The pawl that turns the drum can over time wear a notch into the crotch between the teeth, keeping the pawl from returning to its rest position. If your e-unit's pawl fails to drop when the coil is de-energized, this may be your problem. It can be fixed by shaving a new, smooth surface onto each tooth with an Xacto knife, even without removing the drum if you're careful.
Bob Nelson
Even though the drum may look OK, it is probably worn enough to cause the sticking. Replace the drum with a good new one. Some repros do not work well, so buy from a reputable dealer.
While you have the e-unit apart, replace the contact assemblies also. A complete rebuild will give you many years of good service.
Larry
I'm overhauling a Lionel 2025 steam engine (2nd generation, 1952) which runs fine except for a sticking E unit. I've taken the unit apart and cleaned it out thoroughy with TV tuner cleaner. The drum and fingers appear to be in good shape, and in fact when I move the drum manually, the unit cycles through F-N-R as it should. I can also move the plunger up and down into the coil with no problem.
I've tried applying power directly to the E unit, bypassing the pickup rollers, but the same problem persists. I can get things to work briefly if I spray lots of cleaner into the solenoid opening, but after a few runs through the cycles, it's back to sticking again.
Any ideas?
John
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