Bowser SD40-2 truck wire connection problems?

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Hi gang,

One of our club members has a Bowser SD40-2. One of the truck wires has come unsoldered three times. Trying to resolder the wire without removing the truck is very difficult, but we can’t figure out how to get the truck off. Can anyone explain the procedure, or maybe post a copy of the instructions? The locomotive did not come with instructions, and HOseeker doesn’t seem to have any Bowser diesel diagrams.

Related questions: Is this a common problem the the Bowser SD40-2s? Are there any tricks to getting the wire attached firmly?

Thanks as always,

Dave

2

Hi, Dave

Although I don’t personally own a Bowser SD40-2 you can start here for truck removal hints: [banghead] NOW I see this is only a DCC info sheet[banghead] Sorry.

http://www.bowser-trains.com/instructions.html

I have gotten in the habit of slipping a short length of heat shrink tubing right at the point where the wire meets the metal tab on all my recent decoder installs. It adds just a bit of strain relief right where the wire wants to flex as the truck pivots.

Photos of the frame here make it look like a total disassembly is in order to get the truck worm covers off [:S]

https://tcsdcc.com/installation/ho-scale/1254

Good Luck, Ed

3

Taking a wild Arkansas guess, I looked up the U boat which is exactly the same as my Stewart F3

http://www.bowser-trains.com/docs/instructions/U25B.pdf

At the bottom left of the 1st page is an axle retainer. Those 4 vertical squarish loops need to be pried off delicately with a small blade screw driver. You can then take the trucks apart.

4

If you need a strain relief I use a small dob of Amazing Goop. It remains slightly flexible but very strong. It can be removed with long nose pliers or the heat from a soldering iron tip.

I goop all of my test cable connectors with it to stop the wire from breaking or pulling loose. Since I started using it on my multimeter leads I haven’t had to resolder any probes or meter connectors.

Mel

My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

Bakersfield

5

Thanks Henry,

I looked at the U boat diagram too. I see how to take the trucks apart, but we were hoping to just drop them down to get better access to the soldering tab on the axle contact piece.

Thanks,

Dave

6

Hi Mel,

Ed suggested the same thing in a PM and I have passed the idea on to the locomotive’s owner.

Thanks,

Dave

7

Hi everyone,

We think we have figured out why the wire keeps breaking. It is too short. When the locomotive is picked up the wire is being pulled too hard as the truck drops down. We are going to add a short piece of NWSL 30 ga. 28 strand wire to the truck lead to give it more play.

As an aside, I thought I had lots of the NWSL superflexible 30 ga. 28 strand wire on hand but when I went to look I only had about 2 ft. of grey. I just ordered a bunch of it in all four colours. I decided that it would be prudent to do before NWSL shuts down. I also treated myself to a Chopper II while I was at it![:D][Y][D]

Thanks for your help everyone.

We would still be interested in getting our hands on an SD40-2 instruction sheet if anybody has one they can copy.

Dave

8

Dave

You might check on some Bntechgo wire.

http://bntechgo.com/bntechgo-28-gauge-silicone-wire-kit-ultra-flexible-10-color-high-resistant-200-deg-c-600v-silicone-rubber-insulation-28-awg-silicone-wire-16-strands-of-tinned-copper-wire-stranded-wire-model-cable/

It is the most flexible wire I’ve ever run into. I bought a 100’ roll of Red and Black from Amazon for $12 each.

Best mini wire I’ve ever used in my 82 years.

Mel

9

Thanks Mel,

I just ordered 32’ of the NWSL 30 ga. 28 strand wire two days ago. That will likely do me for quite a while.

I do have some silicone covered wire and I have a heck of a time stripping the insulation. How do you do it?

Dave

10

Silicone or Teflon (PTFE)?

In my experience the silicone strips very easily, much easier than PVC in fact. Teflon, on the other hand, is very tenacious. It is what makes it so good and abrasion resistant. Heat resistant, too.

I bought special strippers for the Teflon. It is an improvement over plain jaw strippers but still takes considerable patience to get it right.

This is Teflon wire going up the mast in this signal bridge:

IMG_2719 by Edmund, on Flickr

I bought a stripper like this to handle it:

https://www.jensentools.com/search.aspx?f=1%3A1904%2C1%3A1928%2C1%3A2134%2C1%3A2135%2C71%3ACopper+Wire+Stripping|Stripping+of+PVC\c+Teflon+%26+Similar+Coated+Wire

Good Luck, Ed

11

Sorry, it must be Teflon.

I think I have asked this question before, so pardon my poor memory. I recall seeing the strippers that you suggest, but I couldn’t justify the expense because I only have a few feet of Teflon coated wire and I won’t likely buy any more.

Thanks Ed.

Dave