Williams EZ Street Car - Done Burned Up!

Wow! Sorry to hear what happened. They should fix it for free.

Bob

Oh, they are standing behind product.  There was never a question about that.  I wanted to let folks know that A + B is a bad result.

Point of post was to highlight undisclosed incomparability issue.  And I suspect it is not limited to MRC only.  I just happened to have MRC.

To me the oddity here is that it is not published in the documents that arrive with unit, no sticker on the packaging, nor anything on the web site.  Again, it would be a list of what to not use or a list of what to exclusively use.  Since neither lists exist, I have informed the masses, I suppose, with what I know - or have been told.

I  tried using my MRC dual power for accessory lighting on my O gauge layout and it barely put enough volt*amps out  to power a few buildings. Plus it began to get hot. So I pitched it...

To eliminate any confusion, which specific MRC model was it that you were using?

Any transformer that does NOT put out a Pure AC sine wave should be used for lighting of structures. 

MRC Pure Power Dual

http://www.modelrectifier.com/...uct-view.asp?ID=1247

That's the one I thought you were indicating. Thanks for the clarification. Just saw these on sale the other day and was seriously thinking about one, not so much now.

I thought it was odd it was this one, as I thought this was supposed to be a pure sine wave transformer? Kind of confusing? Maybe one of our electronic folks would be kind enough can to explain the problems with it?

Hey something is not adding up here.

I thought that the whole point of the MRC Pure Power series was outputting a pure sine wave.  (Because of issues with the original MRC dual power transformers that had modified wave outputs.)

Is my memory faulty?

Are MRC Pure Powers not producing Sine waves?

???

How much do you want for it

I agree, due to the special sale pricing I was looking at them just before this thread appeared. The manual clearly states pure sine wave, which I would think would be the same as a 1033?. I'm no expert, but I am totally confused. That's why I asked about the specific model number to be sure it was the same transformer. I don't get it? Was hoping some of the knowledgeable guys would weigh in here. Maybe a call to MRC is in order?

Yeah, I am confused too.  And I started this!

Here is what I read to the service guy at Bachmann.  He and I chatted for some time and he was kind enough to wait while I looked up the owner's manual.  So the following is from the MRC Pure Power Dual manual: 

"Thank you for purchasing MRC’s advanced AC dual power train control.

MRC’s Pure Power Dual has all the power needed to operate your AC

powered trains. The true state of art and pure smooth Sine Wave Technology

will enhance the performance of your layout for years to come."

( whole manual is here: http://www.modelrectifier.com/...trainsound/AH601.pdf 

Person at Bachmann said the transformer was the culprit.  If someone here can tell me otherwise with an explanation as to why it sounds fishy, I will call back the person and ensure that (a) he heard me correctly and (b) I heard him correctly.

Meant this to be straight forward, so just conveying what I was told.  But questions abound, so that means something ain't copasetic.

Thanks. 

The person has been working at Bachmann for years and is a big collector of trains.

Perhaps he misunderstood what I read - it is loud in that facility at his end. 

He was not saying the transformer is problematic (in general), it was not of the type that would safely run the Williams EZ Streets vehicle.

Enough push back from here will lead me to contacting him again to convey info from forum and determine the 'official' Bachmann repair center opinion on transformer use with EZ Streets.

I use that same transformer to power my easy streets & have had no problems running Bachman, Lionel, or K-Line.

Agree, have a friend using these on his layout since day one.

A question that I have for Bachmann/Williams is what type of transformer do you recommend for E Z Street vehicles? 

Also where is the instruction manual on how to install E Z Streets? K-Line had an instruction manaul so why not Bachmann/Williams? Plus there is NO how to on E Z Streets on the Bachmann website.

Lee Fritz

John,

If the wires are burn or fried as you say then it is Bachmann's fault as they didn't say what voltage range to use with your vehicle. At least that's my two cents on the subject.

Lee Fritz

Hi John,

   Can you post a photo of the burned wires and motor?  I do a lot of mods to small motorized units and I would like to see a picture if you have one.  Was the rectifier burned?

    Thanks!

Take care, Joe.

Lee and Joe:  You know I should have done that before I sent it back, but I guess I assumed it was a one-off defect and was not going in this direction.  Thus I did not take a picture and the item was sent to Bachman in mid December.

They replaced it.

All:  I have spoken to Bachmann Service again, just to ensure the service tech and I understood what we both said last week.  I have a call into MRC.  I am gathering facts/information and AM NOT going to disparage either products or the hard working folks at either company because that is not what this is about.  Both companies make great products.

BTW, the repair tech at Bachmann has been generous with his time in explaining the matter and fielding my follow up questions.  Point is: helpful as helpful can be.

It may take a few days before I get all factual info and can post anything further.

For now, I would advise to use another power source since we know that my MRC Pure Power Dual and my Maroon EZ Streets did not like each other. 

At the moment the reasons why are inconclusive and I only suggest the above as an abundance of caution.

Feel free to send me a message off line.  E-mail is in profile.

Stay Tuned 

Thank you!

It will be very interesting to see how it all turns out. As I was thinking about purchasing that transformer, I read the same thing you did in the MRC manual and interpreted it the same way as well. Will be watching for your findings. Thank you for taking the time and making the effort to get this all straight, it's appreciated.

I doubt very much that the MRC transformer was  the cause of the burn.

There is a lot of hogwash being made here.

Now on a less serious note--- don't your locomotives have black (orange) boxes like airplanes and real locomotives?

Al W.

I doubt very much that the MRC transformer was  the cause of the burn.

There is a lot of hogwash being made here.

Now on a less serious note--- don't your locomotives have black (orange) boxes like airplanes and real locomotives?

Al W.

I have many of the Bachmann/ WIlliams Peter Witt trolleys.  They are great and run great.  The only time we had a problem with them was when we had the voltage on the transformer all the way up  This wasn't an MRC it was an MTH Z4000.  The trolley fried not because of the type of transformer but the way it was set.  I suspect a high amperage draw might have been the cause of your fry and not the type of transformer.

Or it could be something in my transformer that is wacked out.... ?   ( I said transformer, not me!)

I do know that the circuit breaker tripped on the power pack.  The EZ Streets car was running on a bar bell shaped loop - you know, with a flipping y switch for each end.  It just derailed (went straight instead of following the direction of the Y switch).  Immediately I picked up and said something (like ouch) and only a few days later did I notice that the circuit breaker on the power pack had tripped- I guess when it derailed.

I never tried to run the thing again because of the hot touch, odor, and subsequent investigation (removal of cover) that indicated it would not be running again anytime soon.

Still waiting for MRC to call me....