Actually it's a trolley. When I put it on the tracks with power it just lights up. So opened it up. When i place the power leads at spots 2 and 3 on the first picture, same thing. Light just goes on. No motor.
However when I apply the power directly to the motor at the two arrows in the 2nd picture the motor spins.
Why is that?? Something to do with the light
Hi Penn Central,
It's pretty obvious that somebody has messed with the wiring. I wonder if the previous owner has removed a lighting circuit board?
How about disconnecting the light temporarily and connecting the track power feeds to the motor directly to where you applied the test power. Theoretically, that should make it run. If you can get it to run, then you can figure out how to wire the headlight into the circuit.
It might help others answer your question if you could identify the make. Maybe post a picture of the shell if there is no name on the bottom of the chassis.
Good luck,
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Yes, the classic Bachmann pancake motor.
Each of those brush holders should have a way for current to get from the black and red wires to the bronze springs of the brush holder.
You have an ohm meter, yes? Check the connection between #3 and the point of the right arrow in the second photo. It is open, menaing a broken, loose or otherwise not connected path for the red, then the black wire to get current to each brush holder. Some Bachmann models used a jumper wire, yours might me missing or broken.
This diagram may help:
Diagram from HOSeeker.com
Each half of the motor housing should be "live" and there should be continuity from each half to the brush holders either by a short jumper wire or a bronze strip under the housing.
Generally, the lifespan of a pancake motor is measured in hours. Bachmann redesigned many of the engines and trolleys that used these back in the early 1980s. The recent Brill trolley has a slightly better drive.
Good Luck, Ed
I don't know if it makes a difference, but the schematic drawing shows the leads from the dummy truck going to the outer set of screws on the motor, and the wiring for the light on the inner set. It might be worth testing that possibility.
Eric P.
I agree that the destructions show a wire from the dummy truck to the front screw on the motor that is missing on you trolly.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
There doesn't seem to be an extra wire, just an internal connection of some sort that is missing. Perhaps someone previously opened the motor up and lost that piece. If wired like the exploded view, the leads from the truck would go to the same side of the motor as indicated in the second picture, and it would run, but the light wouldn;t work. Easiest thing to do it just connect the two wires on the left in picture 1 to the place indicated by the arrow in the second pic.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Thanks everyone. You're right it is a Bachmann Brill Trolley. It was an ebay purchase so who knows what was done to it. Should've mentioned all of this.
Anyway I removed all wires from the motor. And did some resistance testing all around. I think there's a broken connection within the motor case somewhere. Heres what I found using the pics below....
#1 and #4 below seem to be connected which is what I'd expect. #1 is also connected somehow to #6.
#2 and #3 are not connected at all. I kinda thought they might. #2 and #5 are connected. Like 1 and 6.
I cant seem to find any points that connect with #3. This is both from using the resistance tool on my multimeter and just by applying power.
So maybe I open the case and see what's going on in there? Fyi I have limited experience in all of this and enough to poke around and usually get things running.
If tou connect 1. And 3 to track power, does it run? If so the. The break is between 2 and 3. 2 is the solder connection for the motor brush at 3
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
NVSRR If tou connect 1. And 3 to track power, does it run? If so the. The break is between 2 and 3. 2 is the solder connection for the motor brush at 3
Yes, it does run when I do that. Ok so I'll open up the case and see what's there, if I can fix the connection. Then I'll reconnect exactly the way it was previously and try it out. will post results!
If you enlarge the diagram that Ed posted, you can follow the dashed lines, which represent the wires, to where they go.
Wires from the dummy truck pick up shoes go to 5 and 6, and wires from 1 and 2 go to the light.
Mike.
My You Tube
I have a couple of trolleys with the ability to get power from either the wheels only or from a combination of wheels and trolley pole overhead wires. There is a toggle to select the option.
I don't have this trolley, but does anyone know if this is the case on a Brill? If so, this might be as simple as flipping a switch.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
In the first picture you cna see there's nothing of the sort, there's 2 wires from the rear truck, and 2 wires fromt he light bulb.
What's missing is a connection from the right terminal and the rear motor brush. If this connection is in place, then it would run as originally wired. If there were were, the two terminals for the wires to connect to the front motor screws are missing, but it looks like they never were there, and both pickup wires and both light wires all connected to the rear screws where the terminals are hanging from.
This gentleman has additional photos of the Bachmann 2981 pancake motor, I believe from the PCC trolley. (Scroll down)
http://gn15.info/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3457&start=25
The photos show what may be the missing "jumper" wire I refered to earlier, although in this case it seems to be the black rather than red wire.
Even though I don't see the jumper, the OP has indicated that 1 and 6 are connected. But 2 and 3 are not - that's the missing jumper. The pictures in the link show wires connected to what appear to be the spring end of the brush assembly, can't imagine those are soldered - possibly clamped behind the spring.