I got a pair of these in and they don't work. Heres what I have tried so far.
Hook controllers up and added power to track noting check make sure power is getting to track by shorting track yep getting power. took wires and put one on center lug and one on outer lug contoller switch light lights up nothing tried it to other out side lug and middle lug same thing but other light this time in both. okay hooker up with pin the concent power still nothing.
Any ideas?
Life's hard, even harder if your stupid John Wayne
http://rtssite.shutterfly.com/
Bill, this may help.
http://pictures.olsenstoy.com/searchcd31.htm?itm=673
Joined 1-21-2011 TCA 13-68614
Kev, From The North Bluff Above Marseilles IL.
Thanks but I basiclly have that in my repair manual
The switch lantern bulb and one controller bulb should be on whenever the switch is powered. Do you have this yet?
If not, you will have to remove the motor assembly from the switch base and, using a meter, follow the above diagram(s) to see where you are losing the power connection. After power is restored, you can continue on with further diagnosis if needed.
Rob
Not sure if I follow but it sounds as if: (1) trains will run on the track portion of the switch because it has power; but (2) the switch motor is not responding and throwing the frog. If that is the case, what I generally do in such cases is to just do basic maintenance - make sure all the contacts are clean, lubricate the motor, specifically that bracket at the base of the lantern, make sure all the contact pins in the track portion cleanly align with the switch motor contacts, check the third middle rail for breaks, make sure the insulated rails are properly insulated and that usually clears whatever issue happens to be the problem. I have found that for some switches that were heavily used, the track portion after so many years becomes more trouble than it is worth. In those cases I typically salvage the motor and replace e track piece with e break-up switches you find at shows and on eBay. Hth.
I will need to get my repair book back out as can't down load that beyond the first tiny pic ( this stupid computor something blocks me on some items but not all it decides who it likes and doesn't lol) Thanks
It seems funny thou that its one complete set. the rest I got in where fine ( got 3 sets in or 6 switches s left and s right)
rtraincollectorI will need to get my repair book back out as can't down load that beyond the first tiny pic
This post by servoguy helped me with several O22 issues
http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/t/...px?PageIndex=1 good luck
RAVL Not sure if I follow but it sounds as if: (1) trains will run on the track portion of the switch because it has power; but (2) the switch motor is not responding and throwing the frog. If that is the case, what I generally do in such cases is to just do basic maintenance - make sure all the contacts are clean, lubricate the motor, specifically that bracket at the base of the lantern, make sure all the contact pins in the track portion cleanly align with the switch motor contacts, check the third middle rail for breaks, make sure the insulated rails are properly insulated and that usually clears whatever issue happens to be the problem. I have found that for some switches that were heavily used, the track portion after so many years becomes more trouble than it is worth. In those cases I typically salvage the motor and replace e track piece with e break-up switches you find at shows and on eBay. Hth.
I'm not that electrical so trying and figuring why its not getting power or what is going on here I think I will just put them up on ebay as to be restored and tell what I know.
Yes the rails are passing power but I'm getting no lights or anything on the switch motor side. Maybe someone can do something with them. They look to be in excellant condition thou.
It may be as simple as something fouling the fixed voltage pin and contact.
took apart tried different things and no luck. will see later busy on somethng else right now.
Thanks for all your comments
Well took sandpaper and lightly sanded al contacts and any solder joints where the motor connects to the switch. well now I have lights to the motor but not to the controller so thats a start may look into resoldering everything with new wire that I can ( I'm not that good but will look at it. ) Had some practice today as redid 5 controllers ran out of my 4 strand wire that I remove one string to do this.
