Williams FA-2 (027) Repair Help

Call Frank Timko at Timko's Repair Depot 937-429-1461.  He can most likely help you.

Thanks.  Will call.

Timko is definitely where to get Williams parts.

Timko can also pull that worm and put it on a new motor if that particular part can't be located.

Another source of Williams parts is Frank Vacek 410-465-3782. He and the late Charlie Phillips got the majority of parts when Williams sold to Bachmann. Not sure what happened to Charlie's parts.

Pete

Thank you

Norton posted:

Another source of Williams parts is Frank Vacek 410-465-3782. He and the late Charlie Phillips got the majority of parts when Williams sold to Bachmann. Not sure what happened to Charlie's parts.

Pete

The LATE Charlie Phillips? No wonder he stopped responding to my requests. I thought it was something I said.

RoyBoy posted:

Norton posted:

Another source of Williams parts is Frank Vacek 410-465-3782. He and the late Charlie Phillips got the majority of parts when Williams sold to Bachmann. Not sure what happened to Charlie's parts.

Pete

The LATE Charlie Phillips? No wonder he stopped responding to my requests. I thought it was something I said.

He passed sometime before the last April York. I believe his wife was there selling trains. Both at the Holidome (new name??) and the Orange Hall.

Pete

Before you purchase a new motor let me ask you a couple of questions.  You say the motor will turn by hand. Can you hear or feel anything rubbing when you turn it ? Can you see loose wire if you look through the slots near the brushes? If you can see loose wire or black windings inside, the motor is indeed toast. If you sniff at the holes do you smell burnt insulation ?  Have you ever lubed it ?  I have seen people use WD40 , 3 in 1 oil and a host of hardware store XXXX  on small motors, invariably the gums and varnish in this stuff gets stiffer and stiffer as the VOCs gas off, till the motor will no longer turn.  Try putting one drop of lacquer thinner on each bearing. Then turn the motor by hand CW and CCW and push the shaft in and out as you do this.  If you can feel the motor loosen up you have found the problem.  Common motor oil works well, even in the 50s it had little gum and varnish in it.  I have postwar locos from my childhood that I have been oiling using motor oil in a pin point applicator since I was 8 , and all have original bearings, in good shape. Straight 30W works well but I also keep some 20W for very small motors. If you run into a bearing that is clearly varnished up you need to get as much of the varnish out as you can. Ideally you would remove the bearings and soak in solvent a couple of days then allow to dry and relube.  I have a glass baby food jar with a 1/8" brass tube soldered to the top. When bearings can be easily removed I first soak them in lacquer thinner and using a hand vacuum pump pull and release the vacuum several times to get the thinner deep inside the bearing.   Then an overnight soak is sufficient.  I Let the bearing dry and then back in jar it goes this time with oil instead of the thinner. Pull and release a vacuum and it is ready to go. With your can motor about the best you can do is loosen the bearings with lacquer thinner then give them time to dry and relube with 30W. I have thought about some way to suspend small motors so the thinner cannot get to the armature windings then I could pull a vacuum with the can in a jar. Thinking is as far as I have got on this however. One last point never pull the armature from a permanent magnet motor even if you can, that weakens the magnets and once back together the motor will pull more current for a given power output. You can do this with pullmore motors but not DC motors with permanent magnets.    John

Great advice, John.  This is a loco with very little run time.  Less than 5 years old.  I spoke with Frank at Timko, and it sounds like replacing it is not very expensive.  I will probably just go that route.  As much as I love to tinker, I just don't have the time to add another project to the pile!

Is this  Williams by Bachmann?  If so, it has a lifetime warranty as long as you didn't modify it.  $55 service fee for items past the initial 1 year mark.   This may be another route, although it may still need that out of stock part.

http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/service.php

$55 service fee seems to negate the "lifetime warranty" idea!  I suspect for most things you can repair on that unit, it shouldn't cost $55!