Thomas The Tank Trackmaster Fault & Fix Risky Rails Bridge Drop Toy Repair

I purchased the very impressive Thomas & Friends Trackmaster playsetset, Risky Rails Bridge Drop and found my Thomas Tank did not work. This sent me on a investigation as to why this simple toy came from the factory with a fault. I wonder how many other people have this same fault with their Trackmaster engines?
Many Thomas youtubers send me messages about their Trackmaster trains not working, it's difficult to know exactly what the problem is unless I have the train in my hands. The fault with mine can be tracked directly to a small piece of plastic not being installed correctly in the toy factory. This error stopped an important connection being made which completes the battery power circuit in a Thomas Trackmaster engine. From what I can see this small piece of plastic can be easily installed incorrectly due to the way it is clipped into position. It's a difficult part to fit correctly because it is small and very tight when fitted.
It would be nice to see more attention to detail when checking these toys from the factory, a brand new toy which is faulty out of the box can cause loads of anguish for children excited in playing with a now toy. Hopefully this video will help others repair their trians if they have problems with powering them up. It's a very easy fix once you know where to look.
My Trackmaster Duck also has a fault new from box but he will have to wait to be fixed, seems like a totally different problem going on.
Link to the Risky Rails set, it looks amazing!
www.fisher-price.com/en_US/bra...
Thomas and Friends, "Томас и его друзья" "Thomas y sus amigos" "Thomas und seine Freunde" "きかんしゃトーマス" "토마스와 친구들" "Thomas et ses amis" "thomas dan teman-teman" "थॉमस और दोस्तों" "Thomas ei suoi amici" "โทมัสและเพื่อน ๆ" "thomas e seus amigos" "Thomas och vänner" "托马斯和朋友" "Thomas og Friends" "Thomas ve Arkadaşları" "توماس والأصدقاء" "Thomas và các bạn"
Thomas the Train, "Thomas el tren" "Thomas le train" "トーマス電車" "토마스 기차" "Томас поезд"" Thomas o trem" "Thomas kereta" "Thomas der Zug" "Thomas ang tren" "Thomas vlak" "托马斯火车" "توماس القطار" "Thomas a vonat" "Thomas tàu"
Web Links:
www.fisher-price.com/en_US/bra...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_a...
simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elec...

[@leokimvideo]

I have a annotation up explaining this, it's a total rebuild to perform this fix, but why do we need to fix these toys from new....thats the BIG question here. It seems most people just shove a piece of foil in the problem spot, it seems that quality control is very poor from the factory where these trains come from

[@leokimvideo]

I have the DVD of Blue Mountain Mystery, but I'm steering well clear of any spoilers in my review

[@leokimvideo]

yes, I will do a video to show you my compuer..it's very old...lol and the programs I use, I need to work out if I should go apple mac, problem is all my archives are AVI's and Final Cut Pro can't open older AVI files. So much for the ultimate editing program, my old 1998 version of premiere opens up quicktime files without a problem

[@leokimvideo]

The blue plug's purpose is a bit of a mystery, but I am starting to uncover the metal prong out of place is a fairly common event, I would love to see pictures to back up the claims. I will investigate 20 Thomas's I have to see if I find more with this fault. I never expected this sort of derailment when starting to do a review on what looks like an amazing Trackmaster set

[@leokimvideo]

I learned allot about Trackmaster having this problem, I can see that little blue plastic piece has a really important job and it's actually quite difficult to install I have had a few faulty Thomas products lately, then again I do look at huge numbers of these toys, the odds are I have more of a chance at getting faulty stock

[@ucwepn]

yes your way was simple, good job on that, every type of these trains that I have seen the tab goes in the slot and its a permanent fix, yes you have to remove the 2 drive unit screw and lift out the drive unit to do it. the plastic bit still seems somewhat flexible but a battery will hold it down more still.

