# American Flyer 21160 Shelf Display



## BrokeCurmudgeon (Feb 8, 2016)

I have spent the better part of three days and twenty hours trying to get the 21160 to run. I have torn it down to basic parts at lease six times and cleaned and lubricated it. I am now quite proficient in dissembling and reassembling Atlantic's especially a 21160. The motor sometimes hums and doesn't turn the armature. I have checked all wiring, field winding and armature with an ohm meter and they all check out good. I then tried several arrangements with washers on the front and bottom bearings. It acts like the armature is binding and the current to the loco causes the hookup wires to heat up a little bit. (My 15B Transformer has a faulty circuit breaker so I am cautious about over heating a motor) I have replaced the brushes and springs twice. Still nothing! I read or heard on a video that some times the bearing in the brush assembly can have too much play and that can cause these symptoms. But it seems OK to me with very little excessive play. I did buy a used brush assembly online so who knows? 
So, I am tired. I have three Atlantic's but none run. Early on, someone in this forum suggested putting the 21160 on a shelf and look at it. It has very little value and I don't want to spend more money on it. So, I hope that it doesn't collect much dust!:smilie_daumenneg:


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

BrokeCurmudgeon said:


> I have spent the better part of three days and twenty hours trying to get the 21160 to run. I have torn it down to basic parts at lease six times and cleaned and lubricated it. I am now quite proficient in dissembling and reassembling Atlantic's especially a 21160. The motor sometimes hums and doesn't turn the armature. I have checked all wiring, field winding and armature with an ohm meter and they all check out good. I then tried several arrangements with washers on the front and bottom bearings. It acts like the armature is binding and the current to the loco causes the hookup wires to heat up a little bit. (My 15B Transformer has a faulty circuit breaker so I am cautious about over heating a motor) I have replaced the brushes and springs twice. Still nothing! I read or heard on a video that some times the bearing in the brush assembly can have too much play and that can cause these symptoms. But it seems OK to me with very little excessive play. I did buy a used brush assembly online so who knows?
> So, I am tired. I have three Atlantic's but none run. Early on, someone in this forum suggested putting the 21160 on a shelf and look at it. It has very little value and I don't want to spend more money on it. So, I hope that it doesn't collect much dust!:smilie_daumenneg:


I hate those 5-digit Atlantics,lol. I have one and only one, for obvious reasons!! They are finicky, to be sure.. Put it on a shelf..For a Atlantic, you just can't go wrong with the 302, any of the 3 variations. Virtually trouble free, and easy to work on, not to mention cheap and dependable.


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## daveh219 (Sep 16, 2012)

Agree with the 5-diget Atlantics. Love my 303's. :smilie_daumenpos:


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

Broke, I know you wanted to get 21160 running. Its just not to be right now. I suggest
you put it away for a month or 2 and move to one of your other locos. When assembled,
if you can turn the armature with your finger and it turns fairly easy then nothing is binding. 21160 has the reverse unit in loco and those are what flyernut is saying is finicky.
I don't know how you bypass the reverse unit and jump the wires. Stay away from those 5 digit flyers.

I have a 302 that has so much slop in the drive line you would not believe. I put 3 washers on one end and 2 on the other. And it still was not binding with brush bracket on.
It did take a lot of the slop out. But would not run. I put 1 washer on each end and she runs fine. It don't care about the slop so I guess I shouldn't either.

There is still hope for 21160. My 282 I worked on for 3 years. It was running at half the speed it should and getting hotter than a firecracker. I said I was going to make a shelf queen out of it and the guys here said don't retire it, that I would get it going. It was a year later, but I did get it running. I think 282 would out run anything I have and motor does not even get warm. Was a bad armature and it checked out fine on the multimeter. Don't ask me how.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

Have you tried checking the tender trucks for shorts?


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

Wouldn't that blow the transformer breaker? Not sure just asking.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

Only a direct short, I have seen them short enough to just mess with the engine running. With the shifting weight the contacts are shorts making it difficult to find.


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## cramden (Oct 13, 2015)

You should be able to eliminate the tender to test the engine. It was made with a 2 prong plug that connected to the tender for power. Just connect the wires off the transformer to the 2 prongs on the plug. You could have a problem with the forward/reverse switch on the back of the cab, basically it's a DPDT switch that reverses the motor by changing the polarity.http://myflyertrains.org/gallery/album209/locowiring_2. Maybe best to leave it on the shelf.


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