Yeah, I think that’s it. Now to find a driver…
Tony
I found clear pictures of 1044s at http://www.grahamstrains.com/index.html . One indeed has clutch-head screws; another has Philips, probably not the original screws.
Any luck yet with your repair?
Bob:
My wife’s birthday is coming up on Tuesday. The repair is not exactly high on my priority list at the present – staying out of the dog house is a bit more important to me right now .
I hope to get to it next weekend. Of course, I have to fit in building a set of book cases for my son’s room somewhere in there…
Tony
i dont mean to question anyone elses judgment, cuz i’m new at this too, but the same thing happened to me too. I just switched the wires powering the track, and instead of the train speeding up, the whistle blew! try that, but those other guys might be right… it could be an internal thing too. good luck
Hey, Bob & Tim:
Since one of those outboard whistle controllers that was mentioned in the October '03 CTT can operate the whistle on my train, wouldn’t another “repair” for my problem just be to pick up one of them & wire it into my layout?
Would certainly be safer than me opening up that transformer & mucking around in the inside… [:D]
Tony
That’s true. But keep in mind that the controller, since it can’t boost the voltage while the whistle is blowing, instead drops the voltage a little when it isn’t blowing. If you never have occasion to run flat out, this shouldn’t be a problem. However, if, like LIRR earlier this month, you have something geared slow, like a big Hudson, you may not be able to afford losing those last few volts.
Bob:
Actually, on this layout, I can’t run my trains flat out or they’ll go flying off the table onto the floor. The only locomotive I have that stays on the track is my PW 44-ton switcher with Magne-Traction. I think the magnets are helping it stay on teh track.
My JLC Hudson goes flying off at full speed. So do the 2-8-0 Consolidation and my son’s 4-4-0 General.
Tony
Why not take it to an authorized service station that specializes in older Lionel???
Came across this old post in a search. Didn’t see an update from the OP. I have a 1044 with the same problem. Has anyone ever successfully replaced the rectifier disk with a diode? I picked up a 3A 50PIV rectifier diode from Radio Shack (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062577&cp=&sr=1&origkw=rectifier&kw=rectifier&parentPage=search). Will this work? Any way to test the disk with a multimeter to determine if it is in fact bad?
Also, since I have the case off, any other maintenance/cleaning I should do?
thx, Don
Just put an ohmmeter across it, as you would do for any diode. It should show significantly different resistance values as you swap the connections. Put the new diode into the circuit in place of the old one, with the anode connected to the transformer. Be sure that the resistor is still in the circuit.
The cathode is the end with the stripe around it; the anode is the other end. The Lionel schematics all seem to show the diode connected the other way. It didn’t matter for relay-operated whistles and horns, but makes a difference for modern locomotives–whistle versus bell.
vitabile wrote:
Yeah, I think that’s it. Now to find a driver…
For pics of screw heads and a source of speciality drivers try
http://www.lara.com/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?cart_id=3964735.28712&product=specialty_bits
This company also has the drivers that will remove the “tamper-resistant” screws in the CW80’s, for those of you who like to push your luck.
Well, I gave it a shot and it didn’t work. When hitting the whistle lever it smoked the diode. I’ll try again with a higher voltage rating, if the same thing happens again I’ll try to find replacment disk, otherwise just use this transformer for accessories.
don