I recently purchased a Lionel 2343 powered unit. I'm in the process of tuning/cleaning and replacing some parts to get it in running order. When I unpacked it, I put it on the track (without doing anything to it) to see what I was up against. To my surprise, it ran, shifted, light worked, coupler worked and the horn worked. And then it didn't. I opened it up and discovered that the e-unit drum had broken off. That's being rebuilt. In the meantime, I cleaned out the old lube, replaced the brushes, cleaned the commutator and rollers etc. But the horn is not working. I have some questions about it.
When I connect to power and hit the whistle button, the relay contacts close. So, I'm assuming that that part of the equation is ok (although I will clean the relay contacts). But my engine had a wire from the relay to the e-unit. What is the purpose of that? Since the e-unit is missing, is it possible that that is part of the problem? Next question......I've done some searches of this issue and found one thread where the guy fixed his horn by replacing the insulation under the horn bracket. Mine does not have insulation and Greenberg doesn't show any. Should there be? I also viewed a video on Youtube where a guy opened up his horn and cleaned the contacts in there and adjusted the screw. If nothing else works, I will do that as well. But my horn (at least from the outside) looks pristine, so I'm doubting there's much if any corrosion inside.
-Roger