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Problems with a power unit

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  • Member since
    September 2009
  • From: Chicago IL.
  • 28 posts
Problems with a power unit
Posted by Steel Man on Thursday, April 22, 2010 6:19 PM
I have a genseis SD45-2 diesel Loco and I don't have electrical power to the front truck unit. When I pick up the back truck unit the unit stalls and therefore when I cross turnouts etc. the unit dies. The wires look like they are properly connected but I don't know how to take the truck unit off to look to see why it is not picking up power from the track. Can anyone give me any guidance as to how to fix this issue or where to look. Thank you Gary
  • Member since
    July 2003
  • From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
  • 13,757 posts
Posted by cacole on Thursday, April 22, 2010 6:42 PM

If you purchased this locomotive new, there should be an exploded assembly diagram in the box it came in.

There's a possibility that one or more wires from the front truck has come loose from the circuit board or from the truck side frame pickup wipers.  These wires are usually just held in place by small, slip on plastic clips.

Remove the clips and solder the wires at both ends for more reliable operation.

  • Member since
    September 2004
  • From: Dearborn Station
  • 24,281 posts
Posted by richhotrain on Sunday, April 25, 2010 6:13 AM

Steel Man
I have a genseis SD45-2 diesel Loco and I don't have electrical power to the front truck unit. When I pick up the back truck unit the unit stalls and therefore when I cross turnouts etc. the unit dies. The wires look like they are properly connected but I don't know how to take the truck unit off to look to see why it is not picking up power from the track. Can anyone give me any guidance as to how to fix this issue or where to look. Thank you Gary

I have had the same problem on 3 different diesels over the past few years.

On one of those locos, while all of the wires leading to the trucks looked to be intact, one wire in fact was loose.  Once I soldered the wire into place securely, the problem was solved.

In the second instance, it turned out to be a decoder problem and I returned it to the manufacturer for repair since the decoder was factory installed and still under warranty.

In the third instance, I was convinced that the truck wiring was solid, and I didn't want to incur the time and expense of sending the loco back to the same manufacturer for decoder repair since it was out of warranty.  So, I soldered a jumper wire on the decoder so that all four of the trucks were powered that way.  That worked, so I let it go at that.

Rich

Alton Junction

  • Member since
    September 2009
  • From: Chicago IL.
  • 28 posts
Posted by Steel Man on Sunday, April 25, 2010 7:01 PM
Rich, Thanks for the advise. I tried soldering the leads and cleaning the bearing which according to Athearns sometimes is the cause for lack of electrical contact and neither of these tries worked. I believe it is the decoder so I am sending it back to Athearns to have them fix it. I paid $250 for the engine and I want them to fix it since I would probable blow the decoder installing it. I learned a lot from this experience even though I could not get this to work this time. Thanks for the advise and response. Gary

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