Postwar ZW question

Sounds like your ZW needs some repair work for the whistle controls.

You can either get newer add-on whistle controls or buy replacement parts, I think there called zinc plated something, and they replace the original whistle activiating parts.

Personally I like the older ZW's from the post war era as they have everything inside one piece. You may want to consider adding(8 to 10 amp breakers) circuit breakers to the output terminals of the older ZW as the original 15 amp breaker only covers the return or common wiring.

Lee Fritz

Christopher20-35,  I have two new Lionel ZW's in need of repair.  I found this Lionel repair service on the net;  The address is 2966 South Church Street, Suite 167, Burlington, NC 27215.  The PH: 336-549-0343.  E-Mail:  Help@Lionel Transformer.Com. I have not done business with this business as of this date.  I am going up North to PA & Rhode Island for a visit.

When I get back I will call this repair service regarding my problems with the new ZW's.  I believe they may need replacement Circut boards.  This repair shop deals with Post War Transformer repair.

I hope this helps.

Many thanks,

Billy C 

You are asking exactly, the type of activity , that I have on my Zw- PW,  put the

Lionel Horn button,  on , both sides , and I have good horn sounds, ( some neutral-

like the Williams, Sd -90) , some while running  like the MTH, 4-6-2, Comet and Alton,

are we suppose to get a bell sound with this set up on newer engines.  waiting on

replies, cause I thought it was just the way it worked,   Bought a MTH z750, for my

Penn Central, sometimes takes a long time for the bell to shut up!!   I also have a

V-150 PW,  makes me wonder if you actually push the Horn Button when attached to this transformer, and you will have horn/whistle,  -- haven t bought button for this one, but Will, if that is how it works

Would it be possible to replace the rectifier discs w/ diodes ?

In my many repairs I have added solid state diodes in place of rectifier discs.  I find they are a bit more reliable with modern equipment.

Hi Chris. Check out this thread. ...

https://ogrforum.com/t...istle-in-post-war-zw

Awesome Frank!!    That's just what I was thinking.  Now do I trust myself to do it is the question

If you don't have the time or don't want the hassle of shipping it off, you can always add a second 5906 bell button. Wire one for the bell and one for the whistle. You would need two of each for two main lines. I would suggest that you address the circuit protection mentioned above if you are running modern trains though. If postwar trains, let em rip! This is what I did with my postwar ZW. I eventually did get if fixed but still use the 5906 for the bell. Or you could add one set of 5906's and a switch to determine which mainline's whistles and bells you wish to use at the moment.

I'm running 99% postwar, so I'm content to just let them fly using the original circuit breaker.    The dual 5906's may be the way to go, as I don't want to ship it anywhere in case it gets damaged or lost. 

If you are not inclined to repair this yourself, let me tell you about a very nice elderly gentlemen in Chicago by the name of Ken Koehler.  He rebuilds Lionel transformers.  I have a KW and he rebuilt mine.  I also bought an old American Flyer 250w transformer he had on the shelf.  Ken is reasonably priced and does very nice work.  But the most important thing is he is an awfully nice train guy.  Here is his web site http://www.lioneltransformers.com/ and email address - klerxfmr@att.com  or ken@lioneltransformers.com

quote:

I'm running 99% postwar, so I'm content to just let them fly using the original circuit breaker.  

Being that you will be running the trains with your kids, I hope you will reconsider.

Lionel recognized that the internal breakers in the larger transformers such as the KW and ZW wouldn't trip fast enough under many circumstances. They came out with the Postwar #91 adjustable electromagnetic circuit breaker and the #92 fixed thermal circuit breaker.

The #91 adjustable breaker can be adjusted to trip just above the working load of any train. So if there is a derailment that causes a short, the breaker trips instantly, and its handle lights up.

http://pictures.olsenstoy.com/cd/accs/acc91p1.pdf

Years ago I received a rather unpleasant burn when I touched the wire handrail of a steam engine that had derailed and fallen over so the handrail was shorting the track. The power source was a ZW with no external protection.

I'd hate to see that happen to anybody else, especially a child.

I put a #91 breaker on each of my ZW transformer's "hot" posts, A thru D.

With a V-150, Pw,  do I get  2 - 5906 buttons or ?, to get both horn and bell,

I am already,  fused up (15 amp),  and TVS, protected, :

what i cant figure, is how will either of the buttons know which to enact!

thanks

I think it is worth mentioning that sometimes these transformers won't operate the whistle/horn relay because there isn't enough of a load on the transformer for the whistle circuit to generate enough DC bias. This is rather common when operating modern era trains.

If the whistle or horn operates when the control is pushed part way, then insufficent load is often the issue.

Don't operate the controller partway as a work-around. The transformer's rectifier disk may overheat and become damaged.

If insufficent load is the problem, you can add some load to the circuit by making the train longer, or putting some lights on the same transformer terminals as the track.  

Not all that long ago there were some threads on replacing the original rectifier disk with a large zener diode. I beleive those who tried it reported good results.

The polarity is changed on one of the buttons when you wire them up in series.  That way one does the positive offset, one does the negative.

-Dave

Ok, so if I go by the bell/whistle link you gave{and thank you for that}...and don't want a raise or drop due to a modern electronic, non air driven, whistle...how would that jumper be configured for not raising or dropping voltage? I have RMT, MTH ps1s and even earlier QSI{non battery} engines with whistles/bells.

Done,, thanks,  already have 2 more buttons coming from

forum !!

thanks

Hmmm, so my choices with either wiring is to jump nearly 2v or drop the same on the other version...no "no voltage change" solution? My A & D discs are shot on my PW ZW and I'm looking at doing the zener stud diode swap...already did new rollers.

The transformer has a compensation winding so it boosts voltage,it is not zero sum either. The old selenium rectifiers used were very leaky,if you replace it with a modern component it should work better and maybe give more boost.

Unless someone made an external solid state circuit, I know of no way to blow the whistle and not drop voltage and generate heat through diodes. Lionel made a complicated one with a choke but I think that generated heat also.

K-Line made one with a bridge rectifier and capacitor which put filtered DC to the track,probably not good for a lot of engines when used. I do not recommend this approach.

Dale H

There are 2 different ways to do the bell / whistle button. Check out this thread .If you need both bell and whistle you make 2 set ups, run power through 1 set up one way and reverse power for the other. One would make the bell work ,the other would work the whistle.

https://ogrforum.com/t...-button-test-results

I run a combination of post-war and modern (all conventional) with a ZW. The 8-10 amp breakers - where would I get these?

Bob Nelson

For a 10 amp breaker

www.Mouser.com

P/N 655-w-28-XQ1A-10

www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/T...ZUppN3hkQvoIaw%3d%3d

Dale H