Large Scale Central

Why does it take all day...

Modeling Motive Power
#1

to do a simple repair?

I’ve noticed that the running lights on my USAT Geep 9 don’t match up with the direction that it is traveling. Dunno why I didn’t notice that before, probably because its been sitting in a box for the last I don’t know how many years.

Any way, I decided to open and inspect to see which wires I needed to reverse on the trucks, i.e. which of the 4 wires on the truck actually came from the PC Board. I located the wires, reversed them, ran the test, and. voila, the direction of travel finally matched the lights!

So, I then proceeded to button everything up, and put the loco back on the test track, and sunofagun (I actually used saltier language, but this is a family site) all of the lights on the front of the loco were OUT!

Time to go something else for a while, so I don’t do something stupid.

After an hour of building cribbing (very relaxing, you should try it), I opened it up again, and what I hoped was a simple fix, like I forgot to plug in the front lights, became a broken solder joint on the main PC board for the front lights. Now, mind you, I’ve never fussed with anything like this before.

So, I break out my trusty Weller 140/100 Watt Universal Soldering Gun and some electrical solder, and tack that errant wire down, or so I thought. I get the board re-installed, and BOING! off springs the wire, laughing at my puny attempt. In fact, it took 4 more attempts to stick that sucker down. Surprisingly, I didn’t melt the PC Board. Did I mention that I’ve never fussed with this stuff before?

So, after another test, I button the sucker back up, and wouldn’t you know it, one of the over/under headlights is now out!

Time to walk away.

More cribbing. Don’t know if I have a place for these, maybe I can sell them at the next club meet.

I open the thing up, pull everything that has to do with the front lights out, and as suspected, one of the wires to one of the headlights has come unhinged. Now, this wire is infinitesimally small. If I dropped it into the carpet, I would be hard pressed to find it, again. How am I going to be able to solder this? After inspecting the board, I realize that the other wires of similar ilk are inserted into a metal disc in the PC Board, and the solder is applied to the other side. I should be able to do that. I get lucky. I put the board into a holder, insert the end of the wire into the hole, apply the heat to the other side, in the appropriate place, and sunofagun, it worked! I gave the wire a 5 pound tug, and it still held, so I put everything back into the loco (that was a struggle in itself), tested it, buttoned it up, and it still works!

I declare success!

Elapsed time, including building the cribbing, 6 hours.

#2

Congratulations , Steve , you may now register as a Brain Surgeon .

Mike Brit

#3

Ha Steve it is the way it is some days and there is nothing you can do. If it were me I would have taken it as a sign and gone back to bed to hide under the covers LOL

Reminds me of a recent fun in the shop time I had. I was working on a bachmann lil hauler caboose and attempting to make it a bit less toy like. I removed the plastic wheels for metal ones and after several attempts and trying different wheels I determined the axles were just a wee bit too long. These lil haulers have removable journal brackets and one went missing. I searched my 24"x24" work area, the floor, the wheel axle, the immediate area several frustrating times… Where could this thing have gone?? It was right here?? It then appeared like magic in a spot I had scoured like 5 times.

When things get weird and it seems you just can’t win it might be best to go back to bed.

#4

I already did that when I was promoted to Chief Petty Officer.

#5

Steve Featherkile said:

I already did that when I was promoted to Chief Petty Officer.

Presumably with the DSO (Distinguished Scalpel 'older) , B.Sc Honours (Brandisher of Scalpel )

and Silver Scalpel with Trepanning Tool .

Mike Brit

ps The arm badge is presumably a skull with brain rampant in silver

#6

Todd Haskins said:

Ha Steve it is the way it is some days and there is nothing you can do. If it were me I would have taken it as a sign and gone back to bed to hide under the covers LOL

Reminds me of a recent fun in the shop time I had. I was working on a bachmann lil hauler caboose and attempting to make it a bit less toy like. I removed the plastic wheels for metal ones and after several attempts and trying different wheels I determined the axles were just a wee bit too long. These lil haulers have removable journal brackets and one went missing. I searched my 24"x24" work area, the floor, the wheel axle, the immediate area several frustrating times… Where could this thing have gone?? It was right here?? It then appeared like magic in a spot I had scoured like 5 times.

When things get weird and it seems you just can’t win it might be best to go back to bed.

I agree, Todd, that’s why I spend two hours building cribbing.

I hate it when I get things buttoned up and have spare parts left over. I still have two large bolts left over from the time I rebuilt the engine in my '58 MGA. I just hope that I replaced them with new ones.

#7

Steve , in answer to your original question about the time is takes for minor repairs , do you think it may be due to the manufacturers not giving a shot after they’ve sold it ? Or perhaps they try to support local industry----a remarkable number of people would not dare even try changing a bulb but would rather take it back to the seller .

I have had someone ask me (not a vendor) to change the traction tyre on an LGB loco . The same person who jammed up the works using vegetable oil as a lubricant .

We had a local shop where the seller spent most of his opening hours servicing stuff , and then carried on doing so after closing time .

Mike Brit

#8

This is just a guess, but this is how I break down my time.

Disassembly: 10-15 minutes X three. total 30-45 minutes

Diagnose first problem (wires to trucks) 5 minutes)

Fix first problem: 5 minutes

Reassembly: 15 - 20 minutes (Cheops Law, Nothing ever gets done on time or within budget) X three. 45 - 60 minutes.

