Bowser Challenger electrical problem?

[Wolf359]

I have a Bowser 4-6-6-4 Challenger that has developed what I'm thinking might be an electrical issue, but I'm not sure. When I last ran it about a month ago, it was fine. I put it on my layout a few days ago and it started sparking at the rear tender wheels, (it has power pick ups on the tender and can't run without it) and when the sparking occurs, the motor sputters and cuts out at the same time. My track is clean, and so are the wheels, which I cleaned twice. Now it's gotten to the point where the locomotive won't even move. Does any one have any ideas on what could be causing this and how to fix it? P.S. It is standard DC and all of my other locos run fine on the layout.

Thank you.

[doctorwayne]

Try cleaning the mounting points where the tender trucks attach.  Even though this is a screw attachment, the mounting boss and the top surface of the truck bolsters oxidise over time, making electrical contact iffy.
This problem is common to brass steamers, too.

Wayne

[gmpullman]

Is it possible that one of the tender trucks inadvertantly got rotated 180°?

I looked at photos of the trucks on the "semi-Vanderbilt" tenders and it looks like there's plenty of room for them to have accidentally been rotated.

This is a good reason to have a volt and amp meter on your power supply. If it is indeed an "open" circuit as Wayne points out you'll see the amperage go to zero and the voltage spike. If a "short", as a wheel or truck not properly insulated, the amperage will spike while voltage will drop.

Worth a look, anyway...

Good Luck, Ed

[RR_Mel]

If it has a Monogram Centipede Tender with a Bowser power kit (#150681) and you didn’t build it check the wiring to the brass cover strip holding the brass sleeves on the axles.  A wire could have come loose.  It’s been a long time since I installed the kit in my Centipede tender (1963) but I kinda remember soldering the pickup wire to the brass strip.

 

http://www.bowser-trains.com/docs/instructions/tenderRef.pdf

 

Scroll down to the  #150681 ELECTRIFICATION KIT

FOR MONOGRAM & CON COR 14-WHEEL TENDER Page 75

 

 

Mel

 

 

My Model Railroad   

http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

 

Bakersfield, California

 

I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.

 

[Wolf359]

doctorwayne

Try cleaning the mounting points where the tender trucks attach.  Even though this is a screw attachment, the mounting boss and the top surface of the truck bolsters oxidise over time, making electrical contact iffy.
This problem is common to brass steamers, too.

Wayne

 

 

Good news, it's working now! All I have to do now is make a few small adjustments to fine tune the ride of the trucks. Thank you Wayne for the suggestion to check the tender truck mounting points, as taking the trucks apart led me to the problem. They weren't oxidised however, it turned out to be a lot of gunk in the axel holes on the truck frames, (I'm not sure if this is the correct term), which surprised me as I try to keep everything as clean as possible. I guess I'll have to be more thorough. For any one else who may encounter this problem, it is a Kemtron AT-100 14 wheel HO centipede tender. I cleaned the above mentioned axel holes and axel tips on the wheels with Q-tips and Badger Just a Dab microbrushes dipped in 70% isopropyl alcohol. After that, I put it all back together and oiled it.

Thanks everyone for your help.