. Glad for you.
Good to hear that it was an easy fix. As for what it may have been, If I had to guess it was the wire going into the back of the light socket. After 50 years or so, the insulation probably got nicked where it enters the socket and shorted out. If your friend has it short out on him again, I think I would start by replacing that wire or the whole socket. (But if it's working now, leave it be)
J White
This is what I did
The engine did not run and the transformer would short out.
Removed the body and there was no change.
Un-soldered the lead that goes to the light and continues the smoker.
It ran fine. So it is either lamp of smoker.
I re-soldered the connection.
I am not sure if I tested the engine after the reconnection.
I unsoldered the wire at the bulb base and used some electrical tape to ensure no contact. The wire still continued to the smoker.
The bare chassis ran. So the smoker was not the issue. Was the bulb or base an issue?
I re-soldered the wire to the bulb base and the engine ran and the bulb lighted.
I did not put any smoke pellets or liquid in the smoker.
Ran it for several laps all was fine.
Before putting the body on I noticed the decorative rails than run along the body were held on with light gauge wire that looped around the rail and the two ends were just spread apart inside the body and extended out towards to chassis. I bent these as flat against the inside of the body as possible.
I reinstalled the body.
Same problem as original. Could have been the hook coupler see below.
Removed the body and it ran fine.
Placed some electrical tape on the bulb base and at the first solder joint that I had un-soldered and then reconnected.
It is all back together and running with the light on. Don’t know about the smoker.
The engine has a problem Lionel engines don’t. The hook for the tender hangs so low that it will contact the center rail if run without a tender. I wondered if this was the issue all along. I started this project in mid December and gave it the repair guy just a few days before Christmas and did not get to his neck of the woods to pick it up until a few days ago. After thinking about it I realized this was a known issue and I also tested the upside down with wire leads and the same issue. The problem with the body back on could have been the coupler that attaches the tender. But not the only issue.
What I actually corrected is a mystery. Thanks for the help. My friend will be happy and bringing back to life a 50+ year old engine very gratifying.
Joe
Thanks to all for such a quick replies. I have a lot of material on Lionel engines but nothing on Marx engines. This information provides a good starting point.
By chance have you tried removing the body and running it like that? Sometimes the metal body is a place for a solder joint or a frayed wire to short out to. I had this problem on a Marx 666, but someone had been in there after it left the factory (and before I got it) and left a big glob of solder on a joint near the reversing unit.
To state the obvious, if you do remove the body, there are two pieces of linkage (one on each side) that attach between the body and the siderods. I believe they are riveted on each end, so remove the siderods from the wheels, and leave the whole mess attached to the body. Reattaching those little pieces doesn't look like fun to me.
I suppose another very off the wall possibility would be a defective light bulb for the headlight. Take the bulb out and see if it works without it.
The next step would be to unsolder the wire going to the lamp and smoke unit.If that doesn't make it work, unsolder the wire going to the sliding shoe. Check to see if the wire has any obvious damage and if there is continuity from the shoe to the frame of the engine (while nothing else is attached).
if it still doesn't work, remove the reversing unit and wire the motor direct to the track. I am a bit fuzzy on how this is done with a Marx engine. I think one side of the field winding is grounded (tied to the wheels electrically). If this is the case you would hook the wire from the sliding shoe to one brush and hook the other brush to the wire coming off the not grounded side of the field coil.
Since the field coil is most likely grounded on one side, it will be difficult to tell if it is shorted out since it has a very low resistance to ground when it is working properly.
I don't know of any troubleshooting guides for Marx online (or in print for that matter). Perhaps it is because they are pretty simple and reliable. As for where to buy parts, try here:
http://www.trainpartsformarx.com/
If he doesn't have what you need listed, give him a call or email. He may be able to get what you need.
Hope this helps,
It appears by the info posted the reverse unit needs to be checked.
Take the motor out of the shell and see if it runs.
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