Every time my 259E runs over a switch (022) or an uncoupling track it shorts out and stops. There is no sign of loose wire's. i cleaned the armature and brushes look good, the pick-up wheels are not worn. it runs good other wise. The E unit was giving me a little problem but seems to be OK since i sprayed it with electrical cleaner.
Gene
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Check to see if the rear roller has enough tension and clearance from the retaining clip on the rear truck.
Could be the pickup rollers or off center or bent a bit out of wack and one of them touches a ground rail when going through the switch or when on the uncoupling track. Also, or, if one of the rollers is not touching the track or is mangled or overly dirty, that could be why it looses power and cycles the e unit when going over the switch. E units sometimes can be or seem to be a bit finicky. Most of the time they are easy to work with. If the fingers are overly worn (I've seen them with holes worn through the tips where they contact the drum) or if the curved bend in the end, also where they contact the drum is no right, the actual contact point can be right on the edge of the copper pad on the drum which can make them very easy to trip or cycle. Several things can play into this. You also could have an issue with the 022 if the contacts under the points are dirty/gummy or the wires are broken. Several things you can check. Never assume anything when trouble shooting stuff like this. May be something easy, may not.
If you can turn off the lights and operate in the dark, look under the trucks and you might be able to see sparking/arcing to locate the intermittent shorting contact. Run both directions.
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