Lionel 2020 turbine engine

Can you post pictures of your wiring? What did you do to rebuild the reverse unit?

Is the eunit pawl shaft spring installed? That gives the horizontally mounted eunits enough oomph to get the pawl assembly back out of the solenoid instead of just using gravity.

If that's there, make sure the drum is turning each time the eunit is activated.  It happens fast so maybe put a sharpie dot on the drum to reference the turning.

@Jolodo posted:

... I flip wires just as a test and no results...

No results, still forward only, or reverse only?

Try swapping just the wires to the 2 brushes to see if the problem follows the motor or the E-Unit.

Attn: Rob ... I swapped the wires on the brushes and the same thing happens I can visually see the e unit operating but It does not go into reverse....Joe

@Jolodo posted:

... I can visually see the e unit operating but It does not go into reverse....Joe

Still need a better description... does it cycle F-N-N-N-F-N-N-N?   Or, F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F?

Here are photos of wiring. The spring is in the E unit and the drum does rotate freely. Thanks for any help... Joe

I can't tell from the photos but it is possible that you installed the drum in backwards.  Unfortunately this is easy to do and it will cause the engine to run in only one direction.  I did it once and my Berkshire only ran forward.  I reversed the position of the drum and the thing cycled perfectly.  Might be worth checking out.

If the drum is rotating when power is applied, it's installed in the correct orientation. Did you do anything to clean the contacts on the drum and fingers? You might pull the drum out and sand it - that has fixed similar issues for me. Also, make sure the fingers have good pressure onto the drum.

If the sequence is FNFNF etc,then it certainly is a wiring error. If it is FNNNF etc, then it's probably the e unit fingers or drum.

@Johnsgg1 posted:

If the sequence is FNFNF etc,then it certainly is a wiring error. If it is FNNNF etc, then it's probably the e unit fingers or drum.

@ADCX Rob posted:

Still need a better description... does it cycle F-N-N-N-F-N-N-N?   Or, F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F?

At this point, a detailed video with good sound would be a big help.

If that were mine, I'd replace the drum. The pivot looks worn.  But before I would dive into it, I'd also check to see that the fingers were making good contact.  Next, maybe block the engine up so you can power it up without it shooting across the bench. Power it up, and cycle it to where you think it should be in reverse (if it won't reverse on it's own) . Take a toothpick and gently put some downward pressure on the drum to see if the connection comes back. If it does, replace the drum. JMHO.

Attn: Rob, it goes fnnn,fnnn

@Jolodo posted:

Attn: Rob, it goes fnnn,fnnn

Grab a toothpick.  When the motor should be in reverse gently press the curved portion of the e unit fingers against the drum, or slightly move the drum.  Betcha the motor comes to life.  Time for a little finger tension adjustment, or cleaning.

@Jolodo posted:

Attn: Rob, it goes fnnn,fnnn

If you switch the brush connections, does it stay this way, or change to rnnn,rnnn?

If it stays fnnn,fnnn then you have a motor/driveline issue.

Thanks Rob, it does in fact stay the same even after I switch the brush connections. As a novice , what does that mean when you say a "motor/driveline issue??? Thanks for your input and patience.... Joe

@Jolodo posted:

...what does that mean when you say a "motor/driveline issue???

That means the reverse unit is probably wired correctly and the problem is with the motor/gears/worms/axles/rods. You could start by testing the motor while it is off the chassis - leave all wires connected, use an alligator clip lead to connect the motor frame to chassis/ground.

Thanks Rob I'll give it a try.