# Lifelike FA2 Repair



## wongkw (Nov 17, 2011)

Hi,

I bought some used track, piers, and transformer several months ago and the person I purchased from found a non-functioning Lifelike FA2 that he threw into the lot. The steps on one side were broken off but were still in the case so should be repairable with some superglue. The loco housing came off really easily and I found the headlight was detached in addition to the wires from the trucks to the motor. Not quite sure how everything got detached but after I did some research, found out how to rewire everything. I'd like to try and resolder the wiring and see if I can get it to function again. I figure it's a free loco if I can get it working again, if motor is dead then I'll use it as a dummy loco or something. When I was fiddling with the wires, I found the insulation was really stiff, difficult to strip and turned white when I bent them. I figure it would be best to replace the wire rather than use the original ones. My question is...what is the best guage to use as replacement?

Thanks,

Kevin


----------



## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

18 to 22 gauge fine stranded wire will work great!


----------



## Xnats (Dec 5, 2010)

Just because this is N Scale I,m going to say #28 awg is a better all around size. Sean has way more experience them me, but the 18 gauge just seems huge. That would be a tough solder onto a DCC circuit board, for future use/ upgrades. A good free source of #28 wire is from an old ribbon ide cable from a computer.


----------



## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

You know what Stan is exacty right... I was in HO mode...hwell:
N #24 to #28 awg would be a lot better.
It needs to be the soft jacketed fine stranded wire for flexability.


----------



## makarick123 (Jun 18, 2011)

*great answer*

:thumbsup:


NIMT said:


> You know what Stan is exacty right... I was in HO mode...hwell:
> N #24 to #28 awg would be a lot better.
> It needs to be the soft jacketed fine stranded wire for flexability.


I always cut my wires a little longer than needed , strip both ends but one end strip longer , twist ends neatly and tightly tin the longer stripped end solder this connection to the harder to get to connection then after cool slide the insulation up to the soldered end prepare the other end of the wire cutting to a suitable length, twist, tin and solder.
Another handy thing to have on hand is liquid electrical tape a little dab makes a nice neat job keeps wires from causing shorts too!

Hope my 2 cents worth helps someone out -good luck with the loco.

You can find me on ebay makarick123


----------



## flyvemaskin (Nov 19, 2011)

The llife like FA-2 is a supurb pulling loco, it's heavy weight really helps, and it's well worth the effort to get it going again. Even a new motor would still be worth it. I have a powered A & B and they'll easily pull everything I own, run great also. I'a a big fan of Life Like's newer equipment.


----------

