired magno coupler. After bench testing and running it a while the coupler got so hot I burnt myself! No electrical fire smell present, just real hot. I'm looking for guidance on how to address this and why it is happening. Thanks!
Not knowing the engine and guessing that it uses an operating track for coil coupler activation.
Sounds like the coil is getting continuous power feed. Open the engine up and trace the coil wires to see where they are connected. One should be grounded the other to a pick-up shoe that contacts one of the extra rails on an operating track, not the center rail pick-up roller. Also look for any insulation failures that might be getting power from another item in the engine.
Every time this has happened to me, it's been the result of a shorted operating track that activated the coupler every time the engine passed over it.
If that's not your case, though, it's very likely that there's some wiring crossed up in it. The sliding shoe is on the rear truck. There should be a wire that runs directly from the shoe to the coupler up front. This wire should be connect to nothing else-it should just be a straight, unbroken run between these two points.
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