Fix second problem(Front Lights): 5 minutes

Learn how to fix second problem: Probably close to an hour.

Fix third problem(One Headlight): 15 minutes (includes disassembly and reassembly of headlights and number boards)

Learn how to fix third problem: 30 - 45 minutes. Inspired by success in fixing second problem… finally, plus I got lucky.

Sitting in my moaning chair twice for twenty minutes so I wouldn’t throw the whole shebang across the room: 40 minutes.

Replace sunshade that broke off the locomotive: 2 minutes.

The rest of the 6 hours was spent building cribbing, and other tasks… just because.

I’ll leave it to the rivet counters to count up the minutes. Like I said, its just a guess, but I think its pretty close.

I’ve learned that in doing most of my projects I usually have to do them twice. Once to learn how, and once to get it right.

#9

Steve Featherkile said:

This is just a guess, but this is how I break down my time.

Disassembly: 10-15 minutes X three. total 30-45 minutes

Diagnose first problem (wires to trucks) 5 minutes)

Fix first problem: 5 minutes

Reassembly: 15 - 20 minutes (Cheops Law, Nothing ever gets done on time or within budget) X three. 45 - 60 minutes.

Fix second problem(Front Lights): 5 minutes

Learn how to fix second problem: Probably close to an hour.

Fix third problem(One Headlight): 15 minutes (includes disassembly and reassembly of headlights and number boards)

Learn how to fix third problem: 30 - 45 minutes. Inspired by success in fixing second problem… finally, plus I got lucky.

Sitting in my moaning chair twice for twenty minutes so I wouldn’t throw the whole shebang across the room: 40 minutes.

Replace sunshade that broke off the locomotive: 2 minutes.

The rest of the 6 hours was spent building cribbing, and other tasks… just because.

I’ll leave it to the rivet counters to count up the minutes. Like I said, its just a guess, but I think its pretty close.

I’ve learned that in doing most of my projects I usually have to do them twice. Once to learn how, and once to get it right.

Seems to me that maybe you were way overthinking this and didn’t even need to open the engine. All you had to do was reverse the two outer wires on each of the two trucks to make the motors run in the other direction.

Maybe they simply got reversed in the past by accident or to make the engine run in the opposite direction (i.e., NMRA standard).

#10

Todd, I know that now, but didn’t when I started the project. :slight_smile: You shudda tol’ me!

#11

Steve Featherkile said:

Todd, I know that now, but didn’t when I started the project. :slight_smile: You shudda tol’ me!

HJ’s Law of relativity:

The time required for any job decreases by “amount of time spent deciding on method of action” x 2.

#12

Steve Featherkile said:

So, I break out my trusty Weller 140/100 Watt Universal Soldering Gun and some electrical solder, and tack that errant wire down.

Killing ants with sledgehammer are we? I use my 40 watt Weller soldering iron, A.K.A. El CHeepo soldering iron, for most everything. Once its hot, it will solder wires, it will even solder jumpers to HO scale rails, without melting nor setting fire to items I don’t want melted nor set fire to.

Congratulations on a job well done. You deserve a beer break now. :slight_smile:

#13

David, why use a hand grenade when a hunnert mega ton nuculer we pon will work just as well. (Intentional misspeling to confuse the NSA’s Com Pewter.

#14

Steve, and collateral damage be damned, huh?

#15

Yeah, well, I got it soldered, didn’t I?

#16

After I had to reopen several enjins: I simply plug whats 'sposed to be plugged from the shell and then just lift the shell onto the chassis and test it. Don’t screw the damn shell on until you are satisfied.

And didn’t I tell you what Todd told you at the last meeting?

#17

John Bouck said:

…

And didn’t I tell you what Todd told you at the last meeting?

JB

There are times when the simple solutions just look/sound too simple.

#18

Steve , you should have thought the other problem through before you posted , the other problem being "Ya shoulda dun dis " which for future reference on this site should become a new word ------

Yashudadundis (n.) the art of making someone feel stupid by making comments based on

hindsight (qv) .

Hindsight (n) the practise of staring out of ones fundamental orifice in order to make

comments of a superior nature .

Fundamental Orifice (n) That part of the human body through which superior beings speak

(alt) A third eye through which a person can practise hindsight (qv)

Mike Brit

ps for those with a sense of humour only , not a personal attack .

#19

I just realised that the name referred to above could also be applied to Japanese smartasses ,

as in .

“Our Japanese representative , Mr Yashuda Dundis , said it was obvious…”

Mike Brit

#20

John Bouck said:

After I had to reopen several enjins: I simply plug whats 'sposed to be plugged from the shell and then just lift the shell onto the chassis and test it. Don’t screw the damn shell on until you are satisfied.

And didn’t I tell you what Todd told you at the last meeting?

JB, reading for understanding is a skill that you should practice more often. If you peruse carefully what I wrote, you will note that I did preform a test prior to buttoning things up, each time.

You and I did not speak about anything at the last meeting, and I don’t think that I have sought your counsel about this sort of thing recently, so I am unclear as to what you are talking about, when you reference Todd. Can you be a little less obscure?