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Con Cor Kato PA-1 N diesel

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  • Member since
    January 2021
  • 137 posts
Con Cor Kato PA-1 N diesel
Posted by Dave K on Monday, July 25, 2022 7:42 AM

New engine.  Light lights but motor does not run.  Cleaned track, wheels and sprayed WD-40 into the trucks .  Wiped clean, still no operation other then the light.

 

DMK

  • Member since
    May 2020
  • 1,057 posts
Posted by wrench567 on Monday, July 25, 2022 11:06 AM

  Is there a decoder in it? Have you pulled the shell and checked the motor connections? That's where I would start.

   Pete.

  • Member since
    January 2021
  • 137 posts
Posted by Dave K on Tuesday, July 26, 2022 6:49 AM

It is not DCC.  Thanks for your tip.

 

DMK

  • Member since
    September 2004
  • From: Dearborn Station
  • 24,280 posts
Posted by richhotrain on Tuesday, July 26, 2022 7:25 AM

wrench567

  Is there a decoder in it? Have you pulled the shell and checked the motor connections? That's where I would start.

   Pete. 

I'm with Pete on this one. OK, so it is not DCC, no decoder. Open the shell and check the motor wiring. Look for loose or missing connections.

Rich

Alton Junction

  • Member since
    September 2003
  • 21,669 posts
Posted by Overmod on Tuesday, July 26, 2022 8:10 AM

ASSuming you have a reasonable variable-voltage source, or can rig jumpers from the track rails with alligator clips, try putting progressively higher voltage directly across the motor terminals (with the engine off the track) to see if the motor turns when directly powered.

I presume you have already checked the drive to make sure it is capable of turning freely when the motor runs.  We had a case here a few months ago of someone who was sold an "as-new" locomotive at an estate sale which had gears so badly worn they seized.

  • Member since
    January 2017
  • From: Southern Florida Gulf Coast
  • 18,255 posts
Posted by SeeYou190 on Tuesday, July 26, 2022 3:12 PM

Dave K
New engine.

Is this really new? The last I was aware, the Con-Cor PA-1 was last made in the 1980s.

Is this a locomotive you bought on the secondary market?

I had one, and it ran great.

-Kevin

Living the dream.

  • Member since
    January 2017
  • From: Southern Florida Gulf Coast
  • 18,255 posts
Posted by SeeYou190 on Saturday, July 30, 2022 2:10 PM

OK, no one has jumped in, so I will give it a go.

If it is a Con-Cor PA1 from the 1980s, it has an early version of the Kato split-frame mechanism with the motor sandwiched in the middle.

If I recall correctly, the PA1 used a small can motor with no flywheels, and not the Kato open frame motor that was used on all those great-running Atlas hood units that came later.

Again, as I recall, there was no wiring to the motor. The chassis clamped against the motor and each half of the frame was half of the circuit and it brought electricity to the motor.

This area of contact could have become cruddy, corroded, or even pested, so that it no longer conducts electricity. That would be where I would look first, since the light does illuminate.

Be careful assembling the split frame. One wrong move will give you a dead short.

-Kevin

Living the dream.

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