I'm doing some wheel cleaning on my Tyco Chessie 430. In looking at the wheels it appears that only the port-side (L) front truck wheels and the rear-truck starboard (R) actually conduct electricity from the rails!? Is that correct?
The Black wheels are along for the ride electrically speaking. Actually having a bit of crud on there might enhance traction.
Also, I want to lube the motor (MU-2) is it possible to do that without taking the motor completely apart?
Thanks, G.Edited by - romcat on April 28 2007 10:17:33 AM
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Hey Gareth. On each truck of Tyco's engines, only one side of the truck actually picks up power. The plastic wheels act as insulators. If you look at the trucks on most lighted passenger cars they are like this as well. I think the reason for doing this is to make the engine similar to an electrical circuit. Think of the two rails as wires: 1 carries the power from the power cell (transformer) to the load (engine), the other carries the power from the engine back to the transformer.
I'm not sure if thats actually how it works, but thats how I like to think of it. I know the plastic wheels act as insulators. Its like if you put a Tyco streamliner on the tracks and one of the trucks is turned the wrong way so all 4 metal wheels are on the same side...the lights dont work.
-cheez
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Your description is exactly how it works. Cheez, but on some cars the insulated part is inside the wheel, meaning not a plastic wheel. On some trucks 1 wheel is connected directly to the shaft or axel and the other side is connected through a plastic insulator on the inside of the wheel that makes the truck look the same from both sides as it rides the rails. AHM is great for that, my son continually puts the wheels back on wrong after he does maintenance on the car or loco. If you don't do it right you get a dead or direct short. I keep telling him but he won't listen. Ya gotta look on the inside of the wheel on a powered unit to see which side is insulated and replace them accordingly. On a non-powered unit the trucks are plastic or the wheels are insulated on both sides, so you have to pay attention and can't get them mixed up with wheels for a powered unit.
Bob In Malfunction Junction: When all else fails get a bigger hammer.
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Posted - April 28 2007 : 09:09:58 AM
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