Flyer Chief Bluetooth Berkshire drawbar wiring

I had similar issues, but resolved them by replacing the wires to the trucks with superflex.

Carl Tuverson covered a method for wiring the tender here about halfway down.  There were also issues with the pilot wire coming loose and something with the pilot spring washer on the wrong side of the spring.

Brendan

I on the original S gauge PE locomotive

wired from the tender trucks to a tether on the locomotive to take advantage of the all wheel pick up on the tender.

Ray

Rayin"S" posted:

I on the original S gauge PE locomotive

wired from the tender trucks to a tether on the locomotive to take advantage of the all wheel pick up on the tender.

Ray

That's what I am thinking of doing. Just would be nice to see the original wiring scheme first.

Brendan, thanks for the link to Carl, but I will not be putting a CCL in my loco, just trying to make it more reliable and understand which wheels pick up the power and which ones do not.

PE Berks are prone to having their pilot lead wire break off similar to how they do on PE passenger car trucks.  I replaced a segment of those with super-flex.  Latter Berks are less prone to the issue.  Berks in general, however, get power from one rail with the pilot truck and power from both rails through the four wheels of the trailing truck.  That's it.  The pilot and trailing trucks must float or follow the rails freely, their wheels make consistent contact with the rails, and their wheels turn easily while doing so for uninterrupted operation as much as possible.  Observe both the pilot and trailing trucks at slow speeds on straights and curves going forward and reverse. (mark them so you can see if they're turning)  Are all of the wheels rolling across the rails or are some sledding or even losing contact?  Sometimes the pilot axle does not turn particularly freely in its nylon bushings.  Sometimes the trailing truck gets held up or snagged on the front post to which it and the tow bar are secured causing the trailing truck to temporarily stop moving freely in pitch, yaw, and/or roll.  That can cause the front or rear wheels of the trailing truck to lose contact with the tracks.  (A condition prone to occur primarily when backing up through a curve.)  Free pivoting of the trailing truck about its center post also helps, but typically isn't a problem.  Also check the pressure of contact springs on the pilot and trailing truck axles -- sometimes they're just right, other times they're pressing on the axle far too hard, and other times not enough for consistent contact.  I suggest trying to optimize the wheel-to-rail and leaf spring to axle contact performance of your pilot and trailing trucks before resorting to other measures.   I have found it can make a big difference on an otherwise cantankerous Berk.  

Dave

The first run of the Flyer Chief PE Berkshire had only two wheels from one rail power pick up on the trailing truck, l did on my Berk add a wiper to pick up power from the other rail. I did also find the assembly of the trailing truck/ spring assembly put together wrong, it would lift the inside wheels on the curves. The best cure though was utilizing the tenders capability for all wheel power pick up with a tether to the engine

Ray