HELP! Lionel 6-11103 Pulsates Done The Track-its stops and goes every 2 feet?

Maybe its binding. A likely place is the eccentric is in the wrong location. They should point just off center of the axle.

Pete

@Former Member posted:

Hello friends, working on a friends Lionel Pacific, running analog, no issues with any other locomotives on the track.
In both directions under all levels of power the locomotive pulsates down the track, never loses power, I thought maybe
it had a bent side rod, nope, this is a new-in-the-box locomotive that has been sitting for years, I tried to "run" it out of it,
but no changes after10 minutes? I am a 2-rail guy, so I am now a confused 3-rail helper? Thanks-Mark

This topic is in the wrong forum.  It clearly is talking about a specific Lionel product problem so should be in one of the Lionel categories.  It has been moved.  PLEASE help us by making sure that you post to the most logical forum based on the main topic of your initial post.

You mention it’s been sitting for years. I’d take a look at the gearbox for hardened up grease.

Odyssey with self-locking gears.  To channel my inner Ted Cassidy, "You rang, madam?"    Seriously, I think a lot of folks found out that these generally run better in command mode.  And back-drivable gears (as used on the Legacy  6-11334) are your friend!

There should be a switch on the bottom of the loco or tender to turn Odyssey speed control "OFF."  You could turn it off and see if the loco still pulses and surges.  If it does, then your problem is some sort of mechanical bind.  If it goes away, the issue is with the speed control circuitry, magnetic speed sensor, etc.  Good luck!

_{"It's not nice to fool Sir Isaac Newton!"}

@Ted S posted:

There should be a switch on the bottom of the loco or tender to turn Odyssey speed control "OFF."  You could turn it off and see if the loco still pulses and surges.  If it does, then your problem is some sort of mechanical bind.  If it goes away, the issue is with the speed control circuitry, magnetic speed sensor, etc.  Good luck!

_{"It's not nice to fool Sir Isaac Newton!"}

Possibly a cracked/ broken magnetic flywheel ring?

Location of the switch is on page 7 of the owners manual: https://www.lionelsupport.com/...ents/71-1103-250.pdf

Hello friends, doesn't seem to matter if the odyssey switch is on or off and it runs the same-here is a quick 38 second Youtube video of it, thanks Mark

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVUPzvhSNsg

Well, the giant clue is the markers are going off when it stops.  That's telling me that the DCDS that supplies the marker power is choking.  Either there's significant binding in the drive train, or the motor and/or DCDS board is failing.

Would the drive train be binding, as the drivers are making several revolutions, or is that just the coasting action before it stops?

My bet is on the motor or the DCDS, it's hard to say without seeing it if the drive-train is an issue.  I normally pop the shell and rotate each flywheel through a full rev of the wheels to see if anything is amiss there.  Then I run the motors from a DC bench supply and monitor the current to see if something is amiss there.

@RickO posted:

Possibly a cracked/ broken magnetic flywheel ring?

Location of the switch is on page 7 of the owners manual: https://www.lionelsupport.com/...ents/71-1103-250.pdf

I'm with Rick on this.  I ran into the same problem on a similar engine.  Here is the link to the replacement parts page on the Lionel web site under support.  You can replace the ring for ~$1.50 or the

for ~$14.40

https://www.lionelsupport.com/...c2-b052-83cbf23439ef

You'll have to open her up as they say.

Dave.

It would be unusual for the magnet ring breaking resultings in these symptoms, I've never seen it.  When the magnet ring breaks, normally Odyssey I simply runs away at full speed as soon as you crack the throttle.

Thank you all for your help! I had not noticed the marker lights going out, I have fix quite a few locomotives with various
binding issues, this does not seem to be the case with this one, I will pop the shell this weekend and let you all know!
Thank you Mark

No guys, it's not binding.  If it were, there's no way that it would "coast" as far as it does.  It actually seems to run pretty smoothly when the motor is getting electricity.  (Mark, if you ran it a little slower we could tell for sure.)  Almost 100% guaranteed this is SOMETHING with the electronics.  Perhaps not the infamous magnetic ring, but something in the board stack, or the ancillary electronics for sound or smoke.

One last thought... is it possible that this big loco is overloading your Z-750 and tripping its circuit breaker?  I would try once with the smoke off before taking it apart.  BTW if you take the shell off and run it on the bench, please use eye protection.  If the magnetic ring does let go, you wouldn't want any in your eye!

^{"You'll shoot your eye out!"}

It could also be a motor drawing excessive current.  I've seen motors draw 3-4 amps with no load and appear to run normally.  If that were happening, I suspect we'd see about what we're seeing.  The power supply on the DCDS motor driver is shutting down and then starting again, that looks like it might be seeing an excessive motor load.  It's either an excessive load on it or the DCDS is failing in some fashion and shutting down.  With shorted driver FETs, it'll also go nuts.

I REALLY doubt this is the magnet ring, it just doesn't fit the symptoms.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

It could also be a motor drawing excessive current.  I've seen motors draw 3-4 amps with no load and appear to run normally.  If that were happening, I suspect we'd see about what we're seeing.  The power supply on the DCDS motor driver is shutting down and then starting again, that looks like it might be seeing an excessive motor load.  It's either an excessive load on it or the DCDS is failing in some fashion and shutting down.  With shorted driver FETs, it'll also go nuts.

I REALLY doubt this is the magnet ring, it just doesn't fit the symptoms.

John,

I stand corrected regarding the magnetic ring.  The engine I had issues with did run, but very sporadic. It did not stop like this one.

I would agree with you that the issue has something to do with the DCDS.

Best, Dave

Hello friends, thank you all for your thought and help. Had alot of life going on this last few days. Finally pulled shell tonight, here are a couple of new videos. No physical binding in any way. Someone mention power supply, I tried that too CW80 and Z-750, no deafferents What board is DCDS? Other thoughts? Thanks again Mark

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kj8G2UsDErA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHsZMCgyB_E

The DCDS is the Odyssey speed control circuit board.  Here's what it looks like:

Unfortunately, it's listed as an unavailable part on Lionel's site: Parts link here

Maybe someone else can comment on the unattached wire end shown in the second video.

This is the DCDS in your locomotive.

Most likely the generic Pittman model will work.  The only wild card is occasionally the 10-pin connector outputs are programmed in a different manner.  However, since the Pittman is mostly a steam motor, I suspect that's not an issue.

@SteveH posted:

Maybe someone else can comment on the unattached wire end shown in the second video.

My guess is it's the antenna wire disconnected from the shell.

Thank you SteveH! Mark

Thank you gunrunnerjohn! Mark