Lionel C&O Hudson Question 6-18043

Hey Marty!..

there are no isolated drivers on this model....I’d have him check the cleanliness of the wheels if he’s having an issue getting a meter to sing across the wheels....it certainly should....to make doubly certain, I rang  my yellow belly out......if your buddy’s done an upgrade, I’d look at loose connections, poor or loose ground screw on the chassis, and ring across the two center rail pick ups, I’ve seen a couple upgrades done where the fella was only picking up from one roller.....hope that helps.....Pat

Thanks.  I suspected as much but thought I'd ask since I have yet to look at it myself.

Interested to know more about the upgrade.

Can eob support ac motors or was there a motor swap?

I believe I had a problem with one on these locos where the ground path from the drivers to the board wasn't direct; it relied on the connections between the upper boiler, lower boiler and frame to tie the wheels to the board.  Check continuity between the drivers and the ground lead to the board.

Jon G posted:

I believe I had a problem with one on these locos where the ground path from the drivers to the board wasn't direct; it relied on the connections between the upper boiler, lower boiler and frame to tie the wheels to the board.  Check continuity between the drivers and the ground lead to the board.

Well got a little more information.  It appears the metal "tire" on the drive wheels do not seem to have continuity to the wheel/axle but only appears to be on one side.  I'm hoping to get some time to look at it myself.  Again this is second hand info but the guy who owns it knows how to work a meter so I'm sure the info is accurate.

Hump Yard Mike posted:

Interested to know more about the upgrade.

Can eob support ac motors or was there a motor swap?

Motor swap.

MartyE posted:

Jon G posted:

I believe I had a problem with one on these locos where the ground path from the drivers to the board wasn't direct; it relied on the connections between the upper boiler, lower boiler and frame to tie the wheels to the board.  Check continuity between the drivers and the ground lead to the board.

Well got a little more information.  It appears the metal "tire" on the drive wheels do not seem to have continuity to the wheel/axle but only appears to be on one side.  I'm hoping to get some time to look at it myself.  Again this is second hand info but the guy who owns it knows how to work a meter so I'm sure the info is accurate.

When I tested my yellow belly yesterday morning Marty, I just used the continuity tester on my fluke with alligator clips. I put one clip on the front truck screw, and rang all 6 tires out...no issues....now, I haven’t done the Pittman swap yet on mine.......so, what is the locomotive doing that he’s having an issue with? Is he experiencing drop outs?...ask him if he had known issues before performing the swap...those kinda clues will aid in the diagnosis.......Pat

I have one of these Hudsons and several years ago I installed a Frank Timko DC motor and did an EOB upgrade. I just checked the drivers for continuity. The front and rear drivers are not insulated, they show continuity between each other and the frame . The center driver does appear to be insulated with no continuity between the wheels, frame, or pickup rollers. However the center driver has the traction tire and even that barely contacts the rail so that insulated driver should have no impact on operation.

If he is having a problem with power dropouts, I suggest changing the pickup rollers. Mine ran fine for several years and then started to experience power dropouts for no apparent reason. The rollers looked good and were clean, so just in case I ordered new rollers from Lionel and installed them. The new rollers cured the problem.

Ken

kanawha posted:

I have one of these Hudsons and several years ago I installed a Frank Timko DC motor and did an EOB upgrade. I just checked the drivers for continuity. The front and rear drivers are not insulated, they show continuity between each other and the frame . The center driver does appear to be insulated with no continuity between the wheels, frame, or pickup rollers. However the center driver has the traction tire and even that barely contacts the rail so that insulated driver should have no impact on operation.

If he is having a problem with power dropouts, I suggest changing the pickup rollers. Mine ran fine for several years and then started to experience power dropouts for no apparent reason. The rollers looked good and were clean, so just in case I ordered new rollers from Lionel and installed them. The new rollers cured the problem.

Ken

Maybe there’s an anomaly on some of these Yellow Bellies, I had no issues on mine ringing the tire back to the frame mounted screw. All 6, ....perhaps some of these have an unintentional insulating happening when the tire is pressed onto the painted wheel. I can tell you for sure it wouldn’t have been intentional......I thought for sure I d have to rock mine a bit to make the meter sing, but it hasn’t been that long since I ran it.....and the meter rang right away, but as you mentioned, beings it’s a center driver, with a tire, very, very little contact pad, it really don’t make a hill of beans difference....at least we’re on the same page, that the drivers that matter ring true........Pat

An update...

My friend did a little more work and cleaned the crap out of the drivers.  Apparently there was something on those drivers and then now read good continuity to common. Thanks for all the suggestions and ideas.