3rd Rail TMCC issue

This may have TAS EOB. Constant whistle means the tach sensor needs adjustment.

You can download the EOB manual from the sticky on the TMCC forum that has all the documentation. That will tell you what the proper gap should be.

Pete

Your answer rings a bell with me.  i've had this engine over ten years or so and when I first got it I remember that the tach flywheel got a little loose and changed position.  I'll check this out tomorrow.

Thanks,

Bill

Normally with TAS EOB, an issue with reading the tach strip results in a runaway engine at full speed.  I've personally not observed it causing the symptoms described, and that sure doesn't sound like the tach reader to me.

FWIW, the spacing of the tach reader to the flywheel is roughly 1mm for best results, I just don't see this as being the issue.

Sort of sounds like it’s in program mode. What position is the run/program switch in?

Continuous whistle or horn is a tach reader problem. Its either bad or its moved. Check to make sure the sensor is centered on the tach strip and the gap is .030”.

Typically they move off center. With the shell still removed try running the engine and make sure the red LED is blinking.

Pete

Never had that happen with my EOB stuff. Usually get 0 speed or full speed with the throttle in the cruise modes. Turning cruise off will bring back motor control with random/no chuff. Sometime the reader will pick up the set screws in the flywheel and give you a bit of control in cruise mode with one chuff per many revs.

If the engine is in program mode I think all the buttons will toot the whistle after addressing.

Thanks everyone for your advice.  I removed the boiler and put the chassis on the track and it ran!  Then it didn't run.  It would seem that I'm on the edge of adjustment.  I think that the some of the wires press down on the motor and change the alignment when the boiler is reattached.  I will measure the gap and make sure that the reader is centered.

I've run it for about 30 minutes with the boiler off and pulling five K-Line 21" ESE cars.  Then it just stopped and the whistle took off.  The motor was warm but not hot at all.  I've also run it in conventional and it seems hesitant to recognize conventional mode but eventually it takes off after cycling power a few times.  Pulling the same load it ran for five minutes at 11.5 volts and then once again stopped and the whistle took off.

Can I use deodorized mineral spirits to clean the face of the tach reader?

Ya know?  It's always something!  I tried to use a spray tuner cleaner to clean the reader and there is lubricant in the cleaner.  That lubricant splashed on the tach tape and darkened the white sections enough that the reader doesn't "see" them on about a third of the flywheel.

So I need to replace the tach tape.  Can MTH tapes be used?  I calculated my tape length to be 130 mm.  I don't have any MTH trains.

Thanks,

Bill

@NKP Bill posted:

Ya know?  It's always something!  I tried to use a spray tuner cleaner to clean the reader and there is lubricant in the cleaner.  That lubricant splashed on the tach tape and darkened the white sections enough that the reader doesn't "see" them on about a third of the flywheel.

So I need to replace the tach tape.  Can MTH tapes be used?  I calculated my tape length to be 130 mm.  I don't have any MTH trains.

Print this at 100% size on gummed half-page shipping labels and cut out the appropriate one.  This is the label that TAS shipped with the EOB kits.

TAS Tach Tape.pdf

On this engine it should be close but doesn’t have to have exactly the same number of stripes as the chuff is generated with cams and microswitches. What ever you use the ends should meet with equal width lines or spaces, otherwise it will run a bit ragged.

Pete

I printed it out on regular paper and found that SS2 is the correct strip.  I'm off to Staples to buy some label paper.

Well that worked!  I made the strip with label material and put it on the flywheel.  The led now blinks with every separation between white and black.  THANK YOU!

Now for more fun stuff.  This thing has an odd quirk of losing the chuff with the smoke unit turned off.  When I turn the smoke unit on via Cab-1 the chuff comes back and operates normally.  If I remove the boiler and disconnect the large four pin connector between the chassis and the boiler, the chuff works.  With the boiler off I can connect the four pin connector and cause the chuff to stop.

Could something be cross wired?  I'm wondering if there is a wiring diagram out there for this engine (3rd Rail Empire State Express).

Thanks,

Bill

This is probably as close as you will get. It won’t have the wiring for the chuff switches as the kit versions generated chuff from counting tach pulses.

https://ogrforum.com/...20EOB%20Complete.pdf

Pete