Battery Contact Rebuild Options - Playmobil 99 805 Engine

[Jthomp33]

Hello all,

First time post to the forums so forgive me if this is not the appropriate place to post this question.

I am in the process of ‘restoring’ a Playmobil train set for my son and needless to say - there is loads of corrosion. So much so that the metal on the battery contacts has deteriorated.

I am thinking the best solution is to remove the existing copper strips/contacts and try and cut/manufacture new ones from a sheet of thin copper.

I would appreciate anyone being able to weigh in on the situation.

Thanks in advance!

~JT

 

[playmofire]

On the bottom of the casing there is a stamp with the maker's name and other details on. Check if this has on the number 30 66 642 or maybe 30 66 6420. If it has either of these, then I have a spare chasssis with perfect contacts. I can post photos later.

 

[-bbbb]

You can clean the contacts and it should work fine. Sand paper should be sufficient if you try long enough, but try not to grind completely through as to break the metal. Just make it shiny again.
This video may contain some helpful information:

Also try bending the contacts so they are closer to the battery. Make sure they touch the battery contacts.

But if a piece of the contact is broken off, you can try attaching a copper bit to extend the length, and then solder the extension so as to have a good connection to the extended contact.

You may also need to clean the battery contacts for the battery to charge . But if it's an old black nicad then it might not hold much charge any more if any; then you'd need to replace the battery, preferably with the grey open-able kind., but you can also open the old battery pack and replace the cells.

 

[Jthomp33]

You can clean the contacts and it should work fine. Sand paper should be sufficient if you try long enough, but try not to grind completely through as to break the metal. Just make it shiny again.
This video may contain some helpful information:

Also try bending the contacts so they are closer to the battery. Make sure they touch the battery contacts.

But if a piece of the contact is broken off, you can try attaching a copper bit to extend the length, and then solder the extension so as to have a good connection to the extended contact.

You may also need to clean the battery contacts for the battery to charge . But if it's an old black nicad then it might not hold much charge any more if any; then you'd need to replace the battery, preferably with the grey open-able kind., but you can also open the old battery pack and replace the cells.

Thanks for the information and video link. I’ve cleaned most since the photo was taken but the issue is the positive terminal is physically broken. I was unsure whether I could solder a new small section (spring plate) on or if I had to cut and reshape a brand new piece running from the positive wire on down.

I have the old battery pack (4392?) and have removed the old batteries out of the casing and plan to put a new pack of 4 in (pre-wired in series). I’d ideally like to get the 7829 battery pack but called Playmobil (UK) and they no longer sell it, which was frustrating seeing as people reportedly were able to buy them a year or so ago.

 

[playmofire]

Thanks for the information and video link. I’ve cleaned most since the photo was taken but the issue is the positive terminal is physically broken. I was unsure whether I could solder a new small section (spring plate) on or if I had to cut and reshape a brand new piece running from the positive wire on down.

I have the old battery pack (4392?) and have removed the old batteries out of the casing and plan to put a new pack of 4 in (pre-wired in series). I’d ideally like to get the 7829 battery pack but called Playmobil (UK) and they no longer sell it, which was frustrating seeing as people reportedly were able to buy them a year or so ago.

I think I have a 7829 somewhere.

Are you intending to take the cleaning and repairing route or should I post the photos of the spare part I mentioned in my post?

 

[Greg Elmassian]

Using copper will not have the spring and contact to hold the connection easily.

Normally these connections are nickel plated steel. (Sometimes steel-copper-nickel like an chrome bumper) Sanding off the remaining nickel plating is not a good idea in my opinion.

An acid-based lime and scale and rust remover will remove the corrosion and other stuff, neutralize with water.

This appears to be a 9v "transistor" battery, so why not solder in pigtails with a proper connector:

 

[playmofire]

Using copper will not have the spring and contact to hold the connection easily.

Normally these connections are nickel plated steel. (Sometimes steel-copper-nickel like an chrome bumper) Sanding off the remaining nickel plating is not a good idea in my opinion.

An acid-based lime and scale and rust remover will remove the corrosion and other stuff, neutralize with water.

