Flying Yankee stuck in neutral, now fixed! Thank you everbody!

Thanks for the reply. the e unit does buzz, so I will investigate further.

Thanks,

Bob

Bob, try turning off the power and give the top of the loco a little tap.  sometimes that releases the plunger for good operations.

Hi Rob,

Thanks for the tip. I tried that last night with no luck. Unfortunately, it is a brand new engine, just out of the box. Guess, I will take it to get fixed, unless anyone has other ideas.

Thanks,

Bob

I am debating to take it apart since the repair shop is not taking any new repairs until after Christmas. I am not experienced with e unit repair. Are the new e units similar to the old ones? I have a diagram of those. I might just give a shot next week. Thanks for the info,

Bob

Take the motor out and see if the e unit drum is moving and lets us know!

This will tell us if the pawl is working and the drum is moving.

If not then it is a fingers / wiring issue,

Mark, I will try that this weekend and let you know. I like your message: I am a teacher, 11years in the Coast Guard, and my son is in the 173rd Airborne. I have that bumper sticker on my car.

Thanks,

Bob

Hi Mark,

I took it out and all wires look connected. The drum turns manually. Nothing looks out of the ordinary, but I'm no expert. I have only taken apart a 2025 steamer and a couple of postwar F units to clean and tune which worked out fine. Should I disconnect the motor completely from the shell and try powering it up? Thanks,

Bob

What happens each time when you place it on the track after turning the drum?

It does the same thing. The e unit buzzes and acts like it is going through the cycle of F-N-R, but no movement. It does not act like it wants to move.

Bob

If the E-Unit appears to function OK, could it be a motor problem instead? Have you checked for voltage at the motor, broken wires, worn or missing brushes/springs etc.?

Just a thought. 

CP Bob, pull the motor from the shell and place it on the track. Power it up and cycle the transformer a few times and watch the pawl of the e unit move...it should go up and down and moving the drum.

Next check and make sure the motor is not bound up, you can turn the armature with your fingers and make sure the wheels turn freely and not bound up.

If this is working correcting, do as Nicole suggested and check for power to the motor, only one of brushes will have power to it at a time. Cycle the e unit several times and check to see if you have any power to the brushes.

If you do have power to the brushes, your going to have to pull the brush plate off, clean out the brush holders with a Q-tip and alcohol, clean the top of the armature off with a pencil eraser and check and clean the brushes. Replace the brushes if you have them.

That should do it. Let us know!

Mark and Nicole thanks for the info. Too late to try tonight. I should be able to take it apart and check fri night. Let you know how it goes this weekend,

Bob

After the drum rotates it still does the the same exact thing, Neutral?

Each time the drum rotates it should be operating like Forward to Neutral to Reverse to Neutral, etc. You are saying when you rotate the drum the motor stays in neutral and the armature does not rotate?

Thanks to all for the help. I checked the eunit with motor pulled from the shell. E unit cycling normally, everything moving correctly. Wheels not spinning. Checked and moved wires, checked for voltage and continuity. One of the wires was not attached correctly. I resoldered and motor working.

However, next problem. The motor has a high pitched screech like something is binding. Any ideas?

Thanks,

Bob

Bob

Try a drop of oil where the tip of the shaft protrudes through the brush plate.

Steve

That fixed it! 

Thanks Steve! Have a great weekend everybody and again thanks for all the help!

Bob

That's a real common problem on most types when the shaft/brush plate get dry.

Steve