Greetings Forum members- I am new to the forum and this is my first post, or question. Several of my Lionel tenders buzz and to me, it sounds like the relay is partially energized. Is this common from certain postwar years, or is there something that can be done to eliminate the buzz? Thanks in advance for your ideas on this. Jeff
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Jeff,
I never heard PostWar air whistle tenders buzz. I have heard them make a growling noise that usually will transition to the whistle sound that you want after 30 seconds or so. This is a sign that the tender's whistle motor and shaft needs to be lubricated - using the same procedure as any other PostWar open frame motor.
Welcome Jeff!!! It's usually a good idea to let folks know which loco/tender you are speaking of. Much of the post war stuff operates in a very similar manner... there are a few instances where there are idiosyncrasies which may be handy to know. It's more likely than not a forum member has the same tender and experience fixing, servicing and/or restoring it.
You may find this handy...
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Thanks to both of you who have responded. I will check the lubrication on these as suggested. Also, to be for specific, the two tenders that I am dealing with are
No. 2426W and a No. 2046W
The relay in the tender is connected continuously to track power waiting for a dc signal to make the whistle blow. It is designed to operate on 60 cycle AC power. What power supply are you using to run your trains?
David, I am using a ZW for my trains.
Try tightening the relay coil mounting screw. The coil is constantly energized and sometimes they do buzz. Tightening the screw did the trick for me on a few I had that were buzzing.