Regarding the 6403B tender....Was "Lionel Lines" RS or HS?
Additional thoughts on the plunger that doesn't reset well or consistently. Taking it all apart and adding an e unit spring is a lot of trouble and can lead to permanent damage to the parts if you are not extra careful. My tender was ringing but the plunger would not regularly move backwards to the reset position. The plunger was bright and clean and you never want to lubricate the plunger. However, I put a tiny amount of oil on the side slider tracks and other ppints where the the assembly moves And it now works perfectly. Yes that oil coil at track dirt in time but it is easy to get at the lunricated partscto clean them later if necessary.
HI and thanks for sharing the information.
Please contact me at Classic Toy Trains for additional ideas on this topic.
Roger Carp
Senior editor
Classic Toy Trains
262-796-8776 ext. 253
I have just spent many hours resuscitating a 6403B Bell ringing tender. I have a second one, original, that is working well also. I find there is not a lot of information or wiring diagrams. So some things I found here and elsewhere and some notes.
1. The left plug, looking from the back of the tender forward, is connected to the pickup of the coil coupler. It connects to the left connector on the 1656 or similar style engine to power the engines front coupler.
2. The right plug, is an additional ground connection on the tender and engine.
3. The ringer has a switch, an E-unit type switch under the unit. If not on, it won't ring.
4. The ring is hard to hear when the engine is moving, it may not overcome the engine noise, or the voltage to make it ring well may make the engine suicidal on the track.
5. Test with about 15 volts with the engine not moving. The tender will ring on the track by itself. Having enough voltage to run the ringer system tends to be the biggest problem with the tenders,
6. Ringing is controlled by a bi-metallic strip that heats and cools breaking the power contact to the coil. If yours is shot, busted or gone, see below for alternate. Unless you have done this before, it may be cheaper to let someone experienced fix the bimetallic strip. The wires are thin and do not solder to final connections easily.
7. The coil for the ringer is a modified horizontal E unit. I put in an E unit spring under the plunger when the unit did not reset well. It is limited to a short stroke, if it doesn't reset well it just plinks, not rings. I have 2 of these tenders, one would reset or go back to un-energized location all the way, the other did not. The one that would not I added a E-Unit spring. If you have a digital camera/phone take a picture before disassembly. Note the clapper bar position and the orientation of the plunger. This assembly has a stamped end as a retainer on the clapper bar. To get the clapper bar out, I had to use vice grips to smash the end from flat back to round enough to remove it through the sheetmetal hole. After re-assembly you must smash it flat again. After removing the clapper bar, I had to bend the sheet metal out to get the plunger guide rods clear. Sheet metal bent back easily, careful when bending, both ways. If someone oiled the plunger, clean it up well and the hole it goes in. It should not need oil. Add the spring and re-assemble plunger and the rest. Oh the coil and bell assembly has 2 screws, one can only be reached after removing the front truck.
8. Make sure the bell rings, not plunks. Test holding upright, in running orientation. Tap the bell on the part that sticks out the bottom with a small screwdriver or similar. If it rings, ok. Plunk something wrong. Could be the mount bent so it doesn't sit free. Wires or something else touching the bell inside. Or it may need a small spacer between the bell and the mount. to keep the mount area from acting like a deadener. You can make a spacer out of thick card stock or card board even.
Replacing the bi-metallic strip when you can't get one.
Well what else uses a bi-metallic strip to run on/off. Old style automotive blinkers. The old mechanical, round, short, NOT heavy duty ones with just 2 connectors. The specs on my blinker was 12v 10W 2 pin. It was for a motorcycle, light duty. The AC current will fry electronic ones. Essentially the bi-metallic strip is inside the blinker. Cheap at most auto stores. Get housing as short as possible. Around 1” high. I cut both connectors down at the base so just the flat base of the connectors were left. To be short enough to fit in the front of the tender. I had a wire from the center pickup soldered to one of the blinker connections. The other blinker connection was soldered to a wire to the top power post of the coil. No other wire connections needed to the coil. Just the on/off switch on the bottom connecting the coil to ground.
Tape over the connections on the flasher so it doesn't ground out on the shell. It is a tight fit.
Power and ground to the backup light is still needed, but that is all. Sorry I did that step a while ago so don't remember the wiring changes.
I had to put about a 1/8" spacer under the coal load to raise it just enough to get the flasher to fit in my tender.
The ringing action is very similar on the original and modified tenders. You could probably un-case the blinker and figure out how to mount it better with a bracket if you want. But If you can make it work in the case, that is best.
How long will it last? I don't know, but probably for a long time, when you don't keep it at high/full throttle. Usually the engines these tenders go with won’t run high/full throttle without falling off the track. The blinker is a simple design and AC will heat the wire as well as DC.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.
Get the Classic Toy Trains newsletter delivered to your inbox twice a month