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lionel 397 coal loader electrical

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  • Member since
    December 2012
  • 8 posts
lionel 397 coal loader electrical
Posted by CharlesAZ on Wednesday, December 19, 2012 11:06 PM

Weird one here. Loader was operating fine. Have it hooked up to a kw 190 transformer (second power supply - not continuous but the one that allows variable power). Suddenly stopped for no apparent reason.

If I touch the common wire directly to the motor - (while leaving power hooked up to post) it will run perfectly. But If I connect the common wire to the actual post - I get nothing.

It does not look like there was a wire going from the common post to anywhere on the engine, the post is just riveted in.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

  • Member since
    March 2007
  • 11 posts
Posted by jpmct on Thursday, December 20, 2012 11:42 PM

The whole chassis is common and you seem to have an incomplete connection at the base of the post.  Try taking a center punch or nail set and strike the underside where the post connection touches the sheet metal.  You could also connect the common wire to the terminal post and briefly touch the positive to the rivited (or spot welded) underside in an attempt to "spot weld" the incomplete connection.

  • Member since
    December 2012
  • 8 posts
Posted by CharlesAZ on Friday, December 21, 2012 9:39 AM

Thanks for the suggestion. I wound up running a wire form the common post to one of the screws on the underside where it mounts the engine to the base. When I connect the common wire to that post it now works fine. I am thinking maybe the vibrations worked the rivet loose??

  • Member since
    March 2012
  • 291 posts
Posted by Dave632 on Friday, December 21, 2012 9:15 PM

 Bad grounds are a common problem. Corrosion, loose connections, and even carbon from arcing can cause resistance which will stop electricity from flowing.

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