# Marx M10000 questions



## 400E Blue Comet (Jul 11, 2014)

I decided to start looking at an old Marx M10000 I have tonight. I'm using a Lionel KW, which might be too much power for Marx trains but my other Marx locomotives seem to run on it, definitely too fast at full power. I've taken out the motor and tested it, and it can run on the track (I'm using a small oval right now, I've only run it a short distance on the oval just to be safe), but sometimes when I turn the power on it makes sort of a crackle or a snap sound. Is there anyway I can test to make sure the motor isn't damaged at all? The reason I ask is because my other Marx trains don't seem to make quite the same sound when I apply power to them, and I also may have seen smoke come out of it the first time I tested it however I'm not 100% positive. I pushed it on the power track while the power was on and I saw a lot of sparks and the possible smoke the first time, but I'm not totally sure if there really was smoke. The motor can definitely run, I'm just not sure if there's a short in it or not. Another question, where does the wire to the light connect to? When I looked at it the light's wire was disconnected (It's missing a lot of insulation on the half that leads to the train too so I may need to replace it) and I don't see any solder on the third rail pickup.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

The light bulb is wired in reverse. The insulated potion is ground by a rivet to the frame. The center wire comes up and solders to the side of the bulb we normally think as a ground. So that wire cannot be bare and touch the frame. Wheel sparks? Any old engine out of use sparks just run it and the wheel contact will improve.

I could be wrong if it looks likes this




In this case the wire from the bottom of the light cannot touch the frame.


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## 400E Blue Comet (Jul 11, 2014)

T-Man said:


> The light bulb is wired in reverse. The insulated potion is ground by a rivet to the frame. The center wire comes up and solders to the side of the bulb we normally think as a ground. So that wire cannot be bare and touch the frame. Wheel sparks? Any old engine out of use sparks just run it and the wheel contact will improve.
> 
> I could be wrong if it looks likes this
> 
> ...


Unfortunately that does seem to be a different motor, the light socket on my M10000 is part of the top of the shell. I cut most of the wire off because it was stripped, but not all of the wire. It seems to be able to run, but I haven't ran it all the way around the track yet, I'm not sure if there's some kind of partial short.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

This is the type of socket connection I first described. You could bench test and look for sparks around the frame and check for heat. As I said the wheels will spark from non use.


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## Dave Farquhar (Feb 20, 2013)

The voltage is the danger with a KW. Keep it below 16 volts and you're fine with Marx trains. The amperage is much higher than anything Marx ever made but trains only pull the amps they need, so no problem there.

The smoke you saw could have been from running at too high voltage, or merely oil burning off where it shouldn't have been. I've seen some nasty stuff get into the reverse units but they're self cleaning to a large degree, so if it's running now, and not acting up, don't worry about it.


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## Panther (Oct 5, 2015)

T-Man said:


> This is the type of socket connection I first described. You could bench test and look for sparks around the frame and check for heat. As I said the wheels will spark from non use.


I've never seen that particular front mount before. There are similar parts, but that one appears to be welded onto the front of the frame. I've never seen that done, as you would not be able to take the engine apart to rebuild it.

Dan


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

It isn't clear which lamp mounting is on your
loco. But it's a simple problem. One part of
the lamp socket will be grounded to the frame.
The wire would most likely go to the center
rail slider. You can test that without soldering
just by touching the wire to the center rail. If the light
glows you got it. If you get sparks it would
be the other way around.

Don


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Some info on he train. http://www.toyandtrainguides.com/marxtin/streamliner/m10000.htm
I would guess , as you did there is a short or some arching somewhere. If the insulation is off the wire its possible the wire might bounce enough to hit the tin shell. Try running it without the shell. If it doesn't make the same sound, bingo you got it. According to the article its a joy line motor.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

Panther said:


> I've never seen that particular front mount before. There are similar parts, but that one appears to be welded onto the front of the frame. I've never seen that done, as you would not be able to take the engine apart to rebuild it.
> 
> Dan


The socket is riveted to the frame of the reverse unit. That piece is removable if pried out.


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## Panther (Oct 5, 2015)

T-Man said:


> The socket is riveted to the frame of the reverse unit. That piece is removable if pried out.


I'm referring to the front motor mount, Usually those mounts are attached using bent tabs. That one appears to be welded on the lower left portion. It may just be lighting, the tabs could be there, just not noticeable.

Dan


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## 400E Blue Comet (Jul 11, 2014)

It seems to be able to go all the way around the track, so I guess the motor isn't damaged. I'm still not sure where the lamp goes- The lamp isn't like other Marx motors where the socket is part of the motor, the lamp is connected to the shell and there's a wire coming from the center contact on the lamp socket. My main concern of wiring the lamp to the center rail pickup is that it might give the lamp too much voltage or take away from the motor's power.
Side note: That yellow Marx switcher I made a thread about a while ago seems to be working now, I had to move the cylinder below the E-unit a couple times and it started moving.


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

I did find a post somewhere saying tbe light is connected directly to a tab on the motor. All I could find.


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## 400E Blue Comet (Jul 11, 2014)

sjm9911 said:


> I did find a post somewhere saying tbe light is connected directly to a tab on the motor. All I could find.


I'm not really sure if I can see a tab like that on the motor. From what I've read there's multiple versions of the Marx M10000, a lot of them look like they have slots on the side of the shell for the light switch or on-off switch. This one has some kind of switch next to the E-unit, but I'm not sure what it does. There are no slots in the shell other than the windows, not even to access that switch next to the E-unit. It doesn't appear to have a switch to turn the light on and off, however it definitely uses a working light, it's not the version with the silver piece where the light would be. Here are some pictures (For some reason they take up the screen, so I put them in a spoiler):


Spoiler


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