[@leokimvideo]

remember Happy Days, the Fonzie would just hit stuff to make it work, all we need is a reverse action here...Hit need to have a Fonzie in the Chinese factory to make sure these toys come out in a working order

[@leokimvideo]

I can see why it is designed like this, it allows for fast non soldered connection and I can only assume there are all put together by hand. It's a fairly fiddly job to install that blue plate in correctly, so I guess is on the production line mistakes can easily be made. It shows me that there needs to be a final circuit test of the toy, if that was done my Thomas would be working out of the box

[@leokimvideo]

I think this design is for factory speed, if you can design a toy without the need for soldier you can make it faster. I really need to do a full pull down and see how these are put together. It seems this Thomas was in fact assembled wrong. I really need to do a full pull down to do a proper fix.

[@leokimvideo]

perfect combo

[@dr.pepper45]

back in the day when KZbin didn’t let you actually reply to someone and you had to write a separate comment...look at what it is now.

[@leokimvideo]

I can assure you it's clean, thats not soldier, I think the metal needs to be put down through the hole in the other piece, this would mean a almost total rebuild The texture looks like it's caused by scratching, maybe the factory tried to do a fix...we will never know

[@leokimvideo]

I don't think these parts are soldered, it was totally clean when I removed the blue plastic, that plastic is what pulls a connection here from my small understanding

[@leokimvideo]

Thanks, and yes being such a simple circuit these toys should work straight out of the box.

[@leokimvideo]

I think Tomy did the circuit in a different way, it may be well investigating, I know my dark side knock off Thomas's are all hard wired and soldered

[@leokimvideo]

I still have my RC Thomas to repair, problem for me right now is my editing computer is having some big problems...it's very old and needs replacing. Lasted since 2001, I wonder if Apple computers last this long.??

[@leokimvideo]

I hope this helps you fix Toby

[@leokimvideo]

that sounds normal to me, I have a feeling getting a TM with a small problem is a rare thing even though some say they have huge problems with TM

[@leokimvideo]

you know no one ever talks about this, we all need to know

[@leokimvideo]

Because I have around 14 Thomas's from this same style series I'm going to have a good look at all, whats the chances of finding more with this construct error

[@leokimvideo]

Yes, but I find you need the C batter weight to get traction....Diesel 10 is a great example for this

[@ethanseye-anautisticlife8175]

1:26 Batteries In. Nothing.

[@leokimvideo]

I did a fair bit of web searching about this problem....I could not find any info, so thats why I am wondering is all this a big secret

[@martin0mac2000]

For people that have the same problem, but may have the little bit of plastic broken off. You can either just get bit of tin foil and wedge it between the two plates. Or you can get the soldering iron out and solder the two plates together, making sure you don't melt the plastic.

[@CrisisOnACanoe]

"Dead as a Duck!" Oh goodness Leo, you've caused a loop in the vortexes of time. 8[

[@alexgamerx2323]

I miss this thomas :"""""""""(

[@leokimvideo]

I have many from the cheap starter set, but here's the weird deal.....The shake shake bridge set was selling for the same price as the cheap starter set....so which one do think presents the better value..?

[@martin0mac2000]

That I shal leave for others to decide. Never was a big trackmaster/tomy fan, was always into the wooden stuff. And now service/repair lighting equipment, so had the repair hat on :) Odd that they rely on pushing the two plates together to make the connection, and not having a wire or something soldered there. Probably cheaper this way.....

[@leokimvideo]

yeah, Buzz said ...looks like someone got here before me

[@gemmyrulez]

I had a feeling that blue piece of plastic had something to do with the crap connection. I've never personally bought a Trackmaster (I have a friend who plays with them), as I only have a few wooden trains (Unfortunately not Thomas Wooden), but I do know some electronics (With guitars) and I'm glad you fixed the problem.

[@Christmastime744]

I know this was 10 years ago but thank you so much this helped me with my thomas he is old and this realy helped a bunch so thx

[@dans_Learning_Curve]

Leo I don't know if Duck has been fixed. If he hasn't, I think I found the problem. Look at the vid at 11:29. The positive contact, or where the contact is suppose to be, is missing!

