I am trying to repair a 1997 William's Pacific 4-6-2 engine. The problem I am having is the back pickup roller sprays out sparks when it runs. I've rewired the engine and have cleaned both the pickup rollers and wheels. It does this with or without the tender attached. Help!
Sounds like a partial short - I'd recheck the wiring to that roller. Check that the roller arm is not contacting a part of the frame intermittently. You might try wedging the roller up so that it's not contacting the rail and seeing if the loco runs a bit smoother, without the sparks...
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Gary M. Collins gmcrailgNOSPAM@gmail.com
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"Common Sense, Ain't!" -- G. M. Collins
http://fhn.site90.net
Thanks for the prompt and great idia. I did givve that a try and the sparking transfered to the front pickup roller. I checked both sides to make sure the rollers were not making any contact. I also rechecked the new wiring and it checks out ok. So I am at a loss I've never run into this before.
How about the springing on the roller arm? Might not be strong enough to prevent bouncing slightly on the irregularities on the rail?? And are the sparks coming off the center of the roller or the roller axle? And I assume you've carefully cleaned the center rail??