# Yikes! Badly burned components



## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

I have an LGB Mogul which I inherited from distant relative. It's always run well although it sometimes seems to get a little jerky when i run it with another loco which has an onboard train enginee receiver. Anyway I opened it up today to see about installing a 75 mhz receiver in the Mogul. I pulled the cab off and found what's in the picture below--BADLY burned elecrtrical components. 

The burned components are on the engineer's side (the right side if you are looking through the cab from the back). The picture below is taken looking back towards the cab on the same side. The burning is localized to this side of the board and the other side and the rest of the board looks fine.

This Mogul, I should note, has never had a working smoke generator. It didn't ork when I got it in September and has never worked since. I'm hoping those burned out components are just part of the smoke generator, because everything else works. But before I go to the expense and bother of converting it to RC operation, I thought I'd ask. Any thoughts?

Thank you


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

Crispy!


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## Madstang (Jan 4, 2008)

If I remember correctly you can attach to the Aristo Accessory board, a smoke unit I mean, but then it would have to be a smoker that matches with the volts the aristo puts out. 

otherwise if everything works...and the lack of a smoke unit doesn't matter..why bother. 

One thought though..does the engine you want to convert to a Mini-onboard, already have a LGB decoder installed? 

I have noticed that when I have tried to run a LGB engine with a Airwire controled motor, WITH an LGB engine with an LGB decoder in it...I get very jerky operation to the point that they both do not run.......I removed the LGB decoders from the engine that had them THEN ran them with the one controlled by the Airwire that didn't have the LGB decoders installed... ..NO problem from that point. 

So to make a long story short with the Air-wire you cannot run the LGB decoders also..it will not work! 
Aristo may bve the same way...if there is an LGB decoder installed...if not.....never mind! 

Bubba


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## dbodnar (Jan 2, 2008)

You are right about the burned components being part of the smoke circuit. The larger component is a voltage regulator that holds the smoke generator at a low voltage as the track voltage increases. That allows the smoke to start flowing at low speed. 

I would not bother repairing it if smoke is not a priority. 

dave


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

Thanks everyone. I did some poking around this afternoon before I had to go to work, and I'm confident it's the components for the smoke generator, which I can live without. I did not see anything like a DCC decoder but I'll check it over carefully. I need to find the wires that bring track power from the tender and then I think I can install the aristo receiver. There' an article describing how to do it at LSOL and so far mine looks exactly as described


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## Tom Lapointe (Jan 2, 2008)

*Judging by the general shape & appearance of the large "blob" on the left, it looks like a tantalum capacitor that shorted - they often go spectacularly /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/crazy.gif & smelly!/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/sick.gif                                                                                                                                                              Tom
*


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Posted By dbodnar on 02/27/2008 5:05 PM
You are right about the burned components being part of the smoke circuit. The larger component is a voltage regulator that holds the smoke generator at a low voltage as the track voltage increases. That allows the smoke to start flowing at low speed. 

I would not bother repairing it if smoke is not a priority. 

dave

Looks to me like you had all the smoke you could ever want from that little lot .

Over here in yUK, where Lucas, AKA The Prince of Darkness, invented the short circuit, those of us brought up on British motorcycles learned to live with what we called 'electricity leaks' - the smoke that could often be seen pouring out of our generators and sundry wiring was called 'leaking electricity'....

Best to remove it all and start over, if you want to that is.

tac
www.ovgrs.org


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## Dan Pierce (Jan 2, 2008)

Do all the lights work properly? Many moguls used that regulator circuit for 5 volt lamps. 18 volt screw base bulbs just used straight track power.


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

The lights do work, but I'm about to change them over to be run by the aristo onboard receiver


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

TAC, what's wrong with Lucas electrics? I worked on a BSA 441 Victor that had a smoke unit in it that worked fine! (No voltage regulation but lots of smoke!). That proceeded to overcharge and melt the battery... now that's power! My Mini Cooper S also had a sophisticated electrical system, 2 fuses in the entire car, a fuel pump that ticked like a time bomb, a regulator that would stick in the full charge position (just tap it with a hammer to release) and a starter motor so balky, that the end of the shaft was exposed with flats on it so you could unjam the starter gear with a wrench. 

Man, that was living! 

Greg


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## Dan Pierce (Jan 2, 2008)

Since the lights work, the diodes for the light directions are working, it is just the regulator circuit with a problem. If the capacitor is replaced then the smoke unit may work once again. 

If you want smoke, you could convert the smoke unit to either 18 or 24 volt unit, or install yur own 5 volt regulator circuit. 

I have repaired several of these boards and made them good as new and kept the engine with original wiring. 

With the 75 mhz receiver and the optional relay card you can control lights, smoke and sound in that mogul. Just put the receiver in the tender with a Black-kat antenna.


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

On further examination last night I realized that the ribbon cable that connects the tender and loco has a break in it and was only working intermittently. 
So I'm pulling the circuit board from the tender and I'll run new wires for power and rear lights to the 75 mhz unit. I can live without the smoke.


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## Paul Norton (Jan 8, 2008)

Make sure the lights do not draw more than 200 milliamps or you could fry the receiver’s lighting circuit. I learned the hard way hooking up the factory lighting circuits in a USAT GP-9 to the receiver.
 
If there is a voltage regulator for the lights it would not be needed, as the receiver puts out a constant 20 volts for constant intensity lighting.
 
I now replace factory lighting circuits with LEDs.
 








 








 
LEDs wired in series with the appropriate resistors draw 20 milliamps or less, which is easy on the receiver’s lighting circuits and extends run times.


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

Thanks Paul--I'm going to follow Aristo's instructions, which are to put 1k ohm resistors on each LED


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

well it's done--some cursing, some clumsy mistakes, but it's all back together and working. Tore all the LGB wiring out--there wasn't much to it with the smoke detector fried--and replaced the incadescents with leds. It works! Runs remotely, sharing a track wth my aristo mikado. Thanks everyone


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