As per servoguy:I have just finished a long project of restoring 55 022 switches. Here is what I have found and what I recommend. I hope I don't miss anything. This involves oiling and soldering and a little adjustment. When you are done with the switches, they should operate very smoothly. 1. Remove the switch motor cover, the switch motor, and the back cover of the switch. 2. Lubricate the following places in the switch motor: The latch should be oiled at the pivots and where it slides over the moving piece that is connected to the solenoid. Lubricate the lantern pivot and the gear. Lubricate the slide that is attached to the solenoid. Lubricate the two rivets that hold the slide with the contacts. Put two drops of oil in the solenoid. Test the switch motor by putting a lantern in the lantern holder and turning it. It should turn very freely. 3. Solder all the crimp connections on the bottom side of the switch. These are often high resistance due to corrosion. I either wire brush them with a small soft wire wheel in a Dremel tool, or use a fine sandpaper wheel in the Dremel tool. There are a total of 6 places to solder: Two for the center rails, one for each of the rails that are the rails for the non-derailing feature, and two that connect the two outside rails together. To sand the clip that connects the two outer rails, I had to reverse the sanding disc on the Dremel tool. Don't put too much solder on this clip, or the solder may interfere with the operation of the switch motor. Use a Scotchbrite pad to clean the clip where it contacts the switch motor frame. This is the ground connection between the switch motor and the outside rails. Clean the corresponding area on the switch motor, and put a little WD-40 on things. Tighten the screw that connects the center rail to the strap. Work the screw back and forth a couple of times to burnish the contact area. Test the connections between the outside rails and the center rails. I use a cheap meter that you can buy from Harbor Freight for this. The resistance should be less than 0.1 ohms. These cheap meters usually don't read zero ohms when you short the leads together, but whatever they do read with the leads shorted you can use as your "zero." 4. Clean the silver contacts with WD-40. Most of the tarnish should come off of them. Do not use anything abrasive to clean them as it will probably damage the silver. Leave some WD-40 on these contacts as it is an excellent contact cleaner. 5. Use a wire brush on a Dremel tool to clean the 3 contacts on the bottom of the switch that connect to the switch motor. One of these is a flat brass strip that is spring loaded and connects to the fat center rail. The other two connect to the two rails that are used to make the switch non-derailing. 6. Clean the two contacts on the switch motor that mate with the two pins on the bottom of the switch that connect to the non-derailing rails. Bend these two up a little so they make a good contact, and put a little WD-40 on them. Clean the two brass contacts on each side between the silver contacts with a wire brush on the Dremel tool. These two contact are where the power comes to the switch motor from the center rail. One or the other is used depending on which side the switch motor is on. 7. Put a little WD-40 on the contact spring that contacts the pin for the constant voltage plug. Snap the spring a few times to make sure the contact is clean. If the rivet that holds this spring is broken (I had two switches with broken rivets), you can repair it by soldering it back together. Clean both surfaces with a wire wheel in a Dremel tool, and tin each surface with solder. Then hold the spring in place and heat the spring until the solder softens, and then hold the spring in place until the solder cools. You need to make sure the spring is somewhat bent when you do this so that it makes a good contact with the pin. 8. Put the switch motor back on the switch. Put a drop of oil in each of the screw holes so you can get the screws out 100 years from now. Check the switch for smooth operation. It should operate smoothly with minimal friction. Check the resistance between each of the outer terminals and the appropriate non-derailing rail. Once again, the resistance should be less than 0.1 ohms. Check the resistance between the center rail and the constant voltage pin. It should be less than 0.1 ohms. Check the resistance between the center terminal and one of the outside rails. It should be less than 0.1 ohms. Check the resistance between each of the outer terminals and the center rail with the switch points about half way beween the two outer rails. They should be about 7-8 ohms. 9. There is a solder tab on the constant voltage pin that is usually very near the pin. If you bend this tab away from the pin, you can use a blue crimp lug for a constant voltage plug. These crimp lugs don't come loose like the Lionel plugs do. Some switch motors have a pin that is too large to use the crimp lug, so for these, you will have to use a Lionel plug. 10. Put the covers on and again check the switch for smooth operation. You may have to move the switch motor cover around a little to make sure the lantern does not bind against the cover. 11. Check the end of the fat center rail to see that it is not bent down. If it is, your little 0-4-0 switch engine may stall on the switch. If you bend it up too far, it will open the electromagnetic couplers for you. I hope I didn't miss anything. If I think of something else, I'll post it later.
1. Remove the switch motor cover, the switch motor, and the back cover of the switch.
2. Lubricate the following places in the switch motor: The latch should be oiled at the pivots and where it slides over the moving piece that is connected to the solenoid. Lubricate the lantern pivot and the gear. Lubricate the slide that is attached to the solenoid. Lubricate the two rivets that hold the slide with the contacts. Put two drops of oil in the solenoid. Test the switch motor by putting a lantern in the lantern holder and turning it. It should turn very freely.
3. Solder all the crimp connections on the bottom side of the switch. These are often high resistance due to corrosion. I either wire brush them with a small soft wire wheel in a Dremel tool, or use a fine sandpaper wheel in the Dremel tool. There are a total of 6 places to solder: Two for the center rails, one for each of the rails that are the rails for the non-derailing feature, and two that connect the two outside rails together. To sand the clip that connects the two outer rails, I had to reverse the sanding disc on the Dremel tool. Don't put too much solder on this clip, or the solder may interfere with the operation of the switch motor. Use a Scotchbrite pad to clean the clip where it contacts the switch motor frame. This is the ground connection between the switch motor and the outside rails. Clean the corresponding area on the switch motor, and put a little WD-40 on things. Tighten the screw that connects the center rail to the strap. Work the screw back and forth a couple of times to burnish the contact area. Test the connections between the outside rails and the center rails. I use a cheap meter that you can buy from Harbor Freight for this. The resistance should be less than 0.1 ohms. These cheap meters usually don't read zero ohms when you short the leads together, but whatever they do read with the leads shorted you can use as your "zero."
