# post war gp-7 motor wiring problem...



## toki891 (Dec 27, 2011)

I have an old gp-7 locomotive that hasnt worked in over 20 years. from what i can remember (i was about 5) a wire fell off. over the years a few more fell off from playing with it as a child. I have an idea of where they all go but i want a positive answer.

it was my fathers when he was little. i would like to restore it this year and set it next Christmas.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

This is all the info.

The Olsen page.


I found the expert here great thread with pictures.


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## toki891 (Dec 27, 2011)

Thanks!!!! you rock!

it would appear my horn is missing  poop.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

I added more. Look again

Check the manual section for parts people. It is easy to get a horn


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

You can also add an electronic horn if that floats your boat.


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## toki891 (Dec 27, 2011)

err....

well it may live. one day... I got it to "move". it appears my e-unit is junk tho. the drum has a tooth broken off of it and a couple spots where it looks like it got hot and the pads melted into it. i also think my transformer is screwed up. off is on and on is off. i dont know if its giving full power even. i have to get a battery for my multimeter to find out whats up.


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

Your local hobby shop (LHS) can probably come up with a replacement drum for you. The one I go to always seems to have a half-dozen or so used ones just lying around on the repair bench.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Make sure you don't need the fingers as well. If the drum got cooked, chances are at least one of the fingers is toast as well.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

E-units can be serviced/repaired. A bit scary at first thought, but this two-part video will step you through the process quite clearly ...

http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=6131

TJ


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## toki891 (Dec 27, 2011)

weeeelll. it turns out a tooth on my e-unit was missing. it oddly still works tho. there is enough of a nub there that it actually grabs it still. cleaned it all up. even new solder and wire. it cant even get out of its own way still.

so i cleaned the motor. again. de-gunked all of the gears and greased them. same deal. if i put something under it so the wheels are not touching anything and jump the wires it will run but its still not strong.

so heres my third problem that i believe is causing my other problems. i noticed my transformer was NOT set on fast when i was testing. it was actually set to off yet still throwing current. putting the dial to fast or anywhere other off and there is no power at all. there WAS a wire loose inside i did have to re-solder on. did i screw something up and now im not getting enough juice? its a lionel 1053. is it junk?

*edit*
found me a wiring diagram

yay! it works! the e unit isnt 100% on reversing but it will work till i can get a new drum. Thank you everyone for the help! no way i could have gotten it without you guys. now off to clean a bunch of grimey nasty track... ugh.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

... sniff ... sniff ...

I just love a story with a happy ending! Nice work on the repairs ... another relic brought back to life! :thumbsup:

TJ


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

Stick Around! Make a video of that puppy running!:thumbsup:


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## toki891 (Dec 27, 2011)

i got a quick vid of it running around the little bit of rust old track that i have. ill have to get more some time here. is there any gooood way to recondition old track?? i thought i read it had a plating on it that you had to be carefull not to rub through. either way some of mine were reaaaallllllly rusty and have a few pit marks. would it be possible to strip them down completely, mask off the upper part of the rails, paint the lower, and coat the upper with some sort of conductive paint or something? or send them out and get them replated.... chrome... 

ha.

anyhow. im trying to track down some parts for a 6464 new haven boxcar thats giving me some troubles. mainly because im a new guy and i dont know what the parts are called that im looking for! its missing 2 axles and the wheels on the axles are gone obviously. i cant seem to find out what the part number is for them =/. im also missing both coupler latch things. yea... those. the little finger that latches. and the pins that hold them on. any ideas?

thanks again guys!

and whats the thoughts around here on repaints? yay or nay?


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

You can clean the crud/rust off of the track using a ScotchBrite pad and some WD-40 or GooGone. You really only need to get the tops and the pins (and mating holes) clean for the trains to run. That said, if the track is very rusty, you'll likely eat through any remaining plating during the clean process. In general, old track is not worth very much ... often less than the cost of shipping. So, you might not want to invest too much time. And spending money on disassembly and replate is ... well ... pure crazy talk  :retard:

Check out a recent thread featuring a grinder-mounted "burnishing wheel" ...

http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=8828

Here's some specs on the 6464. (The link likely won't work right now, but retry in a day or so ... the site is "down" on occassion.)

http://pictures.olsenstoy.com/searchcd31.htm?itm=425

TJ


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## toki891 (Dec 27, 2011)

I think I looked at that page already but I can't be sure now lol. I don't believe they had the wheels shown. 

And I took one straight piece of track apart to see how good I could get it. What a waste of time lol. My pins were all rusted and need to be re-set tho.


FYI if anyone is ever trying to use that site and its down just paste the url into google and use their cache system. the pictures and such all still work.


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