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Brake Clean Info Please

5K views 10 replies 8 participants last post by  400E Blue Comet 
#1 ·
Trying to get a Marklin 8875 back to life I over oiled the trucks & now have oil on the contacts.

In my automotive experience I've cleaned all kinds of parts with Brake Clean.
Am I safe with this procedure?
I really don't want to take these apart to clean them by hand.

A shot of brake clean followed by a shot of compressed air should get everything off of the contacts & I'll can then re-oil the wheels more carefully.

Will I do any damage to anything using brake clean?
Thanks
Steve.
 
#2 ·
Not sure what the brake cleaner will do to plastic parts...I would't trust it. There are cans of aerosol electrical parts cleaners on the market. I'd consider one of those before brake cleaner. Check at an electric store or may be available at auto parts stores.
 
#3 ·
Don't use brake clean or contact cleaner as this wi melt the plastic take this from experience. Use 99 % isopropyl alcohol after taking off your body and I use an airbrush and spray everything heavy until I feel it is running clean and then take the jar off and use the air brush with just air to dry it out and if need be do this a couple times and then relive your gears and drivers and armature and that should do it. And if your trucks are painted be careful as alcohol will if used a lot will remove paint and lettering so beware, but it works very nice. Hope this helps
 
#6 ·
Thanks everyone for your input......I'm more tentative now than ever.

I tried the 9 volt battery test & the motor ran but now it doesn't....I may have fried it?

This is what I want to accomplish....
In this video all of the parts get submerged into a liquid in what looks like a slow cooker?
It's at 1:47 but the whole thing is worth watching.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1LIIy3wy6Y

Since I don't read French I can't ask the author what he uses.
Can anyone help ?
I'm willing to invest in a cleaning system if I can only find what works best.......this looks like the ticket.

Everything I have from my Father- in- law's layout is old & dirty......some engines don't run at all.....I took some of them apart & get the general concept now.
I'm a mechanic not an electrician.....


After giving this a lot of thought I've decided not to convert to new 5 pole motors but to rebuild all of the existing engines including rewinding the motors........as needed.

There must be a tutorial somewhere?

I need to know please;
1/ what solution this guy submerged the parts into?
2/ what is the cleaning vessel?
3/what/were do I get wire to do the rewinding?
4/ any other info I can find to start the process.......

Thanks in advance.
 
#7 ·
Under the video it says, (sort of)

Marklin engine on a mini-club machine off. rewinding of two coils on the rotor.
restart of the reference Loco 8801


The first time you see the parts in the liquid it says,
Each picture of the parts in the liquid says,
passage ultrasonic tank/current cleaning/then rinse/current drying/Nothing is missing

I went through the rest, I don't think he tells you what the liquid is.

That is an ultrasonic cleaner he is using, they are not that expensive.
I never had one or used one yet.
Not hard to use sometimes, all you need is water to clean the parts.

Read this wiki,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrasonic_cleaning


Here is something that might come in handy for future translations,:)
https://translate.google.com/#fr/en/remise en mains propres a paris


Got to love the internet.:p


Look at this link of an ultrasonic cleaner, under the link they show some cleaner liquids for sale.
http://www.amazon.com/Kendal-Commercial-liters-ULTRASONIC-CLEANER/dp/B008ET4PPU


I am not recommending that ultrasonic cleaner as I never had one. Just wanted to show you that you can buy the liquid.
But I think you can use common stuff you may have in your kitchen under the sink also.
 
#10 ·
Wire source

Schmitd694;

A good source for wire and many other electronics parts is allelectronics.com. You probably want very small gauge coil winding wire (28-32ga.) I admire your ambition in rewinding the coils in that small motor! The three pole,(as opposed to five pole in most N scale locos) design surprised me as did the high speed of the repaired loco. The Z scale trains I've seen at shows run slower and a lot smother.
After watching the video, I confirm that the loco parts were cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner.
I have used one successfully for many years. My cleaner is filled with 70 percent alcohol.This will clean any grease or oil off the parts. It will also remove all the paint from most models. Put only the mechanism(still assembled but minus the body shell) in the cleaner.
Model locos require very, very little oil. A single drop is usually all it takes. Over oiling is a common source of poor/no running. You may have gotten oil into the commutator, and or brushes of the motor, causing it to stop running. Try the assembled mechanism ultrasonic cleaner with alcohol method first. Then let it dry.Spray compressed air through the motor if you can.
If that fails, you will need to disassemble, or replace the motor.

Good Luck;

Traction Fan
 
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