# Two Tyco Loco's do not run



## Bkubiak (Oct 20, 2013)

I just acquired two Tyco loco's one is the 0-8-0 Chattanooga and the other is the 2-8-0 The Royal Blue Symptoms on both are the same, the light lights AND IT SOUNDS LIKE IT IS TRYING TO RUN
Both of these are smokers and are driven by a motor in the Tender, never saw that before, it is new to me, I pulled the cover off the tenders to lube everything that looks like it should move and I can turn the big gear on the side of the motor, it is hard to turn.
The wheels on the Loco itself are freewheeling and one pair has a cam on it that I do not know what that is supposed to do
HELP me get em going before I have to bad mouth the seller who told me they run.


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## mustangcobra94 (Apr 28, 2014)

i have had a couple of these before. what i did was clean the wheels then i would hold it on the track with the power on full throttle and pick up the loco so the wheels barely touch and let it run. it will be slow at first then get faster.


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## alcoman (Nov 4, 2009)

I don't own any Tyco locos of the type you are asking about. I have spent some effort toward getting older locos to run. 

You can try feeding power directly to the motors. Set the loco so the wheels aren't touching anything and feed power straight from the power supply to the sides of the motor where it gets current from the wheels. I use alligator clips and you need to be careful not to short anything out. If the drivetrain works good the the problem is likely just tarnish between the wheels and the motor. Cleaning will fix that.

If the drivetrain binds or sticks then the problem is lubrication or damaged parts.

Good luck.


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## ggnlars (Aug 6, 2013)

The motor in the tender is the same one as is n the brown box diesels. This configuration is TYCO's steam engines after they split from Mantua. 

You have to be careful. The diesels are actually easier to work on than the steam versions. I just tuned one up n the last week. 

The key is to lube the gears on the side of the motor. Even though these are gears, a good gearing oil works best for this. There is a bearing hole on the opposite side of the motor that needs to be oiled as well. Put some oil in the slow the axels run in. Those could be seized and they are part of the gear train. 

After you have lubricated these area, try to move the large gear again. It should be fairly easy to turn. If you can not turn it the motor won't be able to either. 

If you can, then turn the engine on its back. The electrical connection points are the metal wheel on one side of the tender and the engine drive wheels on the other side. 

You should touch the wires from the transformer to these points. The motor should run when you touch these wires. If it does, let it run for a few minutes. Then apply a little more lubrication. Your description indicates the drives are bound up. If it is running at this point it was because of friction. This oil has reduced it. A little more won't hurt. 

If they don't run at this point, they will require more effort than can be described in a simple reply.

Larry
Check out my blog: www.llxlocomotives.com


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## Bkubiak (Oct 20, 2013)

ggnlars said:


> The motor in the tender is the same one as is n the brown box diesels. This configuration is TYCO's steam engines after they split from Mantua.
> 
> You have to be careful. The diesels are actually easier to work on than the steam versions. I just tuned one up n the last week.
> 
> ...


I have done as you all have suggested and it seems to have freed things up a little, NOW A transformer question because I don't have a voltmeter handy right now but does full power from the speed dial to the track put out more volts then the two accessory poles that light up a few house models. What does that cam on one of the loco axles do? These are very old loco's and they have sat unused for some time, they look almost brand new.


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## ggnlars (Aug 6, 2013)

Wires on the DC terminals. The dial runs from 0 volt to 16 volts. I would set the transformer at a point that is 3/4 full power. This would be approximately 12 volts. 

The accessory terminals are AC voltage generally 12 volts AC. For these tests used the DC terminals.

The cam is part of the driver/ valve gear system. It causes the engine to chug among other things. The movement power comes from the two sets of wheels with traction tires. 

The loco's were likely used very little or no at all. I think they were last produced around 30 years ago, so they are old. 
Good luck,
Larry


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## morland (Sep 25, 2012)

Here is a really well documented website for working on Tyco locomotives. I used it when I dug my old Tyco locomotives out of my attic a few years ago.

http://goingincirclez.com/TycoTrains/Guide/PowerTorqueRepair

-Trever


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## Bkubiak (Oct 20, 2013)

morland said:


> Here is a really well documented website for working on Tyco locomotives. I used it when I dug my old Tyco locomotives out of my attic a few years ago.
> 
> http://goingincirclez.com/TycoTrains/Guide/PowerTorqueRepair
> 
> -Trever


