Metal Tape on pickup roller

Those rollers aren't permanent. Its just snapped onto that fork on the truck frame. They pop out. Get the truck off the car and it'll be easier to fool around with it.

Is the metal tape conductive on both sides ?

Wouldn't the stickum be an insulator?

Definitely I would remove the tape and likely need goo-gone to remove any glue residue.

However, if replacing the roller, they snap in.

Note, searching, the way I found the rollers was search for "roller" and then refine with "freight"

https://www.mthpartsandsales.com/shop/search/results

There is this type smaller roller which I think you have

Then this alternate type with larger diameter.

Then they are showing the entire truck for the searchlight car

Again, my impression is, #1 clean and lube your existing rollers. They are not bad- they are just need of service. Light oil remove any gum or glue, they should spin freely and stay spinning for a little bit. Also might be good candidate for some D5S-6 CAIG DeoxIT 5% Spray Contact Cleaner, 5 oz.

That said, again, the rollers are replaceable. Yes, they do snap or clip in. Might not be obvious but they do.

You could use the alternate larger passenger ones with the plastic rivet. BD0000092

If this is the style that uses a spring to keep it down, replacing the spring may be needed.   On many of my older lionel trains corrosion or time have caused the spring to loose tension.  They are tapered springs.  I found you could pull off the old spring with needle nose and "Wind on" the new spring without needing to remove the rivet.  It winds on over the top of the rivet.   It takes a little practice, but is easy to do once learned.  It usually requires removing the truck and one of the wheel sets to get access the spring and top of the rivet.   Sometimes I even stretch the spring a little more before I put it on.

Years ago someone came up with the idea of stud rail track. Basically 2 rail Atlas track with a hidden web to provide a center rail. Seeing the studs only protruded just above the height of the tie. Standard rollers wouldn’t work. They came up with a very short ski that clipped to the roller. Probably made from phosphor bronze. There were a few adopters of this system. But not enough to make a go of it.

Maybe someone out there has one. It would lengthen the roller just a bit.

Ron045

That picture no. 1 shows no or little wear on the roller.  I have some with 1/16" grooves that work well.  You must have a weak spring that provides downward pressure on the roller.  I do not understand how one could add several wraps of metal tape, that has to have and an insulative strip, to make the tape stick.

Charlie

@Dave_C posted:

Years ago someone came up with the idea of stud rail track. Basically 2 rail Atlas track with a hidden web to provide a center rail. Seeing the studs only protruded just above the height of the tie. Standard rollers wouldn’t work. They came up with a very short ski that clipped to the roller. Probably made from phosphor bronze. There were a few adopters of this system. But not enough to make a go of it.

Maybe someone out there has one. It would lengthen the roller just a bit.

You mean a large scale copy of Marklin 3 rail?

https://ogrforum.com/...-versus-a-third-rail

typical runner type shoe pickup- kind of like Marx

Marklin

Yes, Vernon thats the idea. The guy I believe was from Sweden that came up with it. Except the stud rail was designed to protrude between the ties. I saw it demoed many years ago at an O scale convention. Probably mid 90’s. You pretty much needed Midwest cork roadbed or something cut into what you were using to support it. The web was inserted between the split halves of the roadbed. You were pretty much committed to only using Atlas track.  What protruded up was between the ties and ended up sitting just above them. Rollers wouldn’t work so a clip on ski was used. I think you had to use ramps of some sort on turnouts. I’ll admit when ballasted it looked very good. Just seemed like it would be easier to just go 2 rail.

The ski that was used to clip onto the roller had some length as it had a gap to bridge. Looking at Ron’s issue. I thought if you could come up with one. The ski could be shortened a bit and it would bridge the gap between the roller and the center rail. As far as I remember. The few that experimented with it. Never mentioned the ski flying off.

I replaced the pickup rollers.

Thank you @Boilermaker1 for the tip on taking the truck off.  I then saw how they just popped off.

Buuuuut.  I got something else going on.

All that's in there is the on/off switch, so I'd look at that and any wiring that is coming loose.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

All that's in there is the on/off switch, so I'd look at that and any wiring that is coming loose.

Ok... Bad switch?  Can that diode on that board go bad?  I used all new wire and it still dims off.

I'd bet on the switch, the diode would either be dead or OK.

I pulled the same car out of storage after 1d5 years. Light didn't work. Switch was bad. Replaced and the light/car worked well.

Ok... Replaced pickups, completely rewired, replaced switch.

At a loss.

Did you try the car with the "spotlight" in place over the light? If it vibrates/turns with no disruption while the light still flickers that would point to the light socket. Maybe?  

Maybe when you lay the generator on the side it puts different tension on the wiring that slightly pulls the center contact in the bottom of the socket?

What kind of bulb are you using? Doesn't look like the long globe bulb my car has.  

How about continuity from the wheels to the light?  What kind of trucks are on the car?  If it's not the center roller or the switch/wiring, next place to look is the connection through the wheels.

Motor / Light not the culprit.  Going back to pickups or wheels as the issue.  Maybe.

https://youtu.be/00BS5gBX_Cg

Are both outside rails connected doing the test ?

For just doing a test to rule something out. The metal tape you mentioned. Rather than make the roller bigger. Can you cut some strips and place them temporarily on the center rail of your test track to raise the height of the rail a bit. Just make sure the wheels themselves are still engaging the outside rails. Rather than use your hand which puts pressure on the car and can alter the results. Couple another car to it and pull it along.

It could be possible that the roller spring has to much tension raising the wheels slightly. Although you said it looks like the roller is riding up to high. Still hard to see what’s going on in there. You can try clipping the wiper or axle with a long piece of small gauge wire connected to your power supply and pull it along. This should tell if the wheels are the issue.