I’d like a peek at your Culvert Unloader PCB!

I just got mine out . Give me a couple of minutes to get it open and verify board #, etc. I'll be right back.

John

Okay...My unloader is 6-12983. Non command. I popped it open and it is a different board entirely. Sorry.

John

There is a PCB on EBAY now.  Just do a search on 6-37952.

John Meyncke posted:

Okay...My unloader is 6-12983. Non command. I popped it open and it is a different board entirely. Sorry.

John

John, thanks for checking. I wasn't aware that there was another conventional only model in between my version and the original, but there it is!

I did check the old interweb and found a picture that confirmed the missing component is supposed to be missing 

George

trainsbob posted:

There is a PCB on EBAY now.  Just do a search on 6-37952.

Thank you Bob, that did the trick. I did search the internet before posting this and didn't find a single instance of a "Lionel 630-7952-100", which is the p/n for the board. I didn't think to search on the culvert unloader number for the board! Live and learn!

The board on the ebay ad is a version 1.2, so the artwork changed, but Q15 is missing from that board as well - in fact, there isn't even a location for it any more. So I will assume that my board was subjected to that engineering change.

Thanks again!

As always, I wish I had a real schematic! Howsomever, after powering mine on and checking a few things I learned the following: the 5 volt regulator works, and is holding 5 volts with a 14volt input, but it gets too hot to touch. That seems abnormal on a board with such limited circuitry. Then I stuck my finger on the unmarked PIC chip, at least I assume it's a small processor with some ram/rom. It's too hot to touch, definitely abnormal. Then I checked the input to the PIC from the infrared sensor and found it was running 0 volts, no matter if the sensor is blocked or unblocked. So I powered off and checked resistance on that input to ground - only 21 ohms. Gotta be a bad chip, and since this chip is umarked and contains what is likely proprietary info and probably has the fusible link blown to protect it from copying, and will NOT be available for sale from Lionel, I assume this board is history!

The good news is that I see Lionel still stocks the board - I'll have to call tomorrow to see just how much stock they have. If they have lots o' pieces, I may wait til November's sale to buy one. At $42.50 per board, I can certainly wait a bit to save $20 

Ever get it fixed?

Nope - everything pointed to a defective PIC chip - inputs and outputs are all idle and are mostly at or near ground, the PIC chip gets red hot, the 5v regulator gets hot, and there seems to be at least some confusion over hooking this device up correctly, to the point of Lionel creating the "Supplemental Service notes Conventional Culvert Unloader " in the attached file, all of which leads me to the conclusion that this brand new unloader was hooked up incorrectly on Day 1 and 18VAC found it's way directly to the 5V PIC chip.

Being as the PIC can't be obtained anywhere without GREAT difficulty, I will patiently wait for the Lionel 50% off parts sale in November - I called and she said they have a fair amount of those boards in stock. It's still a bargain buy even having to purchase a new board. Of course I have yet to see if other stuff might be messed up.....

Walking in your Moccasins ...

My Lionel 6-12983 Culvert Unloader is inoperative, and the info provided on this thread seems to confirm that the circuit board is fried.  The flashing lights atop the towers light up for five quick flashes, but that's all; the "house" doesn't light up, and the unloading mechanism won't budge.

The diagram in the Lionel Instruction sheet was confusing to me; the diagram shows a rear view of the base - not a front view for easy orientation.  I had a 50/50 chance of hooking it up backwards, and apparently my hook-up was 50% wrong. Later, I swapped the placement of HOT and GROUND  wires to the 14v power source, but by then the damage was done.

Glad to know that a replacement part is available from Lionel. I'll order one and hope for the best.

Mike M.   (ritrainguy)

mottlerm@gmail.com

Mike H Mottler posted:

Walking in your Moccasins ...

My Lionel 6-12983 Culvert Unloader is inoperative, and the info provided on this thread seems to confirm that the circuit board is fried.  The flashing lights atop the towers light up for five quick flashes, but that's all; the "house" doesn't light up, and the unloading mechanism won't budge.

The diagram in the Lionel Instruction sheet was confusing to me; the diagram shows a rear view of the base - not a front view for easy orientation.  I had a 50/50 chance of hooking it up backwards, and apparently my hook-up was 50% wrong. Later, I swapped the placement of HOT and GROUND  wires to the 14v power source, but by then the damage was done.

Glad to know that a replacement part is available from Lionel. I'll order one and hope for the best.

Mike M.   (ritrainguy)

mottlerm@gmail.com

Hi Mike - there's a bit of confusion on this item, at least for me. I have seen many references to the 346 culvert unloader being manufactured as a one-off, manually operated (with a crank) version made just for Sears. Yet here is my 346, clearly not a manual version. 

The point is that there are various versions of these things, so just make certain you get the right board. The board I checked on is not the same one you need. My culvert unloader is a 6-37952 and uses the 630-7952-100 board. Yours is the 6-12938 and uses this board

according to Lionel's web page - and it is listed as a Motherboard - $28.00. And here's the bad part - they list it as unavailable. I would still call Lionel just to double check, but you may have to go somewhere else to get a functioning replacement.

In any event, I would definitely eyeball everything before I placed an order. Open yours, take pics, note the part numbers, if any, on your pcb, then compare it to the one shown by whichever seller has one.

If you are needing a 691-PCB1-OAF board, drop me a line, plenty in stock.

Chuck Sartor posted:

If you are needing a 691-PCB1-OAF board, drop me a line, plenty in stock.

Gee Mike, just like James Taylor and Carole King said, You got a friend!