Manhattan passenger lighting

[bossman]

Amazon. There are no stores in the local area. Rather than send $ on gas to find it, I just used Amazon. Bossman

[gunrunnerjohn]

bossman

Thanks for the info gunrunnerjohn. I tried to get Lionel to solve the problem, but my guarantee had expired. I finally purchased the D5 and was kind of skeptical about it, because I had used Radio Shack's contact spray cleaner to no avail. Boy! Was I surprised when I checked the lights after using the D5. It worked. The lights are steady now. Learn somthing new every day.

It's amazing stuff, I was pretty skeptical when it was pitched to me as well.  I had two locomotives that had flaky roller contacts, and I'd also tried various cleaners on them to no avail.  Everything else was tight, they just had problems keeping going, especially over switches.  The DeoxIT D5 fixed them with one short spray!  They run flawlessly now.

[martinden]

Where do you get DeoxIT D5? Thanks.

Martin

[bossman]

Thanks for the info gunrunnerjohn. I tried to get Lionel to solve the problem, but my guarantee had expired. I finally purchased the D5 and was kind of skeptical about it, because I had used Radio Shack's contact spray cleaner to no avail. Boy! Was I surprised when I checked the lights after using the D5. It worked. The lights are steady now. Learn somthing new every day.

[bossman]

Thanks for the info gunrunnerjohn. Merry Christmas. bossman

[gunrunnerjohn]

The specific one I have is the DeoxIT D5.

[bossman]

Boy! There is such a large selection. Which one exactly do you use? Bob

[gunrunnerjohn]

I've had really good luck using DeoxIT D5 to solve continuity issues like the roller problem you have.  I had a locomotive that had issues with lights constantly blinking, a bit of the DeoxIT and it's all better now.

[bossman]

I think I've found the problem with your help. The pickup rollers (yes both rollers?) intermittently lose continuity. I used the ohm meter(set to beep) probe to move the roller back and forth, with the other probe touching the center contact of the light socket, and the beeping was erratic. Checked another car, it was ok. It's odd that both rollers are doing this. Maybe a manufacture problem. Going to call Lionel for help because the car is brand new. I could fix it if I had new rollers, but will see what Lionel says. Thanks for all of your suggestions. Merry Christmas.

[lionelsoni]

Another possibility, which I see in Williams cars, is that the two pickups control different lights, with no connection between them intended.

An easy way to see just what the two pickups are doing individually is to put an inch or two of tape on the center rail, turn up the track voltage, and just roll the car over the tape by hand.  If both pickups are working and connected together, you'll see little or no interruption as each truck crosses the tape.  If one is disconnected, you'll see an interruption when the other truck crosses the tape.

[gunrunnerjohn]

Did you measure the resistance between the two pickup rollers?  My point is that one may not actually be wired to the interior circuit, not that it's not contacting the track.

 

[TrainLarry]

Bob,

  Try rolling the car by hand alone on the track and see if the problem occurs. Flickering can only be caused by intermittent loss of power. With the car standing still, tap around the car inside and out to see if you can get the lights to flicker. Are the bulb sockets tight in the frame? Try swapping bulbs from another car. Any paint or chemical blackening insulating the bulb sockets in the frame? Next you can try swapping the trucks out from another car. If the problem follows the trucks, you now look at the roller pickups and ground connections much more closely. If the problem still persists in the original car, then you have a wiring or socket issue.

Larry

[bossman]

The car is brand new. The track is clean. Both rollers are making good contact with track. Bob

[balidas]

If all that doesn't help you could add a bridge rectifier and capacitor inside the car.

[gunrunnerjohn]

Are you sure that both pickups are making good contact with the center rail?  Have you cleaned the track, wheels, pickups and the axle contacts for the wheels?

[bossman]

Hello, I have this Conventional Classic 2625 Manhattan passenger car from set #2124W. The lights this car, and only in this car, flicker when I run the set. I've checked the car over thoroughly.  I've been in electronics all my life and this one has me stumped. All the wiring looks good; no cold solder  joints, solder joints are solid, bulbs are tight in their sockets, wheels are clean. You name it and I've checked it. Any ideas?