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Does anyone have drawings for a circuit to replace the battery in a Lionel postwar diesel horn? I'm dealing with a unit that suffered severe battery corrosion. I've figured out how to put in a new battery holder but I was hoping that there might be a design out there for a circuit to replace the battery. I'm not a EE but I'm assuming that such a circuit would have a rectifier and a voltage limiter.

 

Glenn

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Glenn,

Consider converting the required D cell battery to a 9 volt battery. I connect the + wire on the battery connector to the horn relay connection that supplied power to the horn. Connect the - ground wire on the battery connector to the engine frame. Insert a 9 volt battery in the battery connector. The horn will work, and will have a louder sound. This solution will bi pass the corrosion problem.

If the old post war horn is sluggish or still does not work you can zap the horn with 18v ac from your transformer. Spray some WD 40 into the horn. Turn the adjustment screw on the horn if necessary.  If the horn is going to work this will loosen things up and the horn usually will work. The Train Tender usually has replacement horns. I you use the 9 volt battery in one of the new replacement horns you really get a nice loud post war horn.

I hope this helps,

Richard

 

 

 

 

 

Ron,

i have not noticed any long term effects on the horn coil. I believe the original Lionel post war horns were essentially bicycle horns and they are quite durable.

The metal horn bracket that carries the 1.5 v DC for the horn deteriorates over time. The 9 v DC  battery solution bypasses the old metal horn bracket. I also believe that the 9v DC passes those 60+ year old horn relay contacts much easier than 1.5v DC 

Richard 

 

 

Glenn,

I do not think the 9v DC will hurt the horns. It is nothing more then a vibrating coil.

I am not curtain when the 9v DC battery appeared on the market, but I would think that if they were around when Lionel developed the F3 prior to the 1948 release of the 2333's Lionel would have used them instead of the 1.5v DC battery.  This is just speculation on my part.

Another advantage to the 9v  DC  battery is the corrosion problem. I can not recall ever seeing  a 9v battery leak and cause a problem. I am sure this is still a possibility, but you see corrosion problems today with modern AAA, AA C and D cell batteries that are left unattended much more then with the 9v battery.

Take care and have a good week.

Richard

 

I had a battery mishap in my Lionel 2343. The battery wasn't real old but I discovered there was a small dent in the case which developed into a leak. Lesson learned: inspect new batteries carefully for physical damage. I took the entire loco apart to clean it up. Some day I'll make a battery-free horn circuit for it.

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  Vic,

Good idea.

I think any thing greater than 1.5v will make the horn work better. The 9v battery was a quick fix for me since I had the 9v battery connectors and a 9v battery on hand.  The horn really has a nice high pitch  sound now.

Ouch ACE! At least you caught it before it ruined the engine. I guess back in the days when an F3 was put away after Christmas with a  battery in it the owner would find their engine ruined months later.

Thanks for sharing the pictures.

Richard

Thanks, John. I am about 2 months into this adventure. I have middle school electronics know how, so I might need a bit more coaching on this. I found something like the LM317 variable power supply and can figure out the Vin/Vout, but how do you control the adjust from the track power? If that doesn’t make sense, feel free to destroy the question and explain for a newbie!

Thank you, sir.

Kevin

Here's some pictures of the inside. Looks like she went down with the Titanic! The battery is an Eveready from the 1950s and I'm guessing that it was probably the first and last battery that was ever put in the engine. I stripped the frame bare and was able to salvage the eunit. After much grinding and wire wheel with the Dremel, I got the frame cleaned to make it usable. It has alot of corrosion scars but for now I'm leaving the shell original so it's not too bad. If I ever do a full restoration I'd replace the frame. I'm guessing the engine has very little run time on it, the rollers have no grooves and the motor and eunit both still work very smoothly. The horn relay still worked but was too rotted to use so I got a replacement from ebay. A new relay bracket from Train Tender and everything works well.

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Last edited by Namdray

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