i have a marx wind up motor. when turning the key the spring does not engage and does not wind, is there any fix to these wind up motors???
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There probably is. Have several antique clocks that wind had one made a loud pop when winding after wards the key would just turn and not wind up clock and took to a now retired clock repairman.
What happens is at the end of the coil strip its attached and over time it breaks at that point.
He put in new coil.If all else fails for you perhaps try one in your area and see what he says about yours.
A book worth having.
There isn't much to go wrong with a Marx riser gear motor. I would suspect the mainspring broke near the hub like Dieseler pointed out. Marx mainsprings are attached to the mainspring hub by sliding through a narrow slot. The inner end of the mainspring is narrowed slightly to fit in the slot. If you unhook the outer end of the spring, you can pull it out of the motor with vice grips. HOWEVER - wear safety glasses and leather gloves, and be careful. The spring can and will whip around, and the end of the spring can injure you.
With the spring out of the motor, you will need to carefully remove the broken portion that is still attached to the hub. Just use pliers to carefully pull it out.
If the break is near the inside end, you can reterminate it. Anneal that end by heating it up to cherry red with a torch and letting it cool slowly. Carefully grind the end of it so it is the same width as the original end. It will have to be inserted into the slot in the mainspring hub, which takes time and patience. Then use the key to wind it into the motor, and hook the outer end to the tab on the crossmember.
So far, I haven't found a good replacement mainspring for a Marx motor. They are 3/8" wide, .024" to .030" thick (depending on application) and about 5' long. Most replacement clock mainsprings are considerably thinner and thus don't have as much power. However, the Marx motors are relatively plentiful, and you might find a broken motor with a good mainspring as a replacement.
James, I conversed with you previously about the Lionel 1588 locos, and you wound up putting a Marx riser gear motor in place. Since then, I have done the same, and have a Marx windup, in a 1588 shell. I know it winds up, and works, but haven’t put any rail together, to test run it on a track.
I have a question for you, about the Lionel windups. Have you ever worked on or repaired a Lionel windup?? I have two individual Lionel windups that will not wind up, or should I say, will not catch, in a wound position. It is frustrating to have these motors not working.
I have done limited work on the Lionel windups. They are few and far between compared to the other brands, and parts motors are hard to find as well.
Having said that, I have a Torpedo in the "to be repaired" line that belongs to Steve, and it has had a catastrophic ratchet failure - it sounds like your locos have the same basic issue. It looks like I'll need to pull the wheels and take the motor completely apart to repair it, and I'll probably make any parts that are needed. I had been procrastinating on that repair because I have reason to believe at least one of the wheels will break when I pull it off... but I've got some replacement wheels now, so I can't use that excuse any longer!
When I finally tear into Steve's motor, I'll try to remember to take pictures so I can post them here for you...
James, I look forward to whatever you do on the Lionel motor. The Lionel motors seemed to be fraught with poor parts, and zinc pest on some. Sadly, I have two 1511 locos with bad motors, and the motor is very similar, but not quite the same as that used in the 1588.