[@trainboy7]

fair enough, can't wait to see it. =3

[@leokimvideo]

but how much work has your mac done. my PC had edited literally hundreds of videos, thats fairly taxing work on older computers

[@leokimvideo]

the problem here is there should be NO reason to be doing any fixes, these trains should come from the factory working, this was included in a toy which cost me over $100

[@Dieselworks123]

this video got me looking at my trackmaster trains and their concetions, and when I cheeked Rheneas he doesent have a small plate for the metal conections, but what I did find out was you can pull his whole motor out and it will still work and I dont know why but it made me really happy

[@nightmaregaming2340]

I wanna say that old is way better than new because I have a Thomas who has been under ground for like 2 years and it still works

[@leokimvideo]

Is this a big problem?....thats what we need to know

[@leokimvideo]

what does the plastic piece do..?? it looks like a total pull apart and rebuild to get the tab in the metal slot, surely my little fix is fast and simple..!!

[@leokimvideo]

Watch out Buzz will hit you for that

[@FPSdougan]

5:37 - i suspect the blue plug was for aesthetics as the given space of the prong & the hole it looks like in assembly the prong would be slotted into said hole during assembly

[@herywidjaya648]

I think you should give duck a AA battery

[@samkriioof7652]

one question why does my trackmaster thomas from the same playset why does my thomas still works even when there are no batteries?

[@porusan7195]

+Edwin Victor Cortez ghosts possess it

[@dangxtiffy]

SamuelS0S420 // Samson360 pp

[@henrygordonproductionsnwr7559]

Yours is special

[@galaxydragonx_legacy2018]

*Harry potter theme plays*

[@NWRTales1221]

giving the drive unit a small tap and shake to free it up usually works. try opening the drive unit moving the contacts a bit closer to the switch. rebuild the drive unit test it. give it another tap. it could work

[@Planetkid32]

I remember I had purchased this set from Toys-R-Us and the Thomas that came with it worked perfectly fine.

[@kkehoe5]

I suspect that Duck will have a problem between the - terminal andthe motor. If Im not mistaken they are connected by a small wire. Shouldn't be too hard to diagnose since it is a fairly simple circuit.

[@stanleytheodore2456]

i like thomas trackmaster i am a big fan where did you get all the THOMAS STUFF ?

[@howsitgoing3075]

its very interesting how you take apart the thomas toy and find out whats wrong

[@ucwepn]

sometimes after they travel through the mail or have sat on the shelf a long time they need a sharp tap to get them moving also. I get this allot.

[@desuuuuuadvntrs91]

can u help me please, i cant remove engine from thomas, all screws removed but something hold it, and i cant understand what

[@tykedopwnz4406]

внутри он зацеплен попробуй пофинтить в лево или в право

[@pepperthekobold]

The problem with these toys is that they're manufactured as cheaply as possible and little car is taken as they are very much quantity over quality. The blue plastic retainer that clamps down on the connection was probably incorrectly placed, forced in and screwed down and hence the result.

[@MononInc]

I have a bit older model of a TOMY Duck. Sometimes the battery knocks loose inside and I'll have to take it apart and adjust it.

[@lilguygamingandmore]

With trains like Thomas, under that little plate, the little piece of metal from the motor is supposed to go in the little hole in the metal that runs from the negative battery terminal

[@jomeimclean9804]

How do you fix one with stiff wheels

[@ryankennish2670]

You are a genius, Leo

[@CrisisOnACanoe]

This is the only thing you've said that I completely agree with.

[@Freakwayproductions]

do you know much about the 2001 tomy tohas stuff and how the batterys work

[@KyloRen.]

It’s not tied it on enough that’s why it’s not working yet screw the screws in more

[@ucwepn]

I bought a new style edward that runs on a AA inside the boiler and it had a faulty switch plate on the + end took a lot of fiddling to get going.

[@tomyrail7468]

the power machine thingy the pole surpose to be inside the hole where it makes it work.

