Frustration abounds. My 2055 stopped running last week after a potential wiring problem with the hardwire plugs and/or 022 switches. I suspected something with the E-Unit, maybe stuck in neutral, between cogs, or something like that. Taking the E-unit out of the frame was a bit of a challenge, a tighter fit than I expected, especially with trying to keep all the wires connected. Got it out, and found that the drum had jammed somewhat sideways in the unit, as one of the spindles had sheared off. Picked up a replacement at America's Best Train & Hobby (they are open for part of Sunday), and somehow also picked up a crane kit missing a flatcar, and a cheap flatcar. It wasn't too hard to get the E-unit frame split to put the new drum in, but it was a challenge to hold the drum and the contact finger plates in place while squeezing it back together. There did seem to be some bent fingers from when the drum broke, a couple seemed to be slightly bent horizontally, as opposed to vertically (their direction of sliding on the the drum). After putting it back together, testing it I could hear the plunger doing its thing, but no joy in terms of the engine moving.
Taking the unit out of the frame again, and looking closely at it, it looked like the double fingers weren't touching the drum, so I carefully bent them a teeny bit downward to make contact with the drum. Put it all back in, tested again, still no joy. Pulled apart again, looked again like maybe one of the the 2 wasn't making contact. Repeat assembly, repeat test, repeat no joy. This time pulling the unit out I managed to pull out the wire that came up from the contact roller assembly... ARGH. I cannot see where it was connected, whether it was soldered or crimped; I wonder if crimped because the bare wire end looked pretty clean, like it got pulled out of a crimp connector.
so my questions are: do I need to take off the contact roller assembly to re-attach the wire, how do I get it out of the frame without damaging it, how can I be sure that all six little fingers are making proper contact with the drum so I don't have a groundhog day of taking the unit in and out of the frame and get Old Bill running again? Would I perhaps be better off getting new contact finger sets and replace the existing ones?
