Lionel 628 44-Ton switcher stuck in neutral. Help!

On the brush thing, I cleaned both brushes and the armature. The reversing unit is clean on the outside but I can use a Qtip to clean the contacts. I think I'll test the motor later but thanks for telling me. 

You need to crack the e-unit open and clean the drum and contacts and replaced any that are damaged. As long as the coil is pulling the plunger up there is no need to waste money on a new unit. 

Gandy

Did the brushes float freely in the brush holders? - They should.

Did you oil the brushes? - that is a no no,

Be certain to check those wires, including the wire from the field coil to the little tab between the brush holders on the brushplate.

Hi Ben, welcome to the forum.  I see you joined the forum just a couple of days ago.  I guess this troubleshooting/repair stuff is a little overwhelming and new to you.  But I don't know your background in the hobby or how skilled you are in doing recommended testing.

The mechanical e-unit like what is in you engine is nothing more than a relay.  When power is put to the coil the plunger is forced upward by magnetism.  The pawl on the plunger turns the contact drum enough to change he motor power via the little brass brushes.  If the contact drum does not turn freely, if the contacts on the drum or brushes themselves are dirty then power to the motor i.e., direction control, might not take place.

So here is your choice and the e-unit is not an easy item to take apart and repair unless you have practice (in my opinion).

1.  Tackle taking brushes, contact drum and plunger mechanism apart to clean.  Then, carefully put parts back together to test.

2.  Take engine to LHS (or send it) to have e-unit repairs done.

Everything depends on how you feel about tackling the project.  If you are comfortable do it, if not don't.

First, go to YouTube and enter:  Lionel e unit repair.  There are tutorial video's on doing this and they are good.  After watching then made a decision.

I hope this helps you.

Steve, Lady and Tex

Ok here's a link to my youtube video of this issue:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4o9PKMppG4&feature=youtu.be

Good video Ben.  It looks like your coil energizes the plunger.  So coil is out of the loop.  So it has to be roller contacts, brush contacts/wires or roller not turning.  I believe it comes down to doing a service and cleaning of the e-unit components. Based on what I see in the video I can't just pin it down to one thing. 

Have you tried putting power directly to the motor via. test (alligator clip) wires?

Steve, Lady and Tex

The roller turns when the hook pulls it around. I will try the motor thing right now! thanks!

Before you rebuild or replace the e-unit, it might be a good idea to isolate the problem.

Well, I gotta go now, but later I'll take a Qtip and clean those contacts!

Mike, good point, I believe I heard buzzing in the video Ben posted.  The problem here is what I would do on my bench and attempting to troubleshoot via the forum are two different animals.  CW had it right, isolate the problem first which means taking motors out, checking gears, motor operation prior to any work on the e-unit.  I think a lot of what has to be done is new to Ben.  We can just do the best we can.

Steve, Lady and Tex

The gears may still be binding some as this is very common, but there's an open somewhere in the motor circuit that has to be fixed first. You can tell there is no additional load on the transformer as the E-unit cycles through F-N-R.

quote:

 CW had it right, isolate the problem first which means taking motors out, checking gears, motor operation prior to any work on the e-unit. 

No need to remove the motor to isolate the problem. As ADCX Rob wrote, Ben's video indicated that the motor had no signs of life. A mechanical (gear) problem would show some buzzing, chattering, etc.
In my first post, I suggested the first three steps:
1 - look for broken wires (have also run across wires broken inside the insulation)
2 - check brushes (press with toothpick)

3 - disconnect e-unit and wire direct (may need to repeat #2)

quote:

The brushes are fine and touch the armature

They can be touching, but not making good contact.

There is no "remove the motor" on a 628 switcher.

The motor is integral to the power truck on these.

quote:

There is no "remove the motor" on a 628 switcher.

All a matter of semantics.
I took the comment to mean removing the motor truck from the chassis.

Well, I just got back 10 min ago and tryed other wiring combinations on the motor. SUCESS! The motor does work so it is definitely something in the reversing unit. I will clean it right now. 

So I finished cleaning the reversing unit with rubbing alcohol and a qtip, put it on the track and applied power and WE HAVE MOTION!!! Thanks to all your information my 628 is running perfectly now!!! Thanks!