[@KingKuron_]

0:43 It kinda deals in BMM since engines like rheneas get there paint get scraped

[@Dieselworks123]

Leo are most of your trackmaster thomas' from that cheep little stater set?

[@Tjousk]

Nice fix, it's a shame it had to be done. Seems to be a strange design choice.

[@Technodata_]

I have the same issue with the whistling woods trackmaster Toby

[@theremoteanater]

this is why im glad i kept my tomy track

[@railmodler8572]

it is just plain wrong that you have fix these problems yourself but anyway thanks for this Leo just in case i get a screwy thomas trackmaster train.

[@luisitoruiz4001]

Whatever happened to no screws?

[@CyanSheepMedia]

Can you show us your editing system. I use xp and will be getting 7 this christmas. What program do you use and is it free?

[@myoldreteacher]

Fascinating... I really enjoyed watching that! :D

[@maxchong9651]

Wow that must hurt

[@BubbIeYT]

aoaoaaoqoqoqoqq

[@kkehoe5]

I cannot agree with you more.

[@yi8983]

I have a Duck too,he is still working well

[@ucwepn]

Hi that plastic piece is not necessary the tab goes inside the slot of the negative plate.

[@gabes14]

hey leokimvideo I have the same thing with my trackmaster Thomas that i got from a set from blue mountain mystery

[@dcgitz]

Can I use your "Not the Battery Now what?" clip?

[@kellyross9914]

have you gave it a tap

[@dcgitz]

What is your favorite video with the "Fail Reel" sound?

[@lanhiniagentadin3813]

2:28 not the battery. NOW WHAT?!

[@trainboy7]

intreasting, have ya seen blue mountain mystery?

[@jumpscareproductions5242]

I have the same but it work no corrosion what so ever and i put in batterys and it doesnt work it was working a few montha ago untul i got new and it stopped working how do fix this

[@paulinelee1078]

May be is the motor

[@Puppet_Mage]

i had a misty island rescue thomas and i had to perminatly take of the blue piece because every time i tightened the screw it wouldn't run

[@richardquinn682]

Hey Leo you have two work tables I don't know!!! 😃

[@adelineelizabeth2993]

how are thomas trains made ?

[@jaredhebert942]

Not crying "WAR" against that, but this connection seems "yes-no" to me. Both are pretty popular these days, but Thomas as a TV show (in some spots) has been more potent and a longer time around. The significant other (FiM) has only been around, as a TV show, for little over 2. But so many people have praised both time & time again. Thomas has always had a spot in my life, but Hasbro seems to have a good thing goin', too. If this is too cryptic, feel free to let me know. Goodbye, then. -Jared-

[@reginald_the_craeb2510]

i have the exact same thomas and its very noisy and the sticker is VERRRRRY off center

[@machtwo60]

there are two pieces to the blue part...another piece that is missing off your problem train

[@Droshytheyosh]

move up the battery 1 inch it works for me

[@leokimvideo]

Do some reading up about Henry Ford and how he used lazy people to make him money, nothing wrong with being lazy if it's done right

[@zyraelsilva833]

yeah go baby go

[@AlexG-eb3xt]

The gear in the trackmaster duck is probably split

[@yilkaf]

How do you that to my 2007 arry?

[@martin0mac2000]

Just had to do it, first time ever.....

[@matthewgustafson5225]

Hey Leo can you please show how to repair your Duck, I’ve got Duck now.

[@lovropirkl2672]

10:17 My Thomas underneath has the number 233C8

[@benjaminion.]

that thomas goes with annie and clarabel cuse i have the exact same one

[@dmtj2834]

I have this same problem with my tomy toby

[@waynelau7980]

1:17 same bit

[@Alicia-wq5vv]

5 =

[@herbiefan2011]

Hey I relay like your vids. A very fascinating scenario. This some thing you may want to know I have a prototype version of that thomas. I will post a vid.

[@gabrecordsandplayz794]

Hey leo i put battery on my thomas and it did not work