The Monorail Playset Motor Thread

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droldz

New Member
Hello all,
This thread is very interesting but I bought a red one with non opening doors and I have something I haven't seen on any of the pics. Mine has a resistor (a large in physical size or a second capacitor???). Details are bought on Marketplace, didn't run, checked for voltage at board, good. Checked at motor, nothing. Checked resistance of the yellow thing (had heat shrink on it) 1Mohm, so I figured it's damaged because that would cripple voltage to motor. Not being a whiz I temporary disconnected capacitor and 1-3 vdc allows motor to spin. So, with that said what should I do (eliminate any component, replace or what)???? I bought it for a Christmas gift for a dear friend of mine that is a Disney FREAK. My email also is dave.mayhew@telesistech.com but I feel it's important to help others too, but this way you can reach me in a alternate way if need be. I don't want to fry the board. I will have to look at the LED's as they weren't working either. Should they be green or did someone do something. Were they green in real life, otherwise I may change and pretty sure I could almost run with no resistor with 3 vdc, would you agree? Thanks again so much for any and all that respond. I want to learn more about electronics as it's neat to modify things to correct problems as this thread has shown me. BTW, the only indication of year made was the fact of the $55.00 Disney sticker
 

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bobquincy

New Member
The little black wirewound cylinder (sometimes covered with yellow plastic) is an inductor that may be to suppress motor electrical noise and may act as a fuse if the motor shorts out or pulls too much current (which may be what burnt out yours). The inductance is too low for my meter to measure, maybe microhenries. This part looks like it although since I can't measure the inductance I don't know if it is a suitable replacement. https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/bourns-inc/5800-470-RC/M8286-ND/774826. The original inductor drops about 130 mV at 1 A.



Disney's Mark VII does not have an inductor since the solid state motor control does not need one. On most of my conversions I usually leave the part out since I also use solid state motor controls. It is probably ok to run without it but if the motor draws too much current the next thing to go is some wiring so I recommend installing some kind of circuit protection.
 
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droldz

New Member
Thank you so much for the quick turn around on the info and going the extra distance to provide a link to the part you think may be a suitable replacement. Because of Christmas coming and I need to ship this to her, I think I will be looking for the electronics shop I know an hour away. Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. P.S. Are the REAL monorails lights green if I was going to swap LED's to make it more authentic?
 
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bobquincy

New Member
droldz said:
Thank you so much for the quick turn around on the info and going the extra distance to provide a link to the part you think may be a suitable replacement. Because of Christmas coming and I need to ship this to her, I think I will be looking for the electronics shop I know an hour away. Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. P.S. Are the REAL monorails lights green if I was going to swap LED's to make it more authentic?
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The real monorail headlights are white. Unfortunately the 2xAA batteries do not provide enough voltage to power white LEDs. However; I wrote an article on how to install white LEDs in a WDW monorail. http://monorail.suzieandbob.com/ho_headlights.html
 
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SouthernDisneyFan

New Member
Greetings to all.
I am starting to put together a Disney World Monorail/Railroad layout. I have over the last 20+ years accumulated 8 DW and 3 DL monorails. I found the thread about changing the motors and gear sets most informative. Could someone kindly put a parts and source listing on line so I can get those parts?
Many Thanks
 
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SouthernDisneyFan

New Member
Also does any one have a complete Grand Floridian Hotel they would consider parting with for a resonable price? It is my only missing structure. I have been out of work since February but should be returning soon. I am trying to surprise my daughters and son and have the layout done for Christmas.
Thank you!
 
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Stavro01

New Member
bobquincy said:
While we are discussing motors: HyperDash is a good motor but maybe a bit more than some modelers need. I have installed several Torque-Tuned motors and they are quite a bit faster than the original but draw less current than HyperDash. I have also installed some Rev-Tuned motors, they are somewhere in between the other two in performance and current.

The downside is T-T and R-T motors have metal brushes and need the original (or replacement) carbon brushes installed for longer life.
None of this applies to the Disneyland Mark VII as the internal circuit is not good at powering the faster motors.
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Hello, could I have the details on the motors you were referring to? I have a pretty old model and the motor is super sluggish. But the motor mentioned by OP is probably more than I'm looking for. Thanks!
 
Mark@Disney

Mark@Disney

New Member
reactortrip said:
Well This is my first post and first thread. I just purchased a Monorail Playset during my trip last week because I saw they had the Teal back and my house has the whole various colors of blue/white theme for Christmas and I always wanted a monorail. Well I was severely disappointed in the motor like many of you. I am not one to send my stuff off to do what I can do myself. So I present to you, my experiments in improving the monorail. Please feel free to share your own experiments with this toy. because I am looking for ideas to do to mine as well.

WARNING: Do not follow any of my instructions unless you are fine with breaking your monorail as I am not responsible for your actions.

First, here is my new little toy around my tree. Wish I could incorporate it into my computerized christmas lights to music display in the yard. Maybe next year, lol.
5242515985_44d3b52d48_z.jpg
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Unfortunately it's much better looking stationary then it is limping around the tree because of a poorly sized motor.

Well I have since removed the engine from the tree.

First thing I did was remove the batteries. Always remove the power source before you play with electrical systems. I am a safety nazi on this aspect as I have been zapped and know the dangers. Of course I have hot handed 161kV, so I am not a smart cookie. LOL

Next remove the 5 screws on the bottom of the engine:
5242551013_023c3fd2a3_z.jpg


Now that you have those out, you need to seperate the two pieces. THESE PIECES HAVE WIRES BETWEEN THEM, SO BE VERY CAREFUL AT THIS POINT. You need to push on the LED lights on the front and kinda push back and ten slant up, this is not for the nervous and I take no responsibility if you choose to do this yourself:
5243146160_5266490a28_z.jpg


Next you need to remove the three screws covering the gears:
5242551709_7883944a29_z.jpg


Now you have full access to your motor, the gear closest to the worm gear is removed in this photo:
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I used a caliper to take some eyeball measurements on the motor:
2mm shaft
10mm long and 6mm wide worm gear
29 mm long 20 mm wide and 15mm tall body

I found the 10x6 worm gears in the UK called MOD 0.5 worm gears. They were $8 for 10. I went ahead and got a pack because I will probably being testing several different options.

Next phase is some electrical testing. I will keep you updated of my progress in the future.
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Thanks for posting this information. I would really enjoy receiving it all in one form. It looks like you solved the problem. My grandkids were very disappointed in the Monorail's operation. It was their favorite ride and we were excited to buy the toy. We too were VERY disappointed in the quality of this Disney toy. However, I'm a EE and very happy to install the new motor you found. If you could send me your information and description of how you accomplished it - I'd be most appreciative. Mark@Disney
 

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