I bought this forney (#20252) when it was released years ago. It has minimal run time for its age. I ran it the other day for about an hour and a half until it quit on me. The lights and sound come on with the throttle but it will not move. The motor is not burned out (you can't miss that fried electronics smell) but I am wondering if it just gave up or if a wire came loose.
Does anyone know where to find replacement motor #62201 or know anyone who is willing to sell. I can't get in contact from anyone at LGB/Silvegate. If you have any information or experience with working on these engines, please let me know. Thanks, Michael
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I'm hardly an expert on your engine, but I've fixed a whole lot of other kinds, mostly Lionel.
Before you shotgun in a new motor, why not do some basic checking? The 'loose wire' would be a really good place to start. What about crud in the gears? If it has been sitting a long time, perhaps the grease has hardened? Maybe a gear failed and jammed the works?
Does it have onboard electronics, like speed control, etc?
Put a voltmeter across the motor terminals and see if you're getting track voltage to that point. If you are, it's likely the motor. If you can get at the gears, try moving a handy one with your fingernail and see if the motor shaft also moves. Then look the other way and see if the gearing to the wheels is free.
Just some notions to consider.
Les W.
Thanks for the tips, I will try to work on it later tonight. The wheels are not jamed up. I have seen engines where the motor cooked and nothing will move. With this engine, I can push it down the test track and everything looks normal. I will take it apart tonight and see what I can find. Michael
Hi MRH044
Before panicking check the lube has not dried up and that the pick ups ect are clean and wires are still atached ect.
I just ordered some LGB coach spares from a suplier in NSW I am told you should be able to get spare parts it may take a while though.
regards John Busby
Update:
I took the entire loco apart and found no loose wires and nothing out of the ordinary. The gears are fine. The motor turns freely, but it won't move. I apply power and nothing, no vibration or noise. I don't know what else could be wrong so, does anyone know who is selling motor #62201?
Since you don't detect any "burned motor" smell, I suspect that the motor may be O.K.
If you can see enough of the motor to see it's terminals (probably a red and black wire), try applying track power directly to the motor. You can buy small cheap alligator clip jumpers from radio shack for a couple of bucks. Clip one end to the track, the other end to the motor terminals and then turn on the track power.
If you're sure that the power is actually being applied directly to the motor and it still does not run then the problem is in the motor. But you may still be able to fix it. Sometimes one or both of the brushes get stuck in the brushbox and fail to contact the commutator, so see if you can wiggle the brushes.
Last question: do you have a multimeter that you can use? If so, we might be able to help you to troubleshoot this even futher.
Walt
I don't have an LGB Forney, only the Lehmann Porters, so I don't know if the Forney has a switch on the boiler backhead that can be used to turn off the motor, but leave lights and smoke on. If it does, don't laugh, that might be the answer to your problem!
SandyR
Walt - Thank you. Below is the progress I made today. Please stay tuned. I will try the brushes and bring out the volt meter tomorrow.
SandyR - I've been there and done that. Unfortunately, this time it is not that simple.
Deconstruction
Circuit board is O.K.
Narrowing down to the motor
Here it is. I will start troubleshooting tomorrow.
Great ... check from terminal to terminal with the meter set on low ohms. I guess I'd expect to see a resistence somewhere in the 5 to 20 ohm range. If you get a reading, slowly rotate the shaft and see that the same resistence is present thru 360 deg of rotation.
Obviously if the above shows a good motor the problem is in the wiring.
Good luck,
I tested the motor using the aligator clips and a Bridgewerks 15 amp transformer and nothing. Then I started to play around with it to see what I could find. I applied pressure to the brushes and bingo, it works. Now the question is why?? How would I go about fixing/cleaning the brushes. The motor does not look like it will come apart so, where do I go from here?
As soon as I apply pressure in either the black or red area, the motor spins and works perfectly.
The first thought that comes to mind is that the brushes have been worn down and need to be replaced. If the engine has not been run for very long time, dust, humidity, etc can cause the brushes to stick. During normal use the brushes tend to remain free to move. Also, the spring tension may not be sufficient to press the brushes onto the commutator. On large DC motors heat sometimes causes the springs to lose some of their tension.
I don't know much about that particular motor but I doubt that it is sealed. Check the LGB website for more info on the servicing of the motor.
Check at Radio Shack or a hobby shop for some electrical contact cleaner/lubricant of the type that will not harm plastics. Spray this on both brushes and your problems should go away. I've used this solution on a lot of small motors, everything from slot cars and trains to automotive heating blowers.
Jim
Thank you TazMan. Next time I stop by RadioShack, I will take a look. Hopefully that will solve the problem. In the meantime, I found a new motor and have assembled the locomotive. It works great. I hope that I will be able to revive the old motor. These things are so hard to find and it bothers me that this motor is not running.
Thank you to all who responded especially Walt. I appreciate your help. If anyone ever needs thier LGB forney (or mogul for that matter) taken apart for service, please let me know. I would be happy to walk anyone through the process. I attached the following pictures of the Forney in action with her new motor. Thanks once again for all the help, Michael
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