Professor Motor Controller help needed

[VenturaAlfa]

Hi all,

I have a Professor Motor Controller I am pretty sure its a 2047. It's the diode controller. A couple of my sons young friends were over the other day and got to playing with the track. At the plug for the controller a couple of wires became exposed and touched. I wasn't there but my son said there was a spark.

Since then the controller has not worked. How can I check the controller to trouble shoot the problem? I have taken it apart and done a visual inspection and don't see anything obviously wrong.

Thanks for you help.

Ventura Alfa

[Czar]

I think there is a fuse incised. You may have to take the handle/shell part to find it. hey are really pretty tough controllers.

[Abarth Mike]

[quote=]Your controller has 18 diodes, the 2044 has 24. Four controllers had 18 diodes, the 2055, 2057, 2062 and the 2063. The 2063 was a dual polarity model with a slide switch on the circuit board. The 2062 is a negative polarity model with 72 inch long leads. The 2055 and 2057 are both positive polarity models and the only difference that I can find between them is that the 2055 came with 16 GA lead wires with nickel plated alligator clips and the 2057 came with 13 GA lead wires and solid copper clips. The resistor is brown, black, black, which I believe is 10 ohms.[/quote]

Sent you a PM

[RichD]

That quote looks familiar! The controller that you have has 24 diodes and was intended for HO cars. Diode controllers are rather simple. If a diode had burned out you could still have a response somewhere along the trigger pull unless it was the very last diode that was bad. Even if the diodes were all burned out you would still have full speed because the diodes are bypassed when the trigger is pulled all the way. If you get no power at all the there has to be an open somewhere. The wire that goes to the wiper can often break. Since you said that the controller leads had been shorted a blown fuse is most likely the problem. If you are feeling ambitious and would like to avoid this problem in the future you could install XLR connectors, those are as near to foolproof as you can get. Of course it would be cheaper to keep replacing fuses.

[VenturaAlfa]

Thanks for the replies. I'll look closer tonight when I get home.

Rich, I did install them. The problem was that I soldered the wires about 2 inches up from the plugs and had shrink tubing over the joints. Apparently the tubing moved and allowed the wires to touch. Very active bunch of young kids using them and I should not have left the controller there. Usually when these guys are around I have a couple of bullet proof parmas that I hook up for them. My bad for leaving this one where they could get to it. I have a half dozen or so Professor motors but this one I added all the adjusters and other goodies except the polarity reversing switch to. It's one of my favorite controllers otherwise I wouldn't worry about it.

Ventura Alfa

[VenturaAlfa]

Thanks to all of you for your insight. As a result of the suggestions I took the controller apart. There was nothing wrong there.

Turned out it was the plug. Something on the interior of the plug has become disconnected. Tested the controller last night connected to a different plug and it worked just fine.

Going to get another one today and this time I will be more careful with my solder joints and the shrink tubing.

Ventura Alfa