After 17 years of use, the Z4000 we use at the club is having an issue. The red light indicator on the left side now a steady red, and no power is getting to the tracks. So, is it worth getting it repaired, or is it time to simply buy a new one? Thoughts?
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I had two Z-4000s for 13/14 years. I sold both of them because each was showing some quirkiness ... so I bought a new Lionel ZW-L. It's been a great investment & solid performer over the past months - and will assume a key role for my new layout.
if you get a red light on power up, make sure the left control throttle is completely closed all the othe way otherwise you will get a red light on power up ! If you are getting the red light on power up and the throttle is completely closed then I would disconnect the transformer from your layout and see if you still get the short indication! if the red light problem goes away then you have a track short or car off the track or engine off the track issue. otherwise it is the transformer problem!
with a transformer that age it could be the potentiometer inside the left side is wore out.
Send me an email and ill let you know what the problem could be!
Alan
From heavy use, someone cranked the handle off and you skipped a tooth on the gear. Open it up and reset your handle and pot gear. The gears could also be badly worn and your transformer is not seeing off. This problem is usually the right handle as the bracket that holds the pot gets bent out of shape. Open it and you will see what I am talking about.
Took it to a local authorized repair shop, and the initial diagnosis is a bad potentiometer. The consensus... it is worth getting fixed.
Even with a new pot, your guy will index the gears and put the light out. I work on a great number of these and see what I mentioned much more than the pot. You may have caught a break.
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