Hornby tender drive loco.

Below is a photo of an old Hornby Schools class tender drive loco. It has been given to me as "someone who knows about these things" (if only they knew) because it dosn't work and they hoped I could fix it. To be honest when I eventually got the bodies off I felt I was confronted with some sort of alien technology. I presume it's a Ringfield motor but cant for the life of me understand where the wires should go - it seems that the red and black wires actually finish up on the same contact before being transferred on one wire to the tender.

However my first question is what on earth is the amber plastic thing which I've pointed to with an arrow? Any ideas?:???:

Les

Hard to tell from the picture, but could it be a smoke generator? Can't think what else it might be.

Bob(K)

it does look like a smoke gen,and the wiring is right for it, just not certain about the plastic bit, they generally get hot.
I will look in my old service sheets and come back .


lol::cool:

Les confirmed it is the smoke unit, and as I said the wires are right.
as for the tenderthere is only the red wire , the  earth is through the chassis and tender wheels
I would suspect the brushes in the motor need renewing, or the armature has gave up the ghost,
new armatures £6+ on e-bay.
lol::cool:

Thanks Owen. I feel I ought to see if I can get it working and as it has been donated to me it wont matter as much if I make a b****r of it, so I have a couple more questions.

Owen/Anyone -  these armature thingies, are they easy to get at? Are there different types? (I need to get the right one of course. Can I bypass/remove the smoke unit?:???:.

Les

Les yes you can remove the smoke unit,the wires that connect it should just pull of the terminals,
the armature will most likely be a three pole job, you have to take the side off the motor to get it out
but it`s not a difficult job,then just do it all in reverse to put the new one in,
have you tried cleaning it all first and checked the brushes ?
lol::cool:

Les
If you decide you want to put a decoder in it with that type of tender drive motor you have to isolate the screws that hold the brush retainer plates as they are connected to the chasis and will cause a short.

Brian

Thanks fellas but I'm on the verge of abandoning this.:oops:

Pat didn't want to go out tonight so whilst she was glued to some dancing programme on the telly I tried to dismantle the motor.

Getting the thing out of the tender frame was a nightmare but I did it in the end.

I then removed the plate to expose the armature but couldnt for the life of me see how you got it out. It seems to be held in by a small gear on the other side of the spindle.

Consequently I just cleaned the armature up, checked the brushes and springs and took a lot of fluff out of the gears; it was filthy. I then put the tender back on the track coupled to the engine but without the body. I set my Lenz to 0000 and this time the motor hummed a little. I turned the power up to see if it would move but all of a sudden there was a fiery red glow from the armature, then flames before I could turn the power down and a whole load of smoke.

I think this may well now become a static exhibit. Embarrassing or what?:oops::oops::oops:

Les

:sad: Hi Les, Thats a pain, I think you can get replacement motors for not too many euro,s have a look at the links in Hornby spares thread. regards, Derek

they are cheaper on e-bay Les,about  £15 ,will dig a link out for you.

lol::cool:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320464615010&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

try this one mate.
he does have others and he will tell you if they are suitable.

lol::cool:

Have a look at the following page, about half-way down there is a 'How-to' on converting a Ringfield motor to DCC:

http://www.brian-lambert.co.uk/DCC.htm


Perry

Thanks fellas.

Owen - I will contact this guy and ask him if he has one for a Hornby Schools. The motor looks quite different from the one in his picture.

Les

[user=18]Les[/user] wrote:

Thanks fellas.

Owen - I will contact this guy and ask him if he has one for a Hornby Schools. The motor looks quite different from the one in his picture.

Les

:hiLes, I was looking at that Ringfield motor of yours, I think its one of the older 5-pole jobs circa 2002-2006

If the armature/commutator has smoked you can get replacement. part no X9024.

Hornby service dept.Do not show a diagram for the Schools but other locos of that vintage are shown with that type of motor and tender drive,

regards.Derek

http://www.hornby.com/customer-support/downloads/service-sheets%2C103%2CHAR.html

Hi Derek,

Thanks for this. I had thought I had tracked it down to be part No X803 as per this link
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310195930280&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en

It looks exactly like this so will do a little more checking. I still wouldn't know how to remove the armature though even if I got one.

Les

Les the part number is 3 pole x803, but there is also  x 8438, same armature.
to take it out you remove the little brass cog off the back it is just a press fit..
send me your e-mail address and I will send the service sheet o.k.
lol::cool:

Thats good Owen cleared things up, The Schools must be older than what Hornby are showing on their teq site.
Regards,Derek

[user=477]shunter1[/user] wrote:

Thats good Owen cleared things up, The Schools must be older than what Hornby are showing on their teq site.
Regards,Derek

Derek the one Les has is the one with a smoke unit, yr 2000.
I don`t think they do smoke units now.that`s what gave me the clue.
lol::cool:

Thanks guys, I'll persevere and let you know.:thumbs

Les