Lgb 2085d Mallet Problem

Twin motor locos: I had a LGB Nikki & Franck S. It ran really badly if it would run at all and I eventually got so fed up that I shelled out the €100 for two new motors, given that I would never be sure which was at fault or if the other would fail shortly after. It ran perfectly after. Thank goodness it did otherwise I would have thrown it into the pond! :wondering:
 
stevedenver said:
I can say, simply, I do not overload. Very aware of the ramifications. A seven car train is a rarity, most being 3-5 , even w the mallets.
As parts are increasingly rare and pricey, I am extra careful to avoid stress. Wait until you need drive rods....

I have heard it is often the front unit which fails. Having noticed no slipping, nor feeling unequal weight, I have no clue why this is seemingly , a truism.
Click to expand...
Hm we used 3 different Malletts on the Ruschbahn. 2 Brown 1Black at varying times because of the Grunt they supplied on heavy Trains. No worries with 5-6 Heavy Bogie Coaches, all Metal Wheels up 1:30 Grade. Few Locomotives could reliably do this. Crocks slipped but not the Malletts. Motors after 8 years Service still all fine. We used my 2 Sachen Meyers on similar Turns with no problems either. However on my Green one I did have to replace both Motors when one Bogie started to run out of Sync. But the Motors were still both good as spares for Single Engines.
JonD
 
Hi all,
Tested both motors for current draw. Both had same problem: drew about 3 amps at 1/2 throttle, then at about 60% throttle, went right over 5 amps (also overloaded the 5 amp transformer). As soon as time available, will try dismantling to try motors stand-alone. Oh well........

Bob.
 
New Concern: Have the engine dismantled with motor unit intact. Is there any way to access the motor without removing all the gearing? I'm really hesitant to remove the gearing as I might not be able to get it together correctly later. The pics that came with the unit show the motor unit from the top down, but I can't see any way to get the housing off and think I will have to go at it from the gear bottom in. Any ideas?

Thanks,
Bob.
 
Thanks Philp,

I had the service diagrams already. I already dropped the blocks off the chassis. However, I can't find any way to get to the motor from the top. The top doesn't have any screws and appears sealed. Suggestions?

Thanks again,
Bob.
 
Maybe a daft suggestion, but if this is an older loco, it might have 'clamshell' blocks?

But if it is as per the Champex diagram, I reckon plate 129 needs to be removed with screw 132....
 
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Hi Gizzy and all,

Success (sort of). Extremely easy to get motor out. Turns out that there are 3 screws on the bottom gear plate. Leave the center one in to keep the gear in place. Remove the outer two screws since they connect to the top plate screw posts. Then just lift out the top post and motor accessible. Now the bad part: both motors are bad. Both load at over 5 amps at 60% throttle. Now to locate and order new motors.

Thanks all,
Bob.
 
Hi all,

Just wanted to let you know that I ordered 2 new motors for the 2085D. I found a really good with "Only Trains", a dealer with which I've been doing past business. Price was $60 each.

Btw, has anyone put a sound system into a 2085D or equivalent mallet? If so, what did you use and where did you put it?

All the best,
Bob.
 
There is plenty of room inside a 2085 for a sound system and a nice big speaker (a Visaton FRS5 or FRS7), Bob. If you only want analogue control then I'd recommend a Massoth S sound module, which is tiny (about 25mm x 35mm) and very easy to install (just two wires to track power and a plug-in connection to the speaker), that would also have the advantage of being fully DCC-controllable should you decide to DCC chip the loco at a later date. If you wanted to go DCC straight away, then a Massoth XLS sound and driving decoder would do the whole job in one go. There are of course many other options for both analogue and DCC, I only suggest Massoth because they are reliable, well-proven and easy to both install and set up (actually there should be virtually no setting-up required, you would buy an S already loaded with the correct sounds for the Mallet by the dealer, and it's very much plug-and-go).

Jon.
 
Indeed it is Jon.And good sound quality.
 
If fitting a Massoth 'S'.. You could make it 'difficult', and fit a volume control as well! - That would be two things to plug in.

Get the volume control, and decoder from the same supplier, and they can load the relevant sound-file and program it for an external volume control for you.
 
Thanks, guys. Sounds like the way to go. Any idea of where to put the speaker? Would sound holes be required and where would you suggest they be?

Btw, I just want to thank all of you who have been so very helpful. I really appreciate it.

Bob.
 
When you have opened up the loco body, there may well already be a speaker grille in the footplate? If not, then find a location on the footplate floor that doesn't get in the way of anything else, and drill a pattern of sound holes, then mount the speaker face down over the holes - it can be screwed in, or hot-glued, or even just fixed with a ring of blu-tack. Note that by "footplate" I don't just mean the cab floor, but the whole baseplate of the loco - the best place for the speaker is probably about mid-way along the loco's length, between the two weight blocks.
I tried to find a pic of when I had my Mallet opened up, but mine was a factory-sound version and had a very large and complex LGB sound board in it - in this pic, the speaker is underneath the boards, you can JUST make it out through the gap between main board (left) and sound board (right).

Mallet pic3-main+sound board.jpg


The second pic refers back to the "quartering" discussed earlier - this is the rear power unit of mine as it arrived (second-hand), and you can see it is out of quarter - while the rear axle at the right has a spoke that is vertical, the front axle (left) is a tooth out of quarter.....

Mallet rear unit.jpg

Jon.
 
Thanks Jon. I see how your mallet was arranged. I looked over mine (dismantled) and still can't find a spot for the speaker. Unfortunately, the 2085D I have has a center circuit board the entire length of the center of the unit. Then they placed a large lead weight over the whole thing. The only other place is back in the cab area, but that would really ruin the visual of the cab. I might have to forgo doing it in the engine and try rigging it in a following car. I'm still trying to find a way to fit a speaker in the engine, so will keep trying for awhile.

Bob.
 
If there is really no suitable spot inside the boiler/tanks assembly, then another option is inside the cab roof, facing downwards - you'd have to use a much flatter low-profile speaker, but it wouldn't be visible at normal viewing angles. The speaker can be very simply secured with a ring of blu-tack or white-tack, which can be pressed into place to form a sound-tight seal around the rear of the speaker.

Jon.
 
Thanks Neil and Jon. The ceiling of the cab was my thought also. I will have to move a mounted light there, but probably can do. I'll check into getting the speaker and the sound system.

All the best,
Bob.
 
Hi all,

Think I've figured out how to mount the speaker. I lifted the center circuit board and the massive metal heat sink and can raise it about 1 1/2 inches. I can then mount a 3 watt speaker facing downward, cover it with an insulating piece of flat plastic, and remount the circuit board/heat sink overtop of the plastic insulator. By cutting away part of the engine shell inside, all seems that it will fit. I have a Massoth shallow 3W speaker on hand, so will try it as time permits. When all remounted correctly, I can then put the massoth decoder and volume board in the shell. Make sense? Any problems foreseen?

Best regards,
Bob.
 
Before we get too far, looking at the Circuit Diagram for the 2085D it looks like there are 3 wires from each Chassis. What this means is that the circuit uses a Common wire for Track and Motor on one side. This is not suitable for DCC immediately, there is an easy fix but requires some cutting and re-wiring in the Motor Block so that the each Motor has 2 Wires and there are 2 Wires from the Track all separated. This has been shown on the site before so perhaps someone could show the link.

If I am wrong in this instance someone please shout at me!
JonD

This link might help, no pictures but I am sure somewhere there have been.

https://www.gscalecentral.net/threads/lgb-2017d-decoder-fitting.300818/#post-345492
 
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