Conventional 0-6-0 docksider help

The reverse board is the larger board next to the motor. The small board is the whistle. A Dallee E unit might fit. Have you ruled out a mechanical problem?

https://www.dallee.com/Electro...p-DC-Motors-Only-518

Pete

I’ve recently been resurrecting the Alaska version of this locomotive, although yours is much more complete than mine. I’ve learned that the motors in these have a tendency to bite the dust.

A couple things to try first:

turn the flywheel by hand to ensure no binding.  It should be smooth and easy to rotate.  You might want to take a peak under the bottom plate to ensure adequate lubrication on the worm gear. Some light oil on the axels, bushings, and running gear will also help if you haven’t done that already.  

If no binding and lubrication is sufficient, remove the motor wiring connector from the reverse board and apply DC directly to the motor leads. If it’s still sluggish, then you probably need a new motor. If the motor runs great, then the problem likely is your reverse board. I’m not sure which components are likely to fail or how to test etc.  

The motor turns freely. It still runs, just slowly.  @JD2035RR, I watched your work with the motor.   Honestly I have been laboring under this being a board problem based on previous feedback from Gunrunner John and Mike Reagan. 

There is a gingerbread version that uses a slightly different e-unit board and it is available. You can find it here:

https://www.lionelsupport.com/...c3-b151-4216a0903607

You might have to do a little more homework to see if you need a different bracket, connections are compatible, etc. At first glance it appears that the gingerbread version does not have the separate lighting board (the small board still in your boiler) and that function is likely handled by the e-Unit.

I'd start by running the motor on a DC supply and monitoring it's performance.  If it runs freely and doesn't draw significant current, then I'd move to the PCB.  The motors in those are suspect, so it is possible that it's a motor issue.

Well I got to do some testing this evening.  On ac power, with 10 volts ac on the rails,  only 3 to 4 volts dc was getting to the motor.  I was running on micromark rollers so some voltage could have been lost, but 6 volts seemed excessive.   And the heat sinks on the reverse board got hot quickly.   I know this because I found one with my finger.  During the testing, either due to existing problems or something I did, (doubtful), I lost the forward function out of f-n-r operation.  If you counted the cycles it would still run, but only in reverse,  and still slowly.

So okay,  the board is shot, but is the motor okay?

I do have a dc transformer,  so I unplugged the motor hooked up some test leads.  Sure enough the motor runs perfectly smooth,  and certainly much faster, when it gets more voltage. At a comparable 4 volts dc it ran about the same as it did with as much as 14 volts ac through the rails.

Picture of the test setup only because pictures make everything better.

No pictures of actual testing because it was hard enough to get the volt meter leads in the right place with two hands, I didn't have two more hands to take nice video footage.   Just trust me, the operation was a smooth as it can be on roller stands.

I wasn't able to get amp draw numbers,  but since the board is toast I really don't think it matters anymore.

I will take a look at the board from the gingerbread engine.  Of course it would be much nicer to have a direct replacement,  but since Lionel has gone pretty much all bluetooth I won't hold my breath.   One unique thing about this board is the engine crew figures are actually sitting on it!