I am continuing to fix problems with our 1958 GE 50 ton, and finally feel like I am making some headway. One problem we have been having is that the #1 generator loads almost instantly when you crack the throttle (like our SW9 in switching mode) and the #2 generator loads slow and steady (like our SW9 in road service mode). The biggest problem with that is the #1 gen/engine always runs at about 75-100 amps higher than #2 and tends to run hot and smoke bad (engine, not the generator).

While doing some engine work the other day I started looking at the generator field wiring and resistors. Each generator has its own set of resistors. What I noticed is that both generators are wired differently to the resistor bank. It looks like there are four options to hook up one leg of the field circuit and this is where the difference is.

The Question: Could this be where my problem is? Are the four terminal options how one would adjust the generator loading? Does anybody have wiring diagrams and service info they would be willing to share?

I have good resources in the area for locomotive help, but they are all EMD people. Any guidance would be appreciated.

Eric

I've had similar problems running a 1942 GE a the Henry Ford. I think problem was the battery voltage was low, therefore the relays and gen field would not respond until voltage was increased by increasing RPM. One TM would load, followed by the other once there was enough battery charging voltage. There was also roughly a 50 amp difference between the two. As for the engine temp, the lead one usually is cooled by the oncoming air, where the trailing doesn't have that advantage.

The 1 unit a the 23-25 is 2 a the 50 GE so label a the relay way 2 also.

Swap resistor banks and see if the problem swaps too. (remembering you can do this electrically instead of physically.)

I thought about doing this, but because of the way they are wired, and possibly tied together (for balance purposes?) I decided against it for fear of damaging something. None of the wiring has labels on it so to trace wires is an exercise in futility. I just want to have a clear understanding of how the system operates before I swap wiring around. There are only three wires coming from the field coils. Two of them go to the resistors (which only use two of the available five terminals on the block) and the remaining wire disappears into the abyss known as the electrical cabinet (I am assuming that this is the power feed). There are six resistors with four terminal options and the remaining terminal goes to a separate resistor (this is the one that is consistent on both generators). At one time it looks like this terminal block had cardboard labels for each spot....at one time.

Do you have manuals for the 50 tonner? I may have one for either a 45 or 50 with your vintage. I'll check the archives tomorrow.

I have no info on this unit. Anything would be appreciated.

Eric

OK I will see what I can dig up.

Go the local library a as the that contact a people a Washington,

To
me
http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/SciRefGui ... l#internet

HOW TO OBTAIN COPIES OF TECHNICAL MANUALS


Library of Congress
Copies of the print manuals listed in this inventory are available
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The early PB-numbered documents are in the Technical Reports &
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FAX orders to the Library of Congress, Duplication Services at:

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date. For example Air Navigation TM 1-205 would be requested as U. S.
Dept. of the Army. Training publication U408.3.A13 TM 1-205 Nov. 1940.
As the Library of Congress may have more than one version of a manual
the month and date is a very important identifier.

Stan Paulsen

GE loco B-B 90/90-2GE733 300HP
Postby Super Seis » Mon Aug 24, 2009 9:36 am

Try Logan Corp. in Nitro, WV. They are the authorized distributor for GE locomotive parts.


Posts: 175
Joined: Tue Aug 12, 2008 10:15 pm
Location: 'The Rock'

Thank you all for the help. I now have some leads and technical info to move forward with. I will post back with what I find is causing our problem when I get it solved.

Eric

I found the TM 55 Army.

This is http://www.txtransportationmuseum.org/c ... itcher.php


Stan

Just an update for anybody that may be interested. We have 95% of our electrical problems fixed on this unit. I ended up calling Logan Corp. and ordering a service manual and wiring diagram for our serial number. Turns out there was many electrical configurations across the years for the same units. The people at Logan were very nice, extremely helpful and said that most any part is still available for these units.

We ended up finding some "Add-on" wiring from years ago that failed and all we had to do was reconnect the factory wiring, and clean almost every contact and interlock. In the process, we learned a little about how the system works and realized that our traction motors were not going into "field shunting", and never have since arriving on our property. After another Saturday of tracing wires and checking connections, we narrowed the problem down to one set of interlock contacts. After cleaning all the rust off and resetting the gap, the locomotive now throttles up about 3/4, and when the traction motors reach the set voltage push, all the proper relays close/open and the motor field shunts the way it is supposed to. This in turn allows you to gain more speed.

Now we just need to replace the worn out Cummins HBI600 engines and throw some paint on her!

Thank you to everyone who supplied info for this project.
Eric

That is good news. Makes you feel good when you find a gold mine of info you feared was lost to time.