Lionel Oil Pumping Station barely moves

Is the solenoid sticking? Does the unit move freely?

Yes, the solenoid does move freely.  

When I first turn it on I might get one good pump, then it gets anemic.  Sometimes it just twitches, so even worse than the attached video.

Very frustrating. And with the price of oil I need this thing working!  

Anything else I should look for?

I'm reluctant to start tearing it apart unless I know what I'm doing.

It will probably be like my car, where I just open the hood and look at the engine, not knowing what to do.

You may already be aware of the exploded diagram: https://www.lionelsupport.com/...amp;CFTOKEN=33055634

Taking a few shots in the dark:

• The plunger - is it bent? Replace it. Is it magnetized? You can replace it or use a screwdriver [de]magnetizer to clear it up. Run it on AC and not DC to prevent recurrance.
• Coil partially shorted/weak - you could replace or re-wind the coil. The hard part is being careful not to break the metal tabs off of the 455-26 coil retention bracket. Some swear that heating the tabs with a soldering iron before bending lessens the risk.
• Groove Pin Binding - lubricate the 455-57 pin so that the beam/arm moves freely. Also ensure the pin is not bent.

@bmoran4 posted:

You may already be aware of the exploded diagram: https://www.lionelsupport.com/...amp;CFTOKEN=33055634

Taking a few shots in the dark:

• The plunger - is it bent? Replace it. Is it magnetized? You can replace it or use a screwdriver [de]magnetizer to clear it up. Run it on AC and not DC to prevent recurrance.
• Coil partially shorted/weak - you could replace or re-wind the coil. The hard part is being careful not to break the metal tabs off of the 455-26 coil retention bracket. Some swear that heating the tabs with a soldering iron before bending lessens the risk.
• Groove Pin Binding - lubricate the 455-57 pin so that the beam/arm moves freely. Also ensure the pin is not bent.

I wasn’t aware of the diagram, thanks.

Groove pin isn’t binding.
Plunger isn’t bent, that I can see from the outside. It was working fine when I first got it and it has just been sitting on my layout  

The plunger does have a little bit of magnetism to it. Not much. Just slightly noticeable if I hold a paper clip suspended on a string next to it. I wouldn’t think enough to affect it.

Haven’t opened it up yet to check the coil.  

Well, I opened it up.  Looks clean and pristine.  I'm not sure what I should be looking for.  Should the coil have a certain resistance?  Is there a way I can test/measure things to figure out what's wrong?

Have you measured/checked the supply voltage?...when first turned on as well as during operation as it becomes "anemic"??  Not sure what your power source is, but this might provide an 'upstream' problem clue.

Since I believe this version of the pump has an electronic timer board...instead of the old bimetal strip...if you can probe the coil leads at the circuit board at start-up and during operation, it might reveal a circuit/component issue.  (The EE geeks among the forumites might have a better clue re this possibility.)

Also, have you manually checked for free motion of the plunger after voltage has been applied?...as it becomes anemic??  If the coil is getting overheated, perhaps it might be affecting the free motion of the plunger.

....

OTOH, not sure how old this accessory is, but there are days I can relate to the symptoms!!  My mojo ain't what it used to be!!  And Geritol probably won't help your pumper, either!

KD

@dkdkrd posted:

Have you measured/checked the supply voltage?...when first turned on as well as during operation as it becomes "anemic"??  Not sure what your power source is, but this might provide an 'upstream' problem clue.

Well, I've narrowed it down a bit.  No binding or anything like that.  And the supply voltage is fine.

HOWEVER, if I measure the voltage on the circuit board leads to the coil when it tries to pump, it's barely getting anything.  If I supply voltage directly to the circuit board leads to the coil, it pumps just fine.  So, something on the circuit board is limiting the voltage being sent to the coil.

@JeffPo, I thnk it is fantastic that you have found the guts to open her up. Just note that many multi-meters "buffer" their voltage reading and so it could be very difficult to get a voltage reading for the duration of the solenoid activation. I'm not saying your suspecting the PCB is incorrect - in fact, I am impressed that you took things to the next step to test the coil directly with power.

Bad news is the PCB is out of stock, but the good news is that the PCB is a very basic one:

The diodes are easy to check, followed by the capacitors (ensure they are not shorted nor bulging at the top). However, my bet is if it isn't one of those aforementioned items, is on the TO-220 transistor package. All the components are readily available domestically on digikey, mouser, or similar electronics providers.

Capacitor performance can be impacted by age and this one charges and discharges repeatedly.   My money is on a bad cap.  Some multimeters can measure capacitance.

@bmoran4 posted:

@JeffPo, I thnk it is fantastic that you have found the guts to open her up.

Thanks.  I can tinker a little bit, but not much beyond that.  And I do not have great soldering skills (or even the proper equipment).  But I do have a friend that lives around the corner that loves this kind of stuff.  He's offered to check out the various components.

@Steims posted:

Capacitor performance can be impacted by age and this one charges and discharges repeatedly.   My money is on a bad cap.  Some multimeters can measure capacitance.

Thanks.  I'm going to have my electronics guru friend check it out.

Constant amazement to me that you wizards can fix these types of things.!

My solution is always to write it off as an unlucky purchase, and pitch it in the round file.  :-O

I think that if someone routinely posted on the Want to Buy board, that they are looking for non-working Lionel accessories for Free, I would send them a small box of things every year.

Mannyrock

@Mannyrock posted:

Constant amazement to me that you wizards can fix these types of things.!

My solution is always to write it off as an unlucky purchase, and pitch it in the round file.  :-O

I think that if someone routinely posted on the Want to Buy board, that they are looking for non-working Lionel accessories for Free, I would send them a small box of things every year.

Mannyrock

Would you ship them too?

Glad you were able to get this sorted by your friend. Real surface pumping units are much easier to work on than that and many rely only on a timer or relay contactor to work. Some have no electronics at all and use the well's own produced gas to run a prime mover, like the second picture, a small 'one lung' Arrow c-46 engine provides enough grunt to keep it turning.

Epic photos Tom!

Well, good news!  My oil pumping station is pumping again!  The large capacitor was bad, so Steims, you were right.

Thanks!

Just for my edification, . . which parts on in the photo are the capacitors?  The round units sticking up like small batteries?

@Mannyrock posted:

Just for my edification, . . which parts on in the photo are the capacitors?  The round units sticking up like small batteries?

Correct. The bigger one on the right was bad.  

My friend also said the board was a bad design by how they are running the voltage through it but at least it’s working now.