I just got an American Flyer 356 I'm trying to bring back to life and I can't seem to figure out whats wrong it. The reversing unit clicks and rotates like it should, but the motor's motionless, not even a hum or buzz. There was 1 or 2 rare occasions it worked, and ran around the test tack a few times just fine without getting hot, or making any noises. Then when id shut if off and put power to it again, nothing. The wiring looks good to me, its still very flexible, with no cracks or frays anyplace. I dont even see any loose connections. I also looked over all the windings with an LED flashlight and didnt see anything obviously wrong with it. But there are two long black wires not connected to anything which went to the smoke unit, which is missing, I doubt that has anything to do with why its not working. Durring these test runs i made sure the loose smoke unit wires weren't touching anything or each other.
Just on a hunch i took an armature out of my 303 locomotive, and placed it in the 356 and budged some, but after i switched off and back on again it didn't even twitch.
It's been a while since I've worked on a postwar AF motor, so maybe there's something I'm forgetting to check, or clean....
Here's everything I've done to it so far:
1. Took apart the reverse unit, cleaned all 4 contact fingers, and the drum.
2. Cleaned out all the old grease off the gears
3. Cleaned the 4 flanged wheels, plus the metal wheels, and contacts on the tender.
4.Cleaned off the armature, plus the slots with a toothpick ( I might try that again, I've tried that twice and the second time i still found a small amount of grime)
5. Cleaned all the grime off the brush springs, brushes, and brush tubes
6.Cleaned all the grime off the windings
7. Added fresh lube to the gears, axles, and armature ends.
8. spun the armature by hand to make sure there weren't any gears binding up, everything moved very smoothy.
9. Made sure the transformer, or track connection connection wasn't faulty by running one of my other locomotives, and it ran just fine on the same track..
10. Made sure both brushes are making perfectly flat contact, even when i move the armature around.
11. Both springs and brushes still have good lengths to them.
I'd appreciate any tips you guys may have! Like i said I may have forgotten to check something small I could have easily overlooked...
Daniel
See whether you can put the reversing unit drum into a position where the motor should be running. Then, with voltage applied to the locomotive, touch each of the fingers with a toothpick, to see whether you can find one that is not making contact.
Bob Nelson
If after checking the reverse unit as Bob advises, and the loco still does not run, you need to diagnose further. Possibly a bad connection at the plug between the tender and locomotive may be the problem. Unplug the wires connecting the tender to the locomotive. Notice the jack on the back of the cab where you just unplugged the wires from. There are 2 terminals on top, and 2 on the bottom. Fashion a jumper wire, and jump one top to one bottom connection, any way, makes no difference. Now connect the transformer to the remaining 2 terminals and the motor should run. If it does, you may have a wiring problem from the e-unit in the tender to the plug, or you may have a bad e-unit drum or contacts. If the motor does not run, you either have a wiring problem from the jack to the motor, or a motor problem.
Double check the reverse unit contacts to make sure they are in good shape, not burned through, and are making good contact on the drum. Inspect closely the wiring at the tender to loco plug itself, as this is where a bad connection can cause problems.
You did not mention if you cleaned the wheels, axles and pickup wipers on the tender, as this is where all power comes from.
Larry
Thanks for that helpful tip, Bob, I didn't think about checking the contact fingers with a toothpick. All of them seem to be touching, but you never know there could be one or a few that could a hair off, but still look like its making contact. I'll check that next, after I go thorough and triple check everything I cleaned.
Thanks Larry, that's very helpful, it may be awhile before I try that. I'm starting to suspect I may have a bad solder joint somewhere, I haven't checked out the contact fingers yet, which appear to be touching the drum, but it's still possible there could be one or 2 that could be a tad off and I don't know it yet. I forgot to mention this version doesn't the plug terminal in the back of the cab, all the wires from the tender are soldered to the motor......i wish it did, that would make diagnosing the problem easier.
The wheels and axles getting cleaned was number 3 on my list.
I'm hoping I might have missed cleaning something, or didn't clean something well enough. I did all of this last night, so maybe after with my mind fresh and rested, I might catch something.
Another potential possibility is that a wire from the tender to the plug is broken making only momentary contact. Check each wire to from the solder joint on the reversing unit to the plug with a ohm meter, the braided wire does break with age and some times the only thing keeping it in place is the cloth insulation.
Of course, if after trying everything you are still having trouble shooting an American Flyer 356, you could always try shooting a Winchester .356 instead...;-) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.356_Winchester
Sorry.
Lol, Bob, I hope you're not implying I should shoot it to put it out of its misery? ;)
Thanks for the tip , Major! I actually found out what the issue was. When i cleaned the drum, I just wiped all the grease off it...this time I took some really fine sand paper to the drum, and polished it to a bright shine. Also there was a contact finger I forgot to clean. Hard to believe small issues like that would cause the whole thing to not even move an inch. it runs perfectly forward and reverse, it just needs some more lubrication in a few spots.
Bob
By the what what you said about looking at the E-Unit did help me solve what was wrong with it. I saw there was 1 contact finger i forgot to clean which had alot of build up on it. Plus the drum needed some additional cleaning. All I did was wipe all the grime off it, i took some extra fine sand paper to it, and polished the contacts on it to a nice shine and it works great in both directions!
Thanks again for the advice!
I'm glad you got it going (and didn't have to resort to gunfire)! By the way, don't let the other American Flyer guys hear you mention an "e-unit"--that's Lionel lingo!
Ahhh, The world is safe. Once again lionelsoni comes to the defense of misunderstood tender thumpers. In the world outside of Lionelville - engines have reversing units.
Thanks for providing good information folks.
Enjoying the World's Greatest Hobby
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Great tool for cleaning automatic reversing unit drums is a fiberglass brush available at Radio Shack or most electronic supply stores. These are far less abrasive than sand paper. I also think sand paper is a no no because it has a tendency to shed sand and that can get into the oddest of places.
Another reversing unit "bench must have" for me is "DeOxit" spray. This is available from a few different electronic suppliers. A small spritz in the right place does wonders..
Tender Thumpers of America Unite!
Lover of all things Gilbert, truly a man ahead of his time.
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