This appears to be a 9v "transistor" battery, so why not solder in pigtails with a proper connector:

It's 4 x1.5 volt batteries, Greg.

 

[-bbbb]

Thanks for the information and video link. I’ve cleaned most since the photo was taken but the issue is the positive terminal is physically broken. I was unsure whether I could solder a new small section (spring plate) on or if I had to cut and reshape a brand new piece running from the positive wire on down.

I have the old battery pack (4392?) and have removed the old batteries out of the casing and plan to put a new pack of 4 in (pre-wired in series). I’d ideally like to get the 7829 battery pack but called Playmobil (UK) and they no longer sell it, which was frustrating seeing as people reportedly were able to buy them a year or so ago.

I wouldn't rely upon the solder for physical support, but if you connect a piece of copper to the broken copper bit, and secure it, then solder over the secured connection, it should work. I would add a more rigid piece of copper and rely upon the old existing portion for the springy-ness. I have some of those copper tracks loose, I thought I was going to replace some old ones with the better quality loose ones, but it was a bit more difficult to remove the old corroded ones than it was worth.

I'm not sure what Greg has in mind, I've only seen the RC playmobil train contacts in copper and I've grinded in past the surface only to find more copper. Maybe the contacts on the battery packs themselves fit Gregs description, but I'm not sure what you can do about that. But yes some kind of chemical cleaner may allow a longer life for the contacts since you can only sand or grind them so many times before they may break. But I've sanded several and they're still fine years later, but I typically use fine grit and try to only sand them enough to have a shine on the connection point. The playmobil RC trains already run a bit too fast at the maximum 6 volts they are designed for. I would not recommend using a 9 volt battery in the RC variety of playmobil trains.

 

[Greg Elmassian]

Ahh, 1.5 v batteries... I would get a replacement chassis, or see if I could fit a small battery holder inside. AA or AAA?

Without knowing the form factor, like this? (4 AA in series)

You can see it has a 9v type of connector.

If I could see the undamaged contacts, it would help, clearly they were plated, perhaps the did not rely on spring tension, that was indeed a guess on my part.

Seeing a picture of the undamaged unit will help.

Anyway, lots of options cheaply

 

[Jthomp33]

On the bottom of the casing there is a stamp with the maker's name and other details on. Check if this has on the number 30 66 642 or maybe 30 66 6420. If it has either of these, then I have a spare chasssis with perfect contacts. I can

On the bottom of the casing there is a stamp with the maker's name and other details on. Check if this has on the number 30 66 642 or maybe 30 66 6420. If it has either of these, then I have a spare chasssis with perfect contacts. I can post photos later.

Thanks for your response. I’d really like to fix the unit I have but a spare in good condition to use in the interim would make my kids happy as they’d have a train for Christmas!

One of those numbers is on the bottom, see below:

 

[Jthomp33]

CORRECTION: I have a 4220 battery, but still similar to the 4392:

I have an RC battery pack I purchased I was going to solder in place of the existing series unit. I also bought a 4 slot battery pack with a 9v connection as well - unfortunately it does not fit into the 4220 casing so my choice would be to wire in the RC battery pack which is essentially the same- 4 batteries wired in a series.


I am still debating on which route to go but I really like the idea of soldering in a 9v connector to connect to the 4 battery holder.

Another option is ordering a battery contact tab similar to the one below and soldering it into place after cutting the tops of the existing tabs:

 

[Jthomp33]

Here is ‘better’ photos of the contacts. The right is intact and fine, the left- not so much:

 

[-bbbb]

If I could see the undamaged contacts, it would help, clearly they were plated, perhaps the did not rely on spring tension, that was indeed a guess on my part.

Seeing a picture of the undamaged unit will help.

They do have a bit of spring tension, but they are not as springy as they could be; they have the tendency of needing to be pulled back out after they have been pressed in too much.
I have some uninstalled I've been intending to use; they aren't new, but in better condition than some of the others I have. Though I don't know how to get the old ones out without damaging the plastic.
They are very thin and I don't see a difference in color between the outside and the inside when grinding gouges. Are they 'clearly' plated in the sense of transparently?

