# Aristo Mallet R/C, etc. questions.



## noela (May 22, 2008)

Has anybody done an install of Revolution, Phoenix (or other sound) and battery pack in the new Aristo-Craft mallet?. Looking to do this. Instructions for using a battery car mention that track power pick-up should be disconnected, is that necessary when switch is in battery position? If so, how would one go about severing the track connections without damaging them for possible future use?
Thank you.


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

My newest mallet I simply cut the wires from the tender truck pickups in a place where I could resolder them again if I wanted. 
color code them before you cut them. 
I switched it to battery and hooked up my RPO heavy weight battery only car and off she went. OH, I did stick in a revo and programed it. 
I don't have a Phonex sound board for it yet.


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

I have had a Phoenix sound system in my Mallet tender since I bought it shortly after it came out. Last winter I purchased a Revo and Li battery set from Stan Cedarleaf. He then helped me install the REVO and batteries in a box car. We plugged in the leads from the box car to the tender, threw the switch under the cab from track to battery and off it went. I did have to cut one of the tender pickup wires because it was feeding some current back into the track through the tender pickups.

I'm very pleased with the setup. 


Chuck


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## Robby D (Oct 15, 2009)

Useing the track/battery switch will work. You can tie your battery into the battery plug wires. Just use a Revo with a Phoenix P8. By keeping the track pickups it will allow you to run on battery or track power.


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Robby:

For reasons that I don't understand, other engines on my layout began to move when I first put the Mallet with the battery car on the track. Remember that the track battery switch had been thrown to battery. After talking to Stan Cedarleaf, I then cut one of the tender truck power pickups and then everything went back to what was expected. For some reason there was some current going back to the track through the tender. What was really confusing was that I had diodes in the track to isolate sidings so that with a change of polarity I could start engine stop a train and send another in the opposite direction. Some how some where an AC pulse was getting into the track, because both engines started moving in opposite directions. The movement was very slow and jerky, one would move and then the other would move. Cutting the tender pickup wire stopped the back current.

Chuck


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## TonyWalsham (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By chuck n on 17 Jul 2011 03:00 PM 
SNIP
....... I did have to cut one of the tender pickup wires because it was feeding some current back into the track through the tender pickups.

I'm very pleased with the setup. 


Chuck 



Just to be certain. This is the *NEW* Mallet we are talking about, is it not?
If so it sounds as though there could be a problem with the tender wiring. Are you saying the TRACK - BATTERY switch does not isolate the track completely?
How did you discover there was current being fed back to the track.

There were problems with the track pick up wiring on some earlier AristoCraft steam outline locos.


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Tony:

This was one of the original Mallets.

Chuck 

I think that I may have been answering your question in my previous post as you were asking it. If that doesn't help let me know and I'll try again. 

It appears that the track/battery switch isolated the engine, but not the tender!!


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## TonyWalsham (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks Chuck. 
The track pick ups on many early steam loco tenders were mis-wired. You could either cut them out or move them to the other pair of terminals. 

The original posting was asking about the new version of the Mallet.


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Tony:

I agree that it was about the new one, but I think that people need to be made aware of potential problems, that might or might not be present. Until we know for sure that all the new tenders are wired correctly, some caution is necessary.

Chuck


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

I did not test my brand new vandy , but based on all past tenders, they were not isolated from track. I need to check the new instruction manuel. 
Did,'t Noel address this?


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## Robby D (Oct 15, 2009)

If it is an original mallet and not of the recent new version then you will need to cut all the pickup wires from the loco and the tender as it will backfeed power to the rails.


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## TonyWalsham (Jan 2, 2008)

If the new Mallet has the PnP socket moved to the tender, I would have thought that AristoCraft would have taken the opportunity to correct previous wiring mistakes.


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