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1041 Transformer Questions

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  • Member since
    November 2010
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Posted by gunrunnerjohn on Friday, July 20, 2012 12:56 PM

I'm guessing that the problem with the whistle is related to the issue that you can't get to zero volts.

  • Member since
    January 2006
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Posted by gottcent on Thursday, July 19, 2012 1:48 PM

Thanks. I thought that was the case, but I didn't want to pull hard before getting confirmation I was doing the right thing.

John

  • Member since
    November 2002
  • From: US
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Posted by sulafool on Wednesday, July 18, 2012 5:17 PM

IIRC, the guts of the 1041 just pull out.  It's a pretty tight friction fit (the sheet metal coil supports are springy) Grab the coil and give it hell

  • Member since
    January 2006
  • 193 posts
1041 Transformer Questions
Posted by gottcent on Wednesday, July 18, 2012 4:55 PM

I have an old (1945) Lionel # 1041 transformer that has two problems. One is that it will not go to zero volts in the OFF position, providing enough voltage (at least with the A-U terminals) to keep a small engine running no matter what. I tried removing the top of the transformer and placing a small piece of electrical tape over the extreme left hand side of the winding. That worked about two times, and then the tape got all jumbled up by the moving contactor.

The other problem is an erratic whistle control. I'd like to get at the whistle mechanism to try replacing the rectifier disk but I can't figure out how to get the mechanism out of the casing. The rectifier disk appears to be near the bottom of the unit (according to the service diagram). Does the bottom of the casing come off for access to it?

Otherwise, this old warhorse seems to work remarkably well. As always, any advice will be appreciated.

John Gottcent

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