Well. I found the part on ebay (dew assoc has many original lionel parts). It's the same part as in the original 445. I tried to bore out the coil that failed ... no luck. So for $1.99 + shipping ... problem solved. BTW ... disassembly is simple after you remove the terminal clip.
I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the accessory, only with turnouts that probably use a similar solenoid. Perhaps someone else can help with removing the part.
Bob Nelson
Thanks Bob ... I found some exploded views of the product on the Lionel website but it appears that the base of the coilis clipped in place. Is there a proper way to remove the base of the coil??? It appears to be identical to the original 445?
The solenoid is probably wound on a plastic spool, which has melted. If it's not too badly distorted, you may be able to recondition it by running a drill through it, just a little bigger than the slug. I have had success doing this with O27 turnouts, which have the same vulnerability. If it is too distorted, the drill will hit the coil and cut it; but in that case you have nothing to lose.
I have this Lionel switch tower from the late 80s (not a 445 but operates the same) that has been working fine until yesterday. It's wired to an insulated track and I'm not sure what occurred to cause the problem. The plunger will only go into the coil about a 1/4 inch and jams. I ran the trains for about 10 minutes and with all the noise did not hear that tower was buzzing. Somewhere along the way there must have been a short ... I rewired and found that the rail was operating properly. Thought maybe the insulation on the track had breached but it appears OK. Now it's working properly with the insulated track, but the plunger is jammed. Did the coil burn out??? I can't even force the plunger into the coil. Any thoughts on what happened???
Jim
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