[farquard]

I just picked up a postwar 2343 F3 AA. It's the first postwar diesel I've had in years. The couple that I had were lemons, so I avoided them. But there was so much positive stuff written about this one, it was worth trying. And its terrific; smooth and strong.

My question is about the horn battery. I've heard that you must remove it when not running the engine. I don't see what harm it would do sitting for a couple weeks at a time. Must you remove after running the engine?

Thanks for an info.

https://www.modeltrainforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=521102&stc=1&d=1578330690
https://www.modeltrainforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=521104&stc=1&d=1578330690
https://www.modeltrainforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=521106&stc=1&d=1578330690

 

[Jeff T]

A couple weeks turns into a couple months turns into a couple years... By then the battery has leaked and your nice engines look like....

Just remove it and play it safe!

Someday you'll thank me!

 

[Lehigh74]

Nice looking loco. I don't see any problem with leaving the battery installed for a few weeks, but if the loco is to be stored indefinitely, this could happen if the battery is not removed.

 

[farquard]

I run all my engines within a certain time frame. I'll give all the modern ones a good run. Then the postwar, etc. No engine sits for more than a 5 or 6 weeks without a few laps on the track. Usually not even that long. So I was looking for some idea of how long its safe to leave the battery in there.

But I get the message though. Its just safer to remove it every time the engine sits. Will do. Thanks guys!

 

[Big Ed]

I run all my engines within a certain time frame. I'll give all the modern ones a good run. Then the postwar, etc. No engine sits for more than a 5 or 6 weeks without a few laps on the track. Usually not even that long. So I was looking for some idea of how long its safe to leave the battery in there.

But I get the message though. Its just safer to remove it every time the engine sits. Will do. Thanks guys!

If it is a new battery I think 4/5 weeks would be OK.

But like said I would inspect it often, you never know when a battery will go bad. Even new ones.
A lot of post war trains suffered from corrosion in the battery box.
But most of those sat 15/20 30 years.

 

[farquard]

Fortunately, this one was taken care of. The battery box is clean as a whistle.

 

[Big Ed]

One of our members picked up a 2341 Jersey central FM locomotive.

Opened it up and look what he found. If you look close at the battery I think it is from the 50's.

More pictures in this thread, #12 shows the battery when he tried to remove it.

https://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=18036

 

[T-Man]

The horn can activate if the engine is placed sideways.

 

[Millstonemike]

Running the engine every few weeks is not the measurement stick. No matter how often you run the engine, the battery will leak after a few+ years.

Modern alkaline batteries get "activated" when first used. That starts the self discharge cycle. If the battery has never been used then the shelf life is about double. That's why you should never test your emergency flashlights after installing new batteries. The batteries start their discharge cycle and the light may have little if any capacity left a few years down the road when the storm knocks out power. Test them with the old batteries to ensure the light works, then install the new batteries and leave it alone.

 

[TripleO]

Saw this on OGR:

https://royztrains.com/product/horn-battery-replacement/

They had a thread about it, but I personally don't know anything about it. Did look like it might be a good solution to the leaking battery problem.