RW transformer or whistling tender problem

[BJB]

Hello. I am having a problem with my wistling tender or my RW transformer. I don't know which. When I  pust the whistle controler on the transformer the whistle blows for about a second or so and then the relay in the tender drops out and it stops. I am assuming the recterfier in the transformer is good because the whistle strarts to blow. the diagram shows a resistor in the transformer which I thought if it was open would explain the problem but I cannot  find the resistor. Any Help??????????????Thanks. BJB

[cwburfle]

Those resistors rarely fail.
On an RW, the resistor is probably a long piece of nichrome wire, with white insulation, wrapped around the bracket that holds the whistle rectifier.
Leave it alone if possible. I beleive the insulation to be asbestos.

The most common causes for your problem are dirty contacts or not enough load on the transformer.
Check the load first. THe whislte circuit (inside the transformer) won't work properly without a proper load. Therefore the whistle might not blow if the engine is in neutral or pulling too light of a load. The behavior will be exactly as described by BJB.
One solution Lionel offered was to add more cars, or some lights powered by the same terminals being using used to power the train.

Otherwise, I would check the contacts.

[gunrunnerjohn]

One solution to this if you find that it's indeed insufficient load is to make a change to the transformer.  I modified a couple of 1033's for someone with silicon diodes and slightly higher value resistors.  This allowed the DC offset to be greater after the resistor shunt is switched to aid in holding in the relay.  Adding load isn't always the ideal solution, depending on your circumstance.