wont power up but put power to brushes and engine spins?? need idea where to look for issues thanks
By 681 I'm assuming you've got the Pennsy Steam Turbine. If you can power the motor by sending current directly to it through the brushes you may have a bad E-unit, the same thing happened to one of my old Lionels.
Are you sure there's power to the tracks? You can check them with another engine if you have one or with a lighted passenger car.
This is where an electical meter really comes in handy. I diagnosed my dead E-unit engine by removing the shell and metering the E-unit with power to the tracks. Also making it a bit easy was a shower of sparks from the engine just before it died, it was just a question of where the sparks came from.
Good luck! And let us know what happens.
I would say 100% sure the problem is the E-unit, if you can power it from the brushes, and it runs, you either have a dirty E-unit, or a broken wire linked to the E-unit. You can try using a spray can of contact cleaner like CRC brand all inside the E-unit, and see if that gets it going. If not, you will have to pull out the E-unit, and examine it closely, to see of there is a broken part (round drum), or a broken wire that can be from the E-unit to the motor, or from the botton pickup rollers to the power tab on the E-unit. Don't know what your level of expertise is with repairing, but the S2 turbines 671/681/682/2020 which are basically the same motor, are one of the easiest to fix.
If you have to, you can run the engine without the E-unit. My E-unit was totally blown so I removed it and soldered the pick-up wires directly to the motor. As I rarely run in reverse (it's a small layout) it's no big deal for me. One of these days I'll try repairing the E-unit or replace it entirely, but for now forward-only is OK.
I would say 100% sure the problem is that if you can power it from the brushes, and it runs, you have more severe issues than an E-unit problem.
Rob
Applying power to the brushes should not make any postwar Lionel motor run. Postwar Lionel motors have their armatures (brushes) and field coils wired in series. So applying power directly to the motor brushes should do nothing more than possibly make the motor vibrate a bit and hum. Start by reading the material at the following web site. The locomotive discussed is very similar to a 681: http://pictures.olsenstoy.com/671-47.htm
And here is some general service information:
http://pictures.olsenstoy.com/searchcd31.htm?itm=627
Thank-you CW I was going to say there had to be a jumper wire in there and both didn't go to the brushes but waited for someone to better explain it.
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Firelock76 If you have to, you can run the engine without the E-unit. My E-unit was totally blown so I removed it and soldered the pick-up wires directly to the motor. As I rarely run in reverse (it's a small layout) it's no big deal for me. One of these days I'll try repairing the E-unit or replace it entirely, but for now forward-only is OK.
this is what I do with many of my rebuild steamers. good used steamer motors are usually easy to find, and cheaper without the e unit.
Dave
It's a TOY, A child's PLAYTHING!!! (Woody from Toy Story)
I don't know if you have figured out the problem yet, but if you haven't, you can try testing the motor by itself. I am also presuming that the body is off the frame. Unsolder the wires on top of the motor, and just mark which wire connects to which contact on the brush plate. If you have test cords with alligator clips, connect the center contact from the field coil, to the right brush contact. Take your transformer leads and put one lead to the ground lug on side of the motor where the other field wire is connected. Then take the other lead from the transformer, and touch the left brush contact. That whould make it run in Forward. Then switch from right contact to left contact, center and left strapped together, and touch the right contact with the transformer lead. That will run motor in Reverse. That eliminates the motor as a problem, and boils it down to a faulty E unit. If that is the case, you have to pull the E unit out, and probably have to rebuild it or replace it with a known good one. That should get you up and running. Make sure you check everything inside the frame for any stray metal or piece of wire, and clean it out.
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