Needing some expert input - Troubleshooting a TMCC loco

Is there any way you can rotate the motor by hand to feel anything binding or sticking?...my first instinct says dried up hard grease, ....never been used and new in 2005 would be the first clues,....I’d investigate that before condemning electronics,....

Pat

If you can measure the current drawn by the unit, the current should shoot up when you try to move and nothing happens.

FWIW, I agree with Pat, since you hear a hum, that sure sounds like the motor is trying to turn but has resistance.  I'll bet the hum gets louder if you turn it up a little more.

Pat and John,

Thank you both for the quick replies and diagnosis.

This thread got moved and I was having trouble locating it.

I didn't get a chance to respond earlier but will open the unit up today to see if that is indeed the issue. Hoping that it is.

Much appreciation for all of the great input, feedback and advice that you provide on the forum. It's saved me a number of times!

Have a great New Year!

@graz posted:

Pat and John,

Thank you both for the quick replies and diagnosis.

This thread got moved and I was having trouble locating it.

I didn't get a chance to respond earlier but will open the unit up today to see if that is indeed the issue. Hoping that it is.

Much appreciation for all of the great input, feedback and advice that you provide on the forum. It's saved me a number of times!

Have a great New Year!

I wouldn’t open anything just yet, ....carefully examine possible exterior issues first, that may not require a tear down. Anything that catches your eye, and your not sure of, post a pic on here and some of us can guide you in the diag ......I don’t pick up a screwdriver until I’ve scanned the entire running gear for fast simple fixes ....repair known issues first, test, and proceed, ....

Pat

Pat and John,

I have an update on the switcher issue:

I removed the shell and removed enough bracketry to access the armature (it's a tightly packed little guy).

Rotating the armature by hand, did show some initial slight resistance. However, I was able to overcome it easily and then it rotated freely in both directions with ease, and the drivers rotated smoothly as well.

Unfortunately, that did not remedy the situation. There is still no movement. Just directional lighting and electrocouplers. I tried in both conv. and TMCC modes.

Using a ZW-L and not showing any amperage draw as the voltage is increased to the trackage in conventional mode.

Tried switching the run-program switch as I thought it might be locked into neutral.

I also reseated the one TMCC board, on it's pins, as it was easy to access and I recall that sometimes being an issue.'

Any further suggestions would be most welcome!

Thanks Gents.

If you have a DC power pack you can try hooking its leads directly to the motor and see if turns. If not its the motor. It would best to unplug the black connector on the board that the motor is powered from first.

Pete

I'm guessing the next step is to swap the R2LC to see if that helps, but my top suspect is the motor driver board.  I'm confused about the humming you mentioned, that could only come from the motor trying to move.

Pete, this is an AC motor, so he'll need to do a little sky-wiring to test it.

Have you checked the wiring around the motor to see if a wire is off?

Thank You Both for the quick replies.

John, Yes. I checked the wires attaching to the top of the communicator plate. Their crimp connectors seem tight and secure. Not seeing any other loose, or broken wires. I checked all of the plug style connectors on the boards to ensure that they were fully seated as well.

I think I'm going to simply request a refund on this one as I feel that I'm not as comfortable doing a complete disassembly as I might not be able to get it back together.

I'd just rather let him do the surgery.

UPDATE  - FIXED!

I didn't notice before, but one of the motor brushes was unseated and sticking up within the holder and wasn't making contact with the communicator. I seated both and it's now running fine. Pulling about a half amp and running smoothly.

Thanks again guys.

We love success stories.

Thanks John.

Sorry I didn't see this earlier. I'm sure that You and Pat are shaking your heads in disbelief (what a rookie oversight!)

Just glad you guys were giving me reason to keep checking and prodding with a great final result.

Much appreciated.

Hope you both have a great New Year!

Well, we share the blame, we didn't mention the obvious either.   I was going to recommend pulling the brush plate and taking a look, apparently it just needed the "taking a look" for this issue.