Thanks to this website, I dis-assembled both locos down to where I could remove and clean all the drive wheels and install new traction tires, the old ones were brittle and just broke away in pieces. 
By using a couple jumper wires I got both motors running, they did not want to run at low speeds and for about 5 minutes they only ran at full speed and as they warmed up I could slow them down but not much.
Put both on my layout and neither wanted to just run, they needed pushing and wiggling and some choice words before they got to stumbling along and mostly at almost full throttle after about 5 min they started to run faster and faster and I backed off the throttle and finally got them to start on their own go forward and backward and go as slow as half throttle but not much slower, they both smoke and smoke for a very long time but they do not smoke as well as my life like mikado steamer.
I suspect as was mentioned here before that they are both very very old and were run very little if at all. That cam on an axle under the boiler either helps to pump the smoke out and it makes a noise almost like a chug, but sounds more like a wheel has derailed , very annoying sound.
Thanks a bunch everyone for all the help
The seller came into all these engines and cars when his grandfather passed and he advertised them here under a string called lots of trains and I am well satisfied with my purchase. When I told him about the locos not running he immediately offered a refund. I would buy again from this seller and plan to do so when he has more to sell, he was easy to work and deal with and a good communicator too.
I had to spend around 2 hours on each loco and still have a bunch of breaking in to do to get them running smoothly, perhaps as I do they will smoke better too


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## Mr.Buchholz (Dec 30, 2011)

I had bad luck with Tyco engines on my first layout years back. They are nothing but trouble, and have a tendency to break when you least expect them to. Tyco rolling stock wasn't much better. Get rid of those Tyco locomotives and invest in Bachmann (if you don't want to spend an arm and a leg), or Athearn (if you want something a little better). Tyco stuff isn't worth the agony.

-J.


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## Bkubiak (Oct 20, 2013)

Mr.Buchholz said:


> I had bad luck with Tyco engines on my first layout years back. They are nothing but trouble, and have a tendency to break when you least expect them to. Tyco rolling stock wasn't much better. Get rid of those Tyco locomotives and invest in Bachmann (if you don't want to spend an arm and a leg), or Athearn (if you want something a little better). Tyco stuff isn't worth the agony.
> 
> -J.


You are so right about the Tyco's, I had them both running pretty good and smoking nicely. Then I set them aside to break in my NOS life like Mikado 2-8-2 steamer and my new athern diesel. This morning I went to run the tyco's again and both were a big PITA to get going again. starting, stopping, jerking, stumbling around, WTF a few weeks ago they were great, they are going on ebay, I want to save up to get a Broadway Limited steamer, I hear nothing but good things about them, How are the Bachman Steamers?


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Sorry to be so blunt, but after personally starting with the cheap stuff (TYCO, etc) and up-grading over the years, TYCO was really junk........unless it's all you have, or all you want to spend (waste) your money on.....IMHO.....


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

*Looks are deceiving!!*



Bkubiak said:


> I just acquired two Tyco loco's one is the 0-8-0 Chattanooga and the other is the 2-8-0 The Royal Blue Symptoms on both are the same, the light lights AND IT SOUNDS LIKE IT IS TRYING TO RUN
> Both of these are smokers and are driven by a motor in the Tender, never saw that before, it is new to me, I pulled the cover off the tenders to lube everything that looks like it should move and I can turn the big gear on the side of the motor, it is hard to turn.
> The wheels on the Loco itself are freewheeling and one pair has a cam on it that I do not know what that is supposed to do
> HELP me get em going before I have to bad mouth the seller who told me they run.


Hi Bkubiak, An employee of mine bought a Tyco Royal Blue Steamer off Ebay for $25.00 and the guy said it ran great....back in 1975!! Cosmetically looked great but what a dog. Brass Wheels on the Tender were filthy and the gears were dryer than a popcorn fart. He also took a soldering iron to it and melted the bolster for the engine draw bar on the Tender which broke into pieces. Took me a day and a half just to put Humpty Dumpy together again and get this sucker to move a couple inches on the test track. After huge cleaning and lube it goes pretty good forward but backward its herky jerky. Yeah, they are cheap for a reason and my advice is unload any and all Tyco stuff at a garage sale and use the money to buy better Track, Rolling Stock & Locomotives....Oh and I told my employee to jack this guy up and let him have it....seems these guys come out at christmas and sell junk!!!! Good Luck! :thumbsup:


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## ggnlars (Aug 6, 2013)

The jerky murky is due to fouled or uneven brushes. A problem, amount many, with these motors is the lube you put on the bearings gets centrifuges out on the communicator disc. This impedes current flow. With age the springs loose their tension. When a brush runs well in one direction, but poorly in the other it means one of the brushes is making poor contact. 
When an electric motor runs well on one day and after sitting it runs poorly, it is because the oil that was distributed when it was running well has settled on and in the brush pockets. Any electric motor would act the same way. This pancake design is more prone to it. 
To much oil in the wrong places is harmful. I know, because I've spent the last two days solving this very problem.
Larry
Check out my blog: www.llxlocomotives.com


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## dsertdog56 (Oct 26, 2014)

I had an issue with an equally cheap Mehano Pacific today doing the jerky thing. I took it apart and brand new out of the box, it had a contact shoe misaligned, and when I adjusted it, the solder joint popped off. New solder and the engine runs like a champ, crawling through turnouts and my diamond section smoothly as one would expect from a cheaper product.


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