Author Topic: Bringing an old Marquette battery charger back to life -  (Read 16269 times)

Offline goodfellow

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Bringing an old Marquette battery charger back to life -
« on: August 14, 2018, 08:54:39 PM »
I bought this off ebay for a few $$ back in 2010, and decided to refurbish it. I took a chance on the idea that it needed minimal OEM parts (which you can't find for this rare brand anymore).

Decided to give the old Marquette a look today. I'm constantly amazed at the simplicity of the design and quality of the components that went into these old machines. There is no comparison with today's machines!! Modern technology may be able to provide more functions at a lower cost, BUT just looking at these 50 year old components says a lot about how American manufacturers felt about lasting quality. These thing were expensive, so they built them to last!! -- Amazing ---

It's a bit beat up, but very salvageable!!





Look at that massive transformer!!!!!



Hooked it up to a battery and it started chargin'



Time to strip this charger and take inventory!











Cables and silicon rectifiers are MASSIVE -- this is truely "old school"



Working slowly form the top, I strip the components with the wiring harness attached -- makes it easier to clean and inventory the parts





The fan motor was the first item to get removed, cleaned, and lubed.



The oil hole was filled with some 30W non detergent and the motor spun like new. The motor and fan were cleaned and are ready to be reinstalled.





The transformer was next -- This thing is heavy.









Some new wires will be required -- there is rodent damage, but that's not a "show stopper"



Everything is removed from the carriage --



The carriage is cleaned, sanded and prepped for paint





Cables and clamps will get cleaned and refitted with new connectors. the wheels will get media blasted and painted gold.





First task is to strip the ammeter and clean/paint the rusted housing -- Before and After









The bezel plates were trashed and corroded. They're aluminum, so they are pitted and oxidized. The plates came out OK with a good dose of lacquer thinner --
They cleaned up well enough to make the project respectable again.





Last thing for today -- the carriage was prepped and received it's first two coats of paint. That will get sanded with 220 grit tomorrow and one more coat of paint will be layed on wet.





That's it for today -- time for an adult beverage :occasion14:

Good night guys!!








Offline goodfellow

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Re: Bringing an old Marquette battery charger back to life -
« Reply #1 on: August 14, 2018, 08:59:17 PM »
OK, let's finish this thing up!! I'm sick of looking at it!! :toothy9: -- Not really, but I did bust hump to get it done today. It was a challenge since it's damp and rainy outside; which makes paint almost impossible to cure -- but I managed.

First thing today was the front cover. After sanding I masked the decals off with tape and proceeded to cut the lettering and outlines with a razor blade











I then turned it over and shot the red basecoat. I also shot he final red coat on the carriage (after it was sanded with 220 grit)





While I was in a masking mood, I decided to sand and mask the control cover -- the masking was for the instruction decal on the inside





This is the gold color I finally settled on -- not perfect, but when it dries it's pretty darn close





The front cover "red" basecoat had dried enough by now so I shot the the gold half-tone on the front -- looks really good, this paint covers and dries fast.



While all the paint was drying, I switched back to reassembly -- I cleaned the switches and wires with WD-40 and replaced two wires that had been chewed on by some critter.

I put down clean towels and started to get all the guts back in the carriage



Good pics and some simple schematics and notes help make this job go quite quicky





Cords and cables were cleaned with my "patented" lacquer thinner wipe down, and then cleaned again with WD-40. This makes them shine like new!!
The clamps were also given a good wire wheel treatment and the look like new. Tough stuff these old clamps.









The bezel and switches were reinstalled in reverse order of removal (I write down the sequence of removal on a note pad)



The 110v electrical connection for the fan and the accessories were made next



The charging cables were reconnected to the rectifiers in proper order -- and the charger was pretty much done with the electrical hookups



Next came the wheels. I found that a quick way to paint wheels is to cover them entirely with packaging tape (it's easier to trim and cut with a razor) and then just cut out the center hub for spraying.
This sure beats trying to mask the rim first. It only takes 2 minutes to mask a wheel this way.









