Help with MPC steamer

[KeithL]

Can anyone help me diagnose the problem with my Lionel MPC No. 8142 4-4-2 steamer from 1971? It has "low mileage" and is in like-new condition. I've never had a problem with it, even after not running it for years. Now, however, after not being run for about six months, the motor doesn't respond. The headlight lights, the smoke unit smokes, I can hear the E-unit cycling (it's one of those with forward and reverse only), but the wheels don't turn. Once or twice, the wheels turned a little, then stopped. Also, I can feel resistance from the motor in the wheels. Anyone have any ideas?

Happy 4th of July![:)]

Keith

[pennsy_fan]

Hi KeithL
sounds like maybe the motor might have slipped out of place, or maybe the gear stripped. Could even be something jammed in the gears, then again, it might just need a good lube job. I would try a drop of light household oil on the axles without gears and a dab of lionel lubricant on the gears & see if that helps.

[ben10ben]

I would suggest taking it apart and looking for bad solder joints(they can fail after several years if done poorly), and maybe rebuilding or replacing the E-unit. Be sure to give it a good lube job while apart, as suggested above.

[ben10ben]

I would suggest taking it apart and looking for bad solder joints(they can fail after several years if done poorly), and maybe rebuilding or replacing the E-unit. Be sure to give it a good lube job while apart, as suggested above.

[eZAK]

Keith,

Have you tried pushing it to get it going?
What happens?
Try removing the shell and see what happens.
Does the armature try to turn?

You may need to clean the brush plate.
Use a pencil eraser or a Q'tip dipped in denatured alcohol.

If none of the above works you will need to remove the amature and clean the gears.
Relube and reasemble.

[brianel027]

One basic tip Keith that I would check (surprised no one else mentioned this) is to check the gears first. Remember the gears have grease on them, so if any small piece of grit, ballast or a chipped piece of plastic gets lodged into a gear tooth, you are going to have probelms as you describe.

This is the first thing I check for when I have had a similar problem to yours, and usually this is the problem. Also consider giving the motor brush plate and brushes a good cleaning in addition to looking at some of the possibliites above - if there isn't something stuck in the locomotive gears. Even if the engine has been run little, it it still at least 30 years old. Any engine that old, always gets pulled apart by me for simple routine maintenance - which usually prevents any other problems from coming up.

Good luck and hope you get it working. The MPC stuff wasn't quite as good mechanically as some of the postwar counterparts, but I have never had any serious problems with any of my MPC period locos. I have a MPC steamer, and other than the silver color (instead of being blackened) of the motor housing behind the driver wheels, I have no complaints with it. It even has the electronic "Sound of Steam" which still works. Granted, it ain't Railsounds, but it does have a simple charm of it's own - and young kids still get a thrill out of hearing it.

[KeithL]

Thanks, guys.

I removed the motor from the shell. Frankly, I was surprised at how much had to be disassembled to get it out. Seemed more complicated than a typical postwar engine, but, at the same time, I was impressed with the integrity of the MPC design and parts.

Once I had the motor out, I used test leads to apply power. The same thing happened as when the engine was on the track: the E-unit cycled very nicely, but the wheels didn't turn. Then, suddenly, the wheels began to turn. At that point, I decided to leave well enough alone and not go any further. I reassembled the engine, gave it a complete lube job, and it's running great again.

I don't know what the problem was. Perhaps there was something lodged in the gears, as some suggested, and it dislodged when I had the motor out. Or perhaps the lubrication had dried up, and the motor was only able to run when all load was removed from it. Anyhow, I can't be sure what the problem was, but it's out of the shop now and back on the mainline, and I thank everybody for their good advice. I really appreciate it.[:)]

Keith