Arnold ICE 3 advice needed on disassembly

[1954G]

Good evening,

I have been having issues with my Arnold ICE 3 not running well (stalling, jerky/noisy running, etc) and I need to disassemble the motorized end car in order to investigate further. 

Unfortunately it is not obvious to me how to remove the shell from the chassis. The shell appears to attach to the chassis with 8 clips. On most Japanese trains I could pull the sides of the shell apart and insert guitar picks / plastic strips to keep the shell spread open. But this model has no way that I can see to pull on the sides of the shell because the chassis is in the way. And the chassis edges are painted white (very easy to scratch). 

 

Yavianice has a lot of experience with this model, so I would greatly appreciate his input. If anyone else has disassembled one before, or has some ideas, please let me know. 

 

Thank you for your help.  

[Yavianice]

@1954G

 

Hi! I did not see this thread, next time please tag me or send me a message so I can help you.

 

I have translated the opening instructions from German to English for you. Be careful not to break any clips. You can't replace them and the body will not fit correctly if they break.

 

[1954G]

This is above and beyond what I hoped - you have not just helped me but anyone else who is attempting a repair or decoder install in future. Thank you!

I think I need some nicer guitar picks/prying tools before trying to disassemble again. The picks I have are from cheap cell phone repair kits and are too "thick" for this application. 

Once I solve the problem or run into trouble, I will post an update. 

 

[cteno4]

The thin metal spudgers are a big help as the first pry as they are easy to wield, thin and have no sharp edges that gouge. Once you’ve opened up a seam then things like guitar pics, green plastic Starbucks coffee stirrers, and such are great to hold the seam open while moving to the next spot.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/384007194579

https://www.ebay.com/itm/313609459343?hash=item490494968f:g:0PsAAOSwjXNa4--E

https://www.ebay.com/itm/124736091231?hash=item1d0ad9b45f:g:mmIAAOSw4MBexpfJ

 

these very thin plastic cards are nice as well in some situations

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/294223249913?hash=item44811281f9:g:DUMAAOSwIWZZg8gE

 

i probably have all the spudgers around including little ones for pc boards and I’ve always ended up using different combos for different situations so good to just have a spread if you are doing different trains. The tiny pc board spudgers are especially nice prying up little parts as small screwdrivers tend to dig into to things and can get too fat too fast.
 

cheers,

 

jeff