Got yet another question for my Forum friends. How easy/hard is a Tenshodo diesel to troubleshoot? I found one online but the condition of the drive is not known. The shell and the exterior look good. As usual, thank you for any assistance that can be provided.
A friend gave me a bunch of Tenshodo geeps. I cleaned them up a bit and got them running fairly well, but got rid of them, as Athearn Blue Box geeps were better runners and easier to modify or detail.
Wayne
Everyone has their own standards for what might be an "easy" fix or not.
In all my searches of brass locomotives I generally see Tenshodo as one of those "not quite worth the bother" items. For example:
https://brasstrains.com/Classic/Product/Detail/125898/HO-Brass-Model-PFM-131-32-GN-Great-Northern-F9-F9A-F9B-E-B-Big-Sky-Blue-A-B-Set-F-P-1968-Run-Tenshodo-RUNNING-ISSUES-
Unless you want to look for an Athearn Genesis, Kato (Bowser) or Intermountain drive to replace the original, any attempt to try to make a smooth-running engine out of some of those mid-'60s - early 1970s Japanese or Korean budget imports may be a test of your patience. Tenshodo was a frequent user of the "tank drive" where a drive shaft went through the fuel tank to power the rear truck.
I've had some challenging times trying to make some older Alco Models engines run at all with the existing motors and gearing. Getting them to run smoothly is usually a matter of gutting another comprable engine to get a motor and gear-train that will work under the existing chassis.
Plan to spend some time and money if you want your engine to compare to anything close to what today's models can provide.
At a minimum you could buy a pair of NWSL "Stanton" powered trucks but you're looking at about $60 each for those.
HO Seeker has a few Tenshodo diagrams so you might get a feel there for what kind of drive the particular locomotive has that you're interested in:
https://www.hoseeker.com/tenshodo.html
Good Luck, Ed
I didn't find the particular unit I was looking at in the available instructions. I did find, however, a different diesel that gave me an idea. While I have gotten three old AHM U-boats working, I think this may be beyond my capabilities. I am waiting to hear from the seller if the unit runs. If not, I will probably pass on it. Thank you for all the assistance.
those older made diesels used pretty old technology on the drives and motors ... they were usually quite loud and drew larger current levels ..
Quite easy to troubleshot though, most didn't even have working lights ..
FRRYKidHow easy/hard is a Tenshodo diesel to troubleshoot? I found one online but the condition of the drive is not known.
They are very easy to troubleshoot. The drive system is simple and virtually any problem can easily be diagnosed with an ohm meter and volt meter.
Now... getting them run worth a darn, that is another issue entirely. These things run terrible. I use mine as props only because they do look good.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
If they were smooth runners out of the box, tuning them up is easy. The couple I've had were rough runners and required correcting the gear mesh between at least one of the worms and axle gears, and that can get more complicated.
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