Need a "Fix" for a Lionel CAB-1

I inserted a very small metal washer in mine.

Now, my issue is how do I know if my CAB-1 is communicating with the PM-1?  The CAB-1 seems to be working, I set  the PM-1 to CONV, turn the throttle and ...nothing.  When I return it to COMM, the loco takes off.

Here's how I fixed a couple of my Cab-1 battery compartments.

The material used is 0.008" thick phosphor bronze.  This is a very springy material.

Using scissors, cut a piece a little less than 1/2" square and cut off 2 corners as shown.

Using a center punch, a nail, or some other pointed object, tap a dent in the center.  Use something like a pine board as support, so you'll dent it and not punch a hole through it.

Place the piece in the battery compartment as shown, with the dent facing toward the camera.  The corners were cut off to make room for the plastic battery cover to slide on.

Being phosphor bronze, the piece will supply spring tension to ensure good battery contact.

Just a wild idea, if the batteries are alkaline, just solder a piece of wire to them, assuming you are not talking about the first and last tab. Deal is getting the solder to stick to the battery without destroying it with the heat. Emory cloth to rough it up???

Another wild idea, a piece of metal foil tape, but I don't know how you make it apply a pressure to the side of the battery to maintain contact. Above washer idea? Lockwasher??

NNJ, its been a while since I have owned a gray PM1, but there should be an LED on the PM1 that blinks when it receives a TMCC message. If it isn't blinking, first step is reseating the crystal. The symptom for a bad connection on the crystal is when you press a button, the Cab-1 beeps, but nothing seems to happen. This recently happened to me between a gray Cab-1 and gray Base 1.  Could be something else mind you, but when I did a search on this forum, this is what someone said to do first, and whaddaya know fixed it right away.

IC -- reseating the crystal?  Where and how do I do that?

To all responders ...

Thanks for the tips. I'll try the phosphor bronze suggestion (with very helpful photos). I hope the nearby hobby shop has that material on hand.  If not, I'll place an order with the manufacturer.

With appreciation,

Mike M.

NNJ, take the back cover off, take the batteries out, the crystal will be to one side.

And ... a duckduckgo search did not come up with an image, and came up with the manual for the Cab1L. Sigh. Somewhere on OGR should be the manual for the Cab1.

Thanks, I’ll work on that.

OK, I've isolated the problem not to the CAB-1 but to the PM-1.  I've two versions of the latter, the one I'm working with now - the newer model with the COMM/CONV switch - and the older model that requires the TPC300.  The older model is receiving signals from the CAB-1 but the newer one isn't.  Has anyone ever had a problem with the receiver "crystal" in their PM-1 unit?  Or could it be that the PM-1 needs to be programmed to read the CAB-1 signals?  I've followed the instructions for the PM-1 but it doesn't discuss that, only how to assign the Track number.

The PM-1 should receive the commands unless someone has changed the crystal or it's broken.  Check the frequency of the crystal against the one in the CAB1 and see if they match.

I’ve checked and It’s the right frequency crystaI.  I opened up the unit to inspect and noted the red wire that connects to the diode across the red & green LEDs was disconnected.  Once I fix that I’ll have a better idea whether the signal is being received.