# Restoring Mantua/Tyco F9 Loco



## LBI_Crabbing (Jul 16, 2015)

I have a locomotive over 50 years old that does not run smoothly. I took it apart, and accidentally disconnected the wire that goes from the headlight back to the motor. Do I solder the wire to the post that the arrow points to in the attached photo? What else do I need to do to get this unit running again? I'm a newbie, so details are appreciated. The locomotive is from an old family collection I'm trying to get up and running again. Thanks for any help & suggestions. (Don't worry, I'm repainting the rails - "Rust" is too orange looking.)


----------



## ggnlars (Aug 6, 2013)

Yes, but it also can go on or under the bolt in the pix. Make sure it does not touch the wire on the other spring. As long as you have the power truck off. I would do some checking on the circuit. Usually, the power circuit on these comes from the metal wheels on the opposite trunk. Usually that wire goes to the light clip. A wire is soldered on the tip of the bulb. That wire connects under the bolt. That gives the voltage across the light and the motor. This is a series circuit. The problem is you have three connections that can cause problems. You can also create two parallel circuits. The first would come from the opposite truck to the appropriate brush clip. This appears to be what you have here. The light circuit Is completely separate from the motor operation. In that case there should be two wires from the bulb assembly. One from the bulb and one from the clip. These wires would connect to either brush clip. This Reduces the motor dependent joints to two. Fewer is always better.
I want you the verify the power truck circuit because normally the bolt is where the rear truck connects. You can verify that fairly easily.


----------



## kilowatt62 (Aug 18, 2019)

I'll be following this thread. Just to see how much the OP has been inapproiately confused concerning a simple fix. Touch the wire back to the pin the arrow is pointing to and test it. If doesn't work, test again elsewhere. Point will be found without issues.
More importantly; Said loco is running rough. More dialog needed concerning the cleaning and lubing of the innards. Now that, is a discussioun needed here.


----------



## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Well, yes, the light wire breaking / coming lose shouldn't affect the running of the loco. Running rough is just a feature of age. Lubricants don't last forever, and likely the ones on the loco have hardened over time. Using a cotton swabs, clean the gears and motor bushings with either isopropyl or denatured alcohol. Lubricate the bushings with a tiny drop of oil -- like put it on a toothpick or pin tiny. Lubricate the gears with a tiny dab of grease. Use dry graphite lubricant on the axle bearings. Don't just use any old products -- use ones specially designed for hobby use (LaBelle and Hob-e-Lube are two good and widely available brands).

Ordinarily, with a motor that old, I'd just recommend getting a new motor for it: new can motors with flywheeels are much smoother and more reliable than those old ones. Unfortunately, I don't know if there is a motor kit available for old Tyco / Mantua locks. Try Northwest Shortline. They also have a lot of good "how to" pages.


----------



## Dennis461 (Jan 5, 2018)

I believe the wire may have been under the spring in the area I've marked *blue, *along the edge of the fiber board. Use a small pointed tool to rotate the spring away from the board and slip the wire in.


----------



## LBI_Crabbing (Jul 16, 2015)

Thank you everyone for your helpful suggestions. (Sorry for the delay getting back, I've been busy with other things.) I'm going to try everyone's suggestions, but I'm wondering if Dennis461 hit the nail on the head regarding the head light. I say that because the wire seemed to just fall off. I didn't tug on it or anything and there's no sign of solder from a previous joint. I'll try the other suggestions for cleaning up the motor. I appreciate all the ideas, and I'll post back when I have some result(s).


----------



## Severn (May 13, 2016)

I tried resurrecting an old tyco golden eagle. My "fix" ended up being that I poked around on the web and found someone that claimed a not quite so old Stewart hobbies chassis fit. So bought that on eBay and they were right. But there's a lot more to do after that which has me wondering if it's worth it ...


----------



## LBI_Crabbing (Jul 16, 2015)

Hello everyone. After a long delay, I finally got back to repairing this locomotive. I cannibalized a light from a duplicate, but dead/damaged loco. I was able to solder the light's lead wire to a little "post" on the rear truck. This is where the headlight was connected on the cannibalized unit. It was hard (ie, impossible) to see where the gears were, so I placed a drop of light machine oil in a hole that seemed to make sense on the underside of the truck. Cleaned up the conducting wheels with a nail file donated by my wife. It runs better than ever! Thanks for the ideas and encouragement.
Hmm, I can't seem to upload a video of the running loco. I've attached a photo showing the light test.


----------



## MaxRon72 (11 mo ago)

LBI_Crabbing said:


> I have a locomotive over 50 years old that does not run smoothly. I took it apart, and accidentally disconnected the wire that goes from the headlight back to the motor. Do I solder the wire to the post that the arrow points to in the attached photo? What else do I need to do to get this unit running again? I'm a newbie, so details are appreciated. The locomotive is from an old family collection I'm trying to get up and running again. Thanks for any help & suggestions. (Don't worry, I'm repainting the rails - "Rust" is too orange looking.)
> 
> View attachment 539764
> View attachment 539765
> View attachment 539767


So I think I have one of these its a Chessie System, but I can't get the shell off was it glued on the sides?


----------

