Is their a way to make E-units quiet. I noticed some engines I have are quiet and some just seem to buzz and drown out everything. The big noise maker is my 646 at low speeds it doesn't buzz but when I give it a little more juice it starts to scream. Any suggestion on quieting it down?
Sorry This isn't going to be any help. At least a noisy E-Unit is very often NOT a sticky one and it follows that Quiet E-Units are often sticky. I'd rather have a noisy one than a sticky one.
Roland
a) Lock the E-Unit in one direction (gets rid of noise at expense of ability to reverse)
b) Run train on DC (requires disabling all horns/whistles/bells) (as well as effectively locking the loco in one direction).
c) Replace the mechanical unit with a modern electronic one (not necessarily command control, just an elecronic version of the E-unit (Dallee makes them).
d) You can try to work on the unit you have but almost all of the guidelines indicate this is often tricky and always time consuming. They usually recommend option c.
e) run just the e-unit & motor on DC (bridge rectifier powering them)
f) run the e-unit alone on DC (bridge rectifier powering just the coil winding)
g) install a rubber/foam stopper-cushion in the solenoid above the plunger
h) tighten up all aspects of the unit - crimps, connections, pivots, tabs, rivets, etc.
Rob
If the buzz bothers you try a new E-unit, only problem;some make as much noise as yours and some are quiet.It's the luck of the draw.
Also running an E-unit on DC will turn the plunger into a magnet and then it wont work at all.
"IT's GOOD TO BE THE KING",by Mel Brooks
Charter Member- Tardis Train Crew (TTC) - Detroit3railers- Detroit Historical society Glancy Modular trains- Charter member BTTS
Okay, maybe somebody will chime in here with the particulars but I know you can bend the pawl slightly and lessen the noise. Definitely works because my mechanic did it for me before I started doing my own repairs. But I've never done it before. Always afraid of messing it up. I can contact him if need be.
You either bend the pawl slightly away from the drum or further. Can't remember.
Mike S.
All my e-units are running on DC, with no problems.
Bob Nelson
Modeling the Baltimore waterfront in HO scale
LS1Heli wrote:Quiet? Your dealing with 1950's technology. If you want something quiet then buy a new engine.
I agree, 1950's or 1940's technology was less advanced and more prone to making noise. Even a modern replacement may not be that quiet.
One quick note on technology, the laser was developed in the 1930's!! Had to wait a few decades before technology made it affordable.
Lee F.
The noise comes from play between the plunger and the tube which it moves in. (the inside of the coil). If it has play, the plunger starts to vibrate because with ac the magnetfield is not continuous, but on-of-on about 120 times a second. Adding a rectifier will solve the on-off-on situation and thus keeping the plunger in a more constant magnetfield resulting in less rattle.
Because there is always a certain amount of play needed for the plunger to move freely inside the coil and that play is not constant between all e-units (it's very small, only a few 10th of a mm) there is a difference is noise between e-units. The ones being quit also tend to stick, because their play is less and thus they actually sometimes don't even have the space inside the coil to move freely.
Bending the rod from the plunger also works, but needs to be done carefully because you force the plunger in an angle inside the tube. Too much and it locks itself.
It could help to mount the e-unit completely in an angle on the frame of the engine (if there is space) which forces the plunger to one side when powered. The rattle should be less obvious without the chance of the plunger locking itself in the coil.
However, they can't be made quiet completely, it's the way they are constructed which causes the noise. Märklin uses another system for it's e-unit, one which leaves the e-unit underpowered while driving. That doesn't make noise, because the plunger is not in the coil under normal use, but they also rattle like anything when you give the pulse to change direction and they don't have a neutral. (Märklin uses 0-16 volts for driving and 24 volts for the e-unit.)
I guess option i; earplugs, is probably one of the best..
Unless you just love the sound of it....
"Lionel trains are the standard of the world" - Jousha Lionel Cowen
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