I have a lionel 3444 that I want to make sure is wired right. The Lional repair guide just says the 2 trucks are wired in parrell but I'm not quite sure what they mean. Do they mean that the one wire of the aggitator is wired to the switch and the other wire is met like a "T" between the trucks? Anyone have a bottom side pic they can post for me or a wiring diagram? Any help would be appreciated. I tried wiring it to one truck and daisy chain and the T method above and both results make the car work but it will eventually stop on the tracks and one truck in paticular gets hot, there is also sparking going on.
I should state that this year when I wanted to get the car more track worthy I broke one of the rollers so I had to order a new 481-10 bottom plate and track roller assembly. Seems like a pretty easy fix I would think but I coudn't quite rember how it was wired when my part "finally" came in. I seem to remember it being a T from that loose wire off the aggitator but something isn't right.
Welcome to the Forums.
In any kind of repair work, your should ALWAYS make a wiring diagram of how it is wired BEFORE you take it apart or disconnect anything. Then there won't be any question of how it goes back together. Just the voice of experience talking.
If this is a Lionel O or O27 item, you might find more help over on the Classic Toy Train Forums.
(Not trying to push you away or anything, but the Model Railroad Forums are generally HO, N, and sometimes Z scales.)
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
Your questions are probably better addressed in the Toy Train Forum on this web site.
I'm going from memory, but I believe the car is continuously powered from center rail rollers. This would mean the rollers would be wired in parallel (wires from both rollers connect to the same point, which is insulated from the car frame). The return would be through the car frame, truck side frames, and wheels to the outer rails. Having 2 rollers instead of one keeps the motion from halting due to momentary interruptions and dead spots on the center rail (think switches).
Possible trouble spots: rollers not properly insulated from rest of truck, roller wires not insulated from car frame, dirt in wheel bearings and on wheels causing lots of resistance (and some heat) in the electrical path.
Easiest way to trouble-shoot: use a multi-meter on the smallest ohm setting with the car on the bench. Zero resistance between the 2 rollers, and same resistance as the coil motor from center roller to truck wheels.
hope this helps
Fred W
How do you get apart to solder wires on trucks on Lionel Erie 3444?
Do you have to remove hobo and cop to disassemble?
There is a lionel repair manual avaliable. it will tell you how to fix anything postwar. It has all the diagrams and instructions. if it is not in the kalmbach store, should be able to locate it one amazon.
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