4. Clean the silver contacts with WD-40. Most of the tarnish should come off of them. Do not use anything abrasive to clean them as it will probably damage the silver. Leave some WD-40 on these contacts as it is an excellent contact cleaner.
5. Use a wire brush on a Dremel tool to clean the 3 contacts on the bottom of the switch that connect to the switch motor. One of these is a flat brass strip that is spring loaded and connects to the fat center rail. The other two connect to the two rails that are used to make the switch non-derailing.
6. Clean the two contacts on the switch motor that mate with the two pins on the bottom of the switch that connect to the non-derailing rails. Bend these two up a little so they make a good contact, and put a little WD-40 on them. Clean the two brass contacts on each side between the silver contacts with a wire brush on the Dremel tool. These two contact are where the power comes to the switch motor from the center rail. One or the other is used depending on which side the switch motor is on.
7. Put a little WD-40 on the contact spring that contacts the pin for the constant voltage plug. Snap the spring a few times to make sure the contact is clean. If the rivet that holds this spring is broken (I had two switches with broken rivets), you can repair it by soldering it back together. Clean both surfaces with a wire wheel in a Dremel tool, and tin each surface with solder. Then hold the spring in place and heat the spring until the solder softens, and then hold the spring in place until the solder cools. You need to make sure the spring is somewhat bent when you do this so that it makes a good contact with the pin.
8. Put the switch motor back on the switch. Put a drop of oil in each of the screw holes so you can get the screws out 100 years from now. Check the switch for smooth operation. It should operate smoothly with minimal friction. Check the resistance between each of the outer terminals and the appropriate non-derailing rail. Once again, the resistance should be less than 0.1 ohms. Check the resistance between the center rail and the constant voltage pin. It should be less than 0.1 ohms. Check the resistance between the center terminal and one of the outside rails. It should be less than 0.1 ohms. Check the resistance between each of the outer terminals and the center rail with the switch points about half way beween the two outer rails. They should be about 7-8 ohms.
9. There is a solder tab on the constant voltage pin that is usually very near the pin. If you bend this tab away from the pin, you can use a blue crimp lug for a constant voltage plug. These crimp lugs don't come loose like the Lionel plugs do. Some switch motors have a pin that is too large to use the crimp lug, so for these, you will have to use a Lionel plug.
10. Put the covers on and again check the switch for smooth operation. You may have to move the switch motor cover around a little to make sure the lantern does not bind against the cover.
11. Check the end of the fat center rail to see that it is not bent down. If it is, your little 0-4-0 switch engine may stall on the switch. If you bend it up too far, it will open the electromagnetic couplers for you.
I hope I didn't miss anything. If I think of something else, I'll post it later.
So far no one has mentioned that beginning on page 50 of the February 2013 issue of CTT is an article titled "Tune up and improve your Lionel postwar switches." You really should check it out.
Pete
"You can’t study the darkness by flooding it with light." - Edward Abbey -
I was thinking about that. any how heres what I discovered I must use the fixed voltage plug as the Little copper piece thats suppose to bounce back doesn't and won't stay there so no biggy. I got the one ( thats all I'm working on at the moment) if I move it to the middle ( of the switching position) I can get the switch light to light and one of the controllers and I can get it to work in one direction but not the other. you would think if it worked one way it should the other. Think I'm going to go down switch the controller wires around and see if it does the opposite or the same. Give me a direction to go if it does. ( which is I don't know but something more to work on.) if the switch is completely thrown thou it won't work and no lights so I'm thinking it may be shot I ordered two motor assemble from on line so will see whats happens when they come in.
Well I didn't think it would change anything other than which light lit on the controller and that was it. I'm hoping its not the switch itself as I ordered 2 new motor assemblies. when they come in we will see.
Thanks, Pete. I was just about to say the same thing!
Jon
Agree with Pete on the CTT February 2013 piece..
I' had tried a few times working on my 022 switches in the past, but with the help of this article and the photos, it all became simple. I've used that lesson to refurbish 5 of the 6 switches needed on my new layout. All but one had the issue of the metal contact for the non-derailing feature being broken. With a little bit of easy soldering that was fixed. Also re-soldered all the contact points the article suggest. Along with t e cleaning they're ready for another 20 years of service.
Tim
Oh I did get them working thanks it was cleaning the contacts on the switch side so all is fine now thanks for all the sugestions
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