Only runs backwards

you probably broke the plastic gear that rotates to change direction, when you move the lever on the E unit do you hear the coil energize? if the coil energizes the you broke an ear off the rotating gear in the E unit! you can buy the whole e unit or just the parts you need but you'll need a special metal tool to open the e unit to replace the gear and while you're in there you should also replace the copper fingers on the bottom plate where the wires are connect! if you're going to York you can buy all the parts you need from their TCA meet end of April!

Alan

Thanks Alan. There is no sound when I move the lever to engage e-unit. I think I will buy a replacement and then learn slowly to fix the one I have. Do you have any recommended suppliers? I see some on eBay but can’t be sure of quality.

OGR rocks! Thanks again, Bill

Bill,

      Suggest you try Jeff Kane, The Train Tender.  For my money the best parts guy around.

Have an ohmeter? Check the resistance of the coil when the switch is in the open position (to take it out of the circuit). Its been too long for me to remember what a good value is, but if you have another e-unit, measure that one.

Bill, don't buy anything yet.

There are only two wires to the E-unit coil. Can you see/find them both? One should go to power from the center-rail rollers, usually to a tab that also goes to lights. The other one to frame ground via the lever switch. Sometimes the fine wire breaks off just under the paper covering the coil.

Dave

Thanks Dave. You are spot on. I discovered last night that my old eyes could not see the break in the fine wire from the coil to the ground side of the lever. That got it going. I still ordered one from The Train Tender to have a comparison in status of my unit versus a good one done by a professional. I've also ordered new fingers and drum to practice taking the old one apart, servicing the inner parts, and reassembling and wiring. I'm still very new at this and working to establish the deep skill set you guys have (yes I'm envious, in a good way).

I do have another question...although I got it running it is cycling weird. Let's say I engage it moving foward first, then power down, power up to go to neutral, and so on. When I power up to go to neutral it lurches forward a bit before going into neutral. Same thing happens on the other side of the cycle when moving from reverse back to neutral. It moves in the wrong direction even more (and sometimes continues in the original direction) if I power-up slowly. If I power up quickly, it works well.

The plunger seems to move freely when I move it with a screwdriver tip but could it be sticking a bit?

Bill

Sorry, Michale T. I forgot to acknowledge your help too. It would have been a good way to confirm the broken circuit. I'll look into Ohm meters and how to use. (arg, another skill to gain.)

OGR Rocks!

An e unit is designed to operate at just less than 6 volts.   Lionel pre electronic transformers are designed to come on at 6 volts. This way the e unit is supposed to operate prior to the loco moving. If it starts to move before the e unit operates the problem is probably that you are using the wrong transformer or the e unit is operation at too high voltage.  If the problem is the e unit, it may be difficult to fix. Cleaning the mechanism might do it, or there could be shorted turns in the coil.

Taking an e-unit apart to replace the fingers without removing the drum is tricky. Putting the drum back in without a special tool that isn’t cheap is something I won’t attempt again. YouTube has videos for doing it with and without the tool. I’ve resigned myself to buying complete e-units from Jeff Kane and tossing out the bad ones.

@texgeekboy posted:

I’ve resigned myself to...  ...tossing out the bad ones.

What a waste of money & resources. These would be rather valuable to those that find this repair a 2 minute cakewalk... have you considered/discussed returning them to The Train Tender as serviceable cores?

I don't care about the money at all, actually, but to see these wonderful electromechanical devices landfilled or scrapped is a real shame.

@ADCX Rob,

Well, no.  I hadn't thought of that.  I actually didn't toss them even though I said I did.  I just put them in a box of junk stuff.  Next time I communicate with Jeff I'll mention that.

There are two different e units. Prewar and up until about 1949 the three position e-units used the 259E- something coil. After that they used the 100-something coil. I believe the difference was a cost cutting effort. The 259e- coil has more turns of smaller wire and a paper wrap between every layer. The e-units with the 259e- something coil are quiet and run cooler. They do not buzz. The 100- coil has so little wire on it that it cannot be used on DC without overheating.   I would suggest that no one would want to down grade their equipment by going to a modern e-unit coil.

@David Johnston posted:

... up until about 1949 the three position e-units used the 259E- something coil. After that they used the 100-something coil....

E-31 and 100-31.