Thomas loco smoking and tripping power supply.

[ShaneGoesArd]

Hi all, I was given a Thomas Hornby set for my son a year ago, I set it up once, but it was too big, and too delicate for him to play with, so stuck it back in the box on top of a wardrobe for later. The other day he spotted it and asked to play with it. He's mental about trains, especially Thomas, so I got it down and assembled it.

All was well, and he was having fun watching the train go round the track, adjusting the speed, making it go backwards, etc. But then disaster struck, the loco stopped working and started smoking. I thought maybe it's just over heated, or the motors burnt out.

Tried again today and no luck, it runs for maybe 2 seconds then cuts out, and you can smell electrical burning. He's in bits as he really wanted to play with it. 

Which brings me to why I'm here, does anyone know what could be the cause of it? could it be the motor? I heard that they have a life of 100 hours and as far as I'm aware, the set had never been used, other than the 10-15 minutes we used it. 

One thing to add, in his excitement he dribbled on the track, could this have an effect?

I have no experience with Hornby products prior to this, so I'm a fish out of water here. 

The set is the basic starter pack, 1 x Thomas loco, 2 x Carriages, 1 x Circular track, Transformer & Controller. 

[Chrissaf]

Do you set the track up on the floor or a carpet?

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If so, the locos quickly pick up a lot of fluff and debris that gets wrapped around the moving parts gears and motor. This can cause excessive drag and could potentially burn. Drag causes the motor to draw more electrical current, more current means more heat. An escalating cycle.

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Another possibility (again if set up on the floor), is the loco has picked up some metallic fibres of some kind. There could be an intermittent or resistive short such that you get short periods of running and then something touches to cause a brief short.

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Anything that causes excess electrical current to be drawn (excess drag or electrical shorting) will cause the controller (I assume you have a R8250 train set controller) to shut down for about 10 to 15 minutes and then start up again. This is its self protection mode kicking in.

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You will probably need to remove the body off the loco and check for and remove any loose debris that shouldn't be there. Whilst it is apart, a spot of VERY LIGHT lubrication might be advisable as it has been in storage for some considerable time and the oils might have dried out (causing more drag). Do NOT use general oils such as 3in1 or WD40 or similar, over time they attack the plastics. Use specialist model oil or at a pinch light 'Sewing Machine' oil.

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However all that said, the smoking and the smell of electrical buring does seem to point to permanent damage to the one or more of the motor coils caused by over-heating, possibly drag induced.

[NWR-Gordon-4]

When you purchased the set, was it new?

 

GNR-Gordon-4

[ShaneGoesArd]

When you purchased the set, was it new?

 

GNR-Gordon-4

I was gifted it by a workmate, who's father had bought it for his son, but he had never used it as his son was never interested. 

[Chrissaf]

You have used up your intial two newbie posts, a limit introduced to limit bogus SPAM accounts flooding the forum. Post again in 24 hours time after which you should be able to post freely.

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PS - Please do try and avoid using the 'white arrow in blue box' button. This is not a 'Reply to this post' button. It is always preferable to use the reply text box at the bottom of the page and click the Green 'Reply' button.

[96RAF]

I would contact Hornby Customer Care at the number below and tell them the story. You were gifted the set (tell them the R number off the box) a year ago by a person who bought it new but never used it. Now that you have finally got round to setting it up and have ran it a while it has started smoking and is now caput. What do they suggest?

You may be surprised.

Rob

[NWR-Gordon-4]

ShaneGoesArd, thanks for the information. I suggest you do what RAF96, has already suggested. That is contacting Hornby.

 

GNR-Gordon-4

[Andrew-1211373]

I've Seen A Video Of Model Train Motor Fails By A YouTuber I Watch: Sam's Trains. Here's The Link:

I Hope This Helps