I have an old Lionel ALCo diesel from 1954 and a couple weeks ago the e-unit quit functioning... I can go to neutral fine, but the forward and reverse just sits there and buzzes loudly compared to neutral. Any suggestions?
Thanks
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Check all the wires going to the motor first. If those are good examine the e-unit. Sometimes a shot of TV tuner cleaner to remove any grime is all they need.
Sounds like the motor/gears are bound up.
One or more of the contact fingers on the drum may be dirty, bent or broken.
Yep, I would overhaul that E unit. Make sure your wheels are free to rotate.
Rob
TV tuner(available at walmart in the automotive section)
is a good idea and works great. but, if you have bent
or broken finger units, they need to be replaced.
pull your e-unit apart and replace both
2-finger units and 4 finger unit and the drum.
all parts are available from ttender.com (Jeff Kane)
out of rochester, new york
if your not familiar with pulling e-units apart.
e-units are available for $15-$20.
Originally Posted by lionel2024:
...but the forward and reverse just sits there and buzzes loudly compared to neutral...
Which makes it sound like the E-unit is working fine, there is a problem in the motor/gear train.
A broken wire or bad E-unit finger would make F & R sound just like N.
Thanks for all the suggestions... I'll try them out and let you know how it turns out.
Thanks Again!
I dug into it and the motor and wheels arent seized... I'm going to pull the e unit and do a little surgery to it and if that doesnt work I will just buy another one.
