jojo60 Posted January 27, 2015 (edited) Hello all, I own three 8879 PF remotes since 2010, and two of them seems to be malfunctioning now. The problem : When I turn the orange wheel by one click, the train goes forward (normal) and if I add one or two more clicks in the same direction the train stops or goes backward (instead of accelerating). This is getting really annoying : the trains are getting uncontrollable At this time I have tried with no luck to : - Change batteries in remotes. - Open the remote and clean it inside : nothing appears to be broken or worn out on the electric contact area... My third remote operates perfectly... Is their a known solution for this problem ? Edited January 27, 2015 by jojo60 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dr_spock Posted January 27, 2015 Have you tried contacting LEGO customer service? They may replace defective parts. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Srbandrews Posted January 27, 2015 I have exactly the same problem with my one and only remote and assumed they were all like that. :( Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M_slug357 Posted January 27, 2015 Glad to know I'm not alone! I thought it was either batteries or signal interference from the neighbors' new drone copter... But they crashed that yesterday and my trains are still malfunctioning. While replacement seems easiest, I'm to curious to not know the cause! 'specially if it happens again with newer gear :/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jtlan Posted January 27, 2015 Perhaps the electrical wiper contacts have been bent? Try gently bending them away from the orange dial, so that they press more firmly against the circuit board. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Duq Posted January 27, 2015 If you have more than one controller it's easy to figure out where the problem is. Swap controller and train and if the problem stays with the controller then the controller is faulty, if the problem stays with the train then the receiver is faulty. After that just call customer service to get a replacement of whatever part is faulty. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jojo60 Posted February 10, 2015 Hello All. Just for the record : Lego customer service accepted to replace the two defective remotes for free : no more problems. I have to send back the faulty remotes for analyses. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dr_spock Posted February 10, 2015 Awesome. LEGO the company is good that way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LEGO Train 12 Volts Posted March 24 I'm resurrecting this old post because I used a new remote control which had always been in the box and which gave me the same problem: turning the orange wheel both left and right the motor always went backwards. By pressing stop sometimes the train would reactivate (magically ) after a few seconds going backwards. Opening the remote control I found some grease on the metal tracks (which I believe has the function of preventing the material from being scratched by losing the micro copper dust) and the spring connectors perhaps loose. By applying @jtlan's solution I solved 80% but not completely. Has anyone experienced the same problem? And above all he managed to definitively solve the issue? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Toastie Posted March 25 (edited) Hi Emanuele, On 3/24/2024 at 9:50 AM, LEGO Train 12 Volts said: I used a new remote control which had always been in the box in other words: Copper (Cu) was just getting old - as in "corroded". Better; Iron corrodes, i.e., it constantly deteriorates, as iron oxides need more space than iron metal and thus iron surfaces "grow" and become more susceptible to further oxygen/water "attack" - without end. Cu, in contrast, "ages" (it builds a stable, hard layer of oxides that closely attach to the metal surface; this is why some folks like to use Cu for gutters, water pipes and the like. They also like the color changes due to oxidation). Now, what I would do is thoroughly remove [mechanically, then "Waschbenzin" (mineral spirits), then 96% ethanol] the "protective grease", hell knows what it does after years. Then treat the Cu-surfaces with something like "Kontakt-60" spray (https://www.reichelt.de/de/en/contact-60-100-ml-oxide-removing-contact-cleaner-kontakt-2010-p9462.html?PROVID=2788&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwYSwBhDcARIsAOyL0fiMZ5UaDUog29NeEJtjffjIxihCVE6mzL1x9NrTPCqUs-dDSP1C8J4aAp-3EALw_wcB&&r=1), but certainly >not< WD40, thoroughly wipe off any excess after a minute or so and do it over again, this time less thorough removal, maybe use a brush to create some sort of very thin "layer". Did this on many, many vintage resurrections (IBM XT and the like), always worked. The Cu-insulating layer is tough. Lastly, mechanical force may or may not work; in most cases, one ruins the original "spring"-loaded contact force. I'd do that as last resort attempt. Well, just my two cents! All the best and good luck, Thorsten P.S.: For the push buttons: Just use repeatedly Kontakt-60 spray. Edited March 25 by Toastie Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LEGO Train 12 Volts Posted March 26 This precise and punctual response is worth a fortune @Toastie! I have economic studies behind me, my wife is a physicist ...so we're missing a chemist here and the next mistake I already had on the list was exactly the use of WD40! What I really appreciate about your solution is also the experience already gained on other cases...an extra guarantee. Respectfully. Emanuele Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Toastie Posted March 26 20 minutes ago, LEGO Train 12 Volts said: I have economic studies behind me Well. And you have been resurrecting/fixing a beauty of a vintage motorbike you own for weeks and months - totally successfully! That is what economists do all the time, isn't it? "Chemists" live in perpetual chaos, as in chemistry, it never, never ever gets to the apparently clean and mathematical pathways your wife certainly appreciates - on the other hand, I am convinced, that she very well knows chaos, i.e., reality, as well in her professional activities! This is why I weaseled out into physical chemistry: We pretend that PChem has come up with rules and regulations (heavily borrowed from physics) to tame chemistry, to turn it into a natural science. And yes, in an "ideal world", it works very well. In "reality", it remains mostly trial and error. OK, first we do calculations and build on experience going back to medieval ages (or the other way around) - and then reality hits hard, again, and again. If it works out, PChemists claim that the power of math, physics, and chemistry models are making the world a better place. If not, we just tell people that the models were too tight, and coarse, but eventually, they will work out. Yeah. Maybe. Chemistry, in my opinion, is some sort of an "educated guessing frenzy". This is how I came up with the above recipe; it may or may not work. It did for me ... Please say hello to your wife and family! All the best, Thorsten Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
