I have a DC engine I inhertied that does not work. I used my multi-meter and it shows no resistance across the pickups. I am new to all of this, but I think this indicates a short, right?
Richard
Most likely it does. It could be a wiring problem, a bad motor or something as simple as one of the trucks being installed backwards.
Who made the engine, and how old is it?
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
WHat is the brand of your loco? This is so generic that it could be anything? Are you using the multimeter resistance on the right scale... a few more details could be helpful as to what to look at,
Well Intended Regards from Australia
Trevor
It is a Life-Like N-scale locomotive that appears to have been made in 2002. It is a "commemorative" train set that it decorated in red, white and blue. Honestly, I don't think it is worth much effort to fix. I removed the trucks and checked the resistance from the pickups using one of the lower (20K ohm) settings on the meter.
So, was your original post based on a trucks-off measurement?
Is this a split-frame model, where the left side and right side are separated down the middle? Look for bits of metal that might have gotten between the halves.
After that, I would disconnect the motor leads and try doing resistance measurements there. You should do the measurement at a very low resistance setting.
Another thing - remove the headlight bulbs, if they are incandescents. When a bulb is off and cold, the filament looks like a dead short to a meter. As soon as you run significant current through it, though, the resistance increases as the filament heats up and starts to glow.