Pretty much done -- except for the handle; which was shot in gold as well





OK!! Here's the finished product!!!

BEFORE!!!





AFTER!!!













Believe me guys -- this will be no "shop queen" -- it'll get used "like I stole it". So take a good look. In three months it'll be somewhat scratched up and quite dirty
like most of my tools  :toothy9:

After eight years this thing is still running perfectly in my shop. It's received a few dings here and there, and the paint is scratched in places, but the unit itself is flawless. They built them right back then!



Offline Mariogagnon1

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Re: Bringing an old Marquette battery charger back to life -
« Reply #2 on: April 20, 2020, 09:20:37 AM »
Hi,

I have the same battery charger 322ns but the litle green light is not attached to any wire.
Can you send me picture of the wire connected to the green light or if you have a wiring diagram for the light connection.

Thanks

Offline torqueman2002

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Re: Bringing an old Marquette battery charger back to life -
« Reply #3 on: April 20, 2020, 09:36:16 AM »
 :coffee2:
Nice trip back through memory lane!

Your restore threads are inspiring!
 :clap:
"I got to show the young boys how not to do it. I haven't showed them everything not to do, yet. It's a big job!" - Otto Kilcher

Offline bonneyman

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Re: Bringing an old Marquette battery charger back to life -
« Reply #4 on: April 20, 2020, 04:55:09 PM »
Primo job, Ray. I'd love to find one of those old Marquettes to restore like yours.  :great:

Offline goodfellow

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Re: Bringing an old Marquette battery charger back to life -
« Reply #5 on: April 20, 2020, 05:18:32 PM »
Primo job, Ray. I'd love to find one of those old Marquettes to restore like yours.  :great:

They are very hard to come by, but built like the proverbial "Brick Shyt House"

Offline goodfellow

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Re: Bringing an old Marquette battery charger back to life -
« Reply #6 on: April 20, 2020, 05:23:32 PM »
Hi,

I have the same battery charger 322ns but the litle green light is not attached to any wire.
Can you send me picture of the wire connected to the green light or if you have a wiring diagram for the light connection.

Thanks

Unfortunately I don't have documentation. I tried for years to find some, and scoured ebay and various forums for anything related to this model, but in the end I found nothing.

In anticipation of a move in the near future I boxed and packed away most of my large and seldom used garage equipment in a storage unit, and at the moment it's not accessible. Once this virus thing is over and I can resume the packing I will try to get you the required pics.

Offline slip knot

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Re: Bringing an old Marquette battery charger back to life -
« Reply #7 on: April 20, 2020, 09:18:46 PM »
I'm sure glad we didn't lose all this when the old site crapped out. Lots of inspiration here :cool2:

Offline DeadNutz

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Re: Bringing an old Marquette battery charger back to life -
« Reply #8 on: April 20, 2020, 10:11:13 PM »
I can only dream of being able to restore things to the same level as Ray. :bravo_2:

Online oldnslo

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Re: Bringing an old Marquette battery charger back to life -
« Reply #9 on: April 20, 2020, 10:57:43 PM »
Hi,

I have the same battery charger 322ns but the litle green light is not attached to any wire.
Can you send me picture of the wire connected to the green light or if you have a wiring diagram for the light connection.

Thanks

I recall this thread from the previous post, and it reminded me of the guts from my Schauer floor charger. I recall getting a systematic from them for help with locating values for the selenium diodes. I dont recall the model number, and have long since updated my charger collection. It looked like the charger on the left in this pic.

https://wavebid-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/ImageCache/AuctionImages/126378/24423761/92821653-11db073cae5b097dbbdf0098140f7976abd921be2897b3d8cd8668bf97d0f6da.jpg?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20200421T035552Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=21599&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAI527EG6KJ6SF5UNA%2F20200421%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=6ff6622957c5795fa124d680f606320d344366c5ca966163aa5f2195ae3f0493