Please help with my Aristo - RS-3!

2870 Views 14 Replies 7 Participants Last post by jctp421, Aug 8, 2008

jctp421

Discussion Starter · Aug 6, 2008

Hey all,

I got an RS-3 from ebay (aristocraft, NYC logo), it arrived yesterday. Great! i go to put it on the track (indoor) for the first run and...NOTHING/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/sad.gif. OK, i check the switch's and sure enough the motor switch is in the off position, great throw it in the on position, crank up power and...NOTHING!/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/crazy.gif i bring it to my test track, hook up power and still nothing. The lights come on fine, and i can even get the smoke unit to work, but no movement on the engine at all. I took the hoods off to get a look at the circut board and wiring and it all appears in place. However while unscrewing the circut board, it comes apart in the middle, breaks in half (expletive). Going from bad to worse. So i screw the circut board back down, throw it back on the test track, and while the engine still wont move the lights still come on and the smoke unit still works. What is going on?! One thing that i noticed is that on the circut board there are wires to plugs, two sets. One of which labeled motor is doubled back to itslef (not hooked up to the switch?), while the others go off to other parts of the engine. I am at work and dont have photos and can't remember the exact label on the circut board but beleive it was 'motor'

I got to the auction late and just bid on it before emailing the seller to see if it was in running condition, (i know, stupid) however looking at the wheels clearly show signs of ware so I know it was run prior to me owning it. His other auctions were most of the same thing, and new. The engine appears to be in fairly mint condition, with no signs of too much use.

Does anyone have any idea about what could be going on? The model is a mid '90's FYI.

Thanks in advance...

regards,

josh

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toddalin

· #2 · Aug 6, 2008

JC,

If you include your location, etc. in your profile, maybe someone in your area could take a look at it for you.

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toddalin

· #6 · Aug 6, 2008

Posted By jctp421 on 08/06/2008 12:33 PM
Posted By jmill24 on 08/06/2008 11:45 AM
The previous owner may have ran it on battery power and disconnected the track pick-ups. This was done to assure the battery power would not conduct to the track..........Jim

i dont run battery power, but would it then still draw current from the track to run lights/smoke? or would all this be through battery? When i put it on the track, and give it power it the lights and smoke work
Update - I talked to the seller and he said this was stored in a locked case, and never ran. While it shows some use, as i said earlier it is very clean looking.
Other thoughts?
How is aristocraft to work with if i call them on the phone?

It is certainly possible (but unlikely) that the prior owner was creative and wanted to run the motors on battery, but to save from taxing the batteries and increase run time, ran the lights and smoke off the track power. There should be some indication of prior battery use though (like extra wire hookups to a trailing battery car, or stuff was moved around in the engine to make room for on-board batteries, or...
Have you actually tried to apply power directly to a motor leads while you have it open? (Worth a try.) It is certainly possible that a "trace" to the motors burned through on the the circuit board. I've done this on several engines in the event of a derailment and had to go in and put jumper wires in place of the traces. It is even possible (though unlikely) that the motor switch has gone bad. You can check this with an ohm meter looking for continuity.
AristoCraft can be very easy to deal with.

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