2671W Tender whistle repair?

[doodad]

Apologize in advance...beginner here looking for some guidance...Im trying to get Dad's old whistle tender, a 2671W, to sound while running.  

While on the track, the whistle makes only an audible humming sound.  However, the good news (I think) is that when I remove both the tender and the leads from the track, turn it upside-down, and place one lead to an outer wheel and the other to a center roller, the whistle sounds pretty darn good!

Would greatly appreciate any guidance/recommendations/assistance that anyone can provide.  Thank you in advance.

- Dave

[teledoc]

It hums only when on the track, but works when tested upside down, indicates that you probably need to replace the brushes, and give it a good cleaning.  It probably also needs to be lubricated.  Without knowing your knowledge of train repair, it is a little hard to tell you exactly what to do.  If you have done any type of train repair, you need to remove the shell, to get to the whistle itself.

You will have to unsolder the wires that are connected to the top of the whistle, on the brush plate.  Take the brush plate off, and take out the old brushes.  The armature with 3 copper surfaces needs to be cleaned.  The tubes that hold the brushes, also needs to be cleaned.  With the whistle apart, you need to get a drop of oil down near the impeller, (different methods are using a toothpick with drop of oil, long syringe type oiler, etc.), as that area is hard to get to.  Depending on whether there is a cotton wick in the brush plate, you need to oil that also.  If it doesn't have a "wick", then reassemble with new brushes, put brush plate back on, and touch a drop of oil, where the armature shaft protudes thru brush plate.  Resolder the wires, and give it a test.  It should work while on the track.

[TRAINCAT]

Excellent advice. And do not forget to clean all the gunk off each wheel and maybe put a little lighter fluid on each axle and give the wheels a spin to help remove old grease and oil. The contacts on the whistle relay also probably need cleaning.
Roger

[lionelsoni]

Although cleaning and lubricating may be good hygiene, the fact that it works when upside-down suggests that the relay contact and the motor are okay.  The whistle relay uses gravity to open the contact; so, when the tender is upside-down, gravity closes the contact.  Try putting the tender on the track with the voltage turned up.  Then lift the relay armature to close the contact, to see whether the whistle will blow.  If it does, the problem is probably either in the relay and its wiring or in the transformer's whistle-control circuit.

I don't understand the humming sound.  Are you sure it's not coming from the e-unit in the locomotive?

[teledoc]

I can't control myself!!!!!!!!!!!!!   It hums because it doesn't know the words. 

[rtraincollector]

teledoc

I can't control myself!!!!!!!!!!!!!   It hums because it doesn't know the words. 

[cwburfle]

I have to ask: Did you activate the whistle control?

Sometimes, when you turn the voltage up high, and do nothing else, the whistle relay will hum.
The whistle is only supposed to blow when you press the whistle control.
Sometimes the whistle will not blow unless the engine is on the track with the tender.
This is because there has to be a certain load level on the transformer in order for the whistle circuit to work.

If you tried blowing the whistle with the engine on the track and moving, you could also have a bad whistle control. They can be repaired. What sort of transformer / whistle control are you using?

[servoguy]

I have never replaced the brushes in a whistle motor.  They don't get much use and so last a very long time.  In fact, I have never replaced the brushes in a loco, either.  

Since the whistle motor works when the tender is upside down, it is obvious that the problem is not with the motor but with the relay that turns on the whistle or with the whistle controller in the transformer.  If the relay does not operate when the whistle controller is turned on, then the problem is either with the wiring in the tender or with the whistle controller.

A simple way to test the relay is to put a 1.5 volt batter in series with one of the wires supplying power to the track.  If the whistle operates with the battery, the problem is most likely with the whistle control in the transformer.

[cwburfle]

The only truely bad relays that I recall had their problems caused by corrosion.
Sometimes a relay will not work because either the contacts or hingle are dirty,
In those cases, the relay will close, but the circuit will not be completed.