Is there any way to directly test a postwar motor?

[rtraincollector]

magicman glad to see you back don't see much of you, was wondering if your still staying active in trains or not as your (if memory serves me right) at the age to be thinking of collage soon and other things that a lot of times takes the place of trains for a while.

[magicman710]

I tested it the way both of you mentioned and it ran fine. It turns out there was multiple problems that could have resulted in the motor not working: The replacement brush plate I installed to replace the cracked previous one was on really tight, practically preventing the motor from turning. Second, I dont know when I did this, but most likely when I rebuilt the e-unit, I forgot to solder the middle wire (green) that goes from the center motor terminal to the e-unit onto the e-unit. After I solder the wire back (didn't feel like doing it right now ) it should work fine.

Thanks guys!

[lionelsoni]

Yes.  Wire the field and armature in series.  One end of the field winding is (should be) already connected to the motor frame and therefore to the locomotive frame.  Connect the other end of the field winding to one of the brushes.  Then connect the other brush to the pickup.  To run it in the other direction, swap the wires to the brushes (which is what the e-unit normally does to reverse the locomotive).

[carlb01464]

magicman710

So now the last thing I can think of is that the motor itself is the culprit, and since it won't work now, I wanted to see if there is anyway I can directly put power leads on the motor to test its function.

Thanks for any help.

Yes, there is a way to test the motor. First, disconnect the wires coming from the "E" unit to make sure that isn't causing any problem. There should now be a wire from the center terminal on the back of the motor still connected to the motor winding and another one from the other end of the winding connected to a tab on the side of the motor.

Next, remove the wire from the center terminal and connect it to the right hand terminal. Connect a transformer lead to the terminal on the left and the other transformer lead to the metal frame of the motor.

Apply power, the motor should turn if nothing is wrong with it. To reverse direction, swap the connections on the motor terminals. 

Carl Benvenuto

[magicman710]

2 years ago I bought a 6220 sitting amongst a pile of assorted postwar locomotives and cars for $50. It looked fairly decent externally, not Like New of course, but didn't look terrible. When I got home and tried to get it to run, it just sat there. It would light up, make a little buzz, but would just sit there. Then, when I figured out how to take the body off, if I hit the top of the e-unit (I would use a log loader log) it would sometimes run, but only in forward. Eventually it wold stop. I noticed the brushplate was cracked and replaced in rewired it correctly. Still didn't work. So I put it away for a long time.

Just recently I found a youtube video on how to rebuild a e-unit. So, per the instrutions on the video, I rebuilt the e unit, cleaned the contacts, the plunger, the whole works. Rewired correctly, and still it does nothing. The eunit is clearly working, (which it didnt before), as I can here and see the plunger moving.

So now the last thing I can think of is that the motor itself is the culprit, and since it won't work now, I wanted to see if there is anyway I can directly put power leads on the motor to test its function.

 

Thanks for any help.