I like the idea of using the battery contacts in JT's situation, though I'd probably end up merely bending the broken one to stick out and reach the battery and clean the oxidization.

Here's what someone did to make a custom battery holder:

I prefer this method:

 

[Paul M]

Are the contacts not something like phosphor bronze, rather than copper or steel?

 

[dunnyrail]

Whilst Greg got the idea wrong I cannot see why a 9v battery would not work. Perhaps the RC may not like that additional 3v but I doubt it would be an issue?Certainly the motor would have no problem with the extra juice being a near LGB clone motor.

 

[-bbbb]

Paul, I'm not certain if it could be a copper alloy, but maybe Walter Turner would know.

Jon, the main reason I wouldn't use 9 volts on the 27 mhz RC playmobil trains is because they already seem too fast to me at 6 volts. My rechargeable AA's supply a bit less than 6 volts since they aren't 1.5v and they still make them seem fast. I don't know if 3 more volts would harm anything either, but I have no reason to take the risk. However, my rechargeable lithium ion 9 volt batteries only have 9 volts at a full charge and quickly shift to about 7.4 volts for the rest of their use, and adding LED's, smoke units, or sound may help divert some of the energy from the motor, so maybe there is a way to get away with a 9 volt battery to work without too much of an increase in the max speed. The playmobil RC train I added a LED headlight to is noticeably slower than the one I have without an LED, when both have fully charged batteries.

 

[dunnyrail]

Paul, I'm not certain if it could be a copper alloy, but maybe Walter Turner would know.

Jon, the main reason I wouldn't use 9 volts on the 27 mhz RC playmobil trains is because they already seem too fast to me at 6 volts. My rechargeable AA's supply a bit less than 6 volts since they aren't 1.5v and they still make them seem fast. I don't know if 3 more volts would harm anything either, but I have no reason to take the risk. However, my rechargeable lithium ion 9 volt batteries only have 9 volts at a full charge and quickly shift to about 7.4 volts for the rest of their use, and adding LED's, smoke units, or sound may help divert some of the energy from the motor, so maybe there is a way to get away with a 9 volt battery to work without too much of an increase in the max speed. The playmobil RC train I added a LED headlight to is noticeably slower than the one I have without an LED, when both have fully charged batteries.

Ok other option may be to get a 4xAA rechargeable pack, place in the space where the original went and retire with a switch and charge socket plus a Smart Charger. Bit more work and cost but would give you what you need.

 

[Xav204]

Thank you for having explained better than me.

One of my loco, bought second-hand, had been sent with big elastic.
The seller used it to block the battery holder.
He did not think to adjust connectors.

I had the chance to buy 2 grey battery holders from Playmobil FR, a long time ago, when they still had it.
I did paint one in black color for locos who have black frame, and the second in red color ( for red frame )
Unfortunately, I do not succeed in adjusting connectors of RC block motor of the loco underneath.





So this loco does not run with red battery holder, but it runs perfectly with the black.
( And the red battery works fine with other locos )

This Playmobil system can be capricious, even for adults...
It is worth reflecting on best solution...

 

[Xav204]

I like the idea of jthomp33 to buy this item
It seems it could be easily adapted in the block, once current connectors are cleaned.

 

[JimmyB]

They do have a bit of spring tension, but they are not as springy as they could be; they have the tendency of needing to be pulled back out after they have been pressed in too much.
I have some uninstalled I've been intending to use; they aren't new, but in better condition than some of the others I have. Though I don't know how to get the old ones out without damaging the plastic.
They are very thin and I don't see a difference in color between the outside and the inside when grinding gouges. Are they 'clearly' plated in the sense of transparently?
View attachment 306658
I like the idea of using the battery contacts in JT's situation, though I'd probably end up merely bending the broken one to stick out and reach the battery and clean the oxidization.

Here's what someone did to make a custom battery holder:

I prefer this method:

The method you prefer would not fix the OP's issue, as it is outside the battery holder that the contacts have corroded.