American Flyer post-war steam engine: No power

[stebbycentral]

90% of the time the little copper fingers that reverse the electricity to the motor have worn through, or have lost their tension so that they are not actually touching the copper conductor on the rotor. If this the case it is very difficult to detect by visual inspection only.  One way to test if the reverse unit is the problem is to bypass the unit entirely.  With the engine supported so that the drivers are free to spin, place a wire jumper between the two center plugs on the back of the engine cab.  Then touch two other jumper wires from the transformer track power posts to the outside jack plugs.  If the motor spins with the reverse unit bypassed, the problem is in the tender wiring.  If not, you need to investigate the wiring connections in the engine. This is such a common issue with these old trains that there are plenty of tutorial videos on YouTube on how to diagnose/replace the contacts on a defective Flyer reverse unit.  Replacement contact fingers can be purchased online or on eBay.

[lionelsoni]

 

If he can see the reversing-unit drum turning, then the lever is not the problem.

The American Flyer reversing units that I have used are kept from cycling by locking the armature mechanically into one position, unlike Lionel E-units, which disconnect the coil electrically.

(By the way, Flyer aficionados often avoid the Lionel term "E-unit," preferring to call them "reversing units.")

[Penny Trains]

Aboard!

The first thing to try is changing the position of the E-Unit (electronic reverse unit) lever which should protrude through the bottom of the tender.  It may be set to "neutral" which would do exactly as you say and not send power to the motor.

Becky

[engine301]

Thanks for looking at my question.

 

I got out dad's old American Flyer after many years of not work and have put my mind to fixing it.  This is my first endeavour into fixing a train and I may not have all the lingo down but I’m a quick learner.  It is a smeat engine, number 301 built in ‘53.

 

When I turn on the power the coal hums but the engine doesn’t move nor does the light come on.  I’ve taken it apart and the reverse mechanism seems to be going what it’s supposed to.  The wheel inside turns when the power is turned off and then back on but now power seems to be passing through it.  Is this possible?  How would I test that theory?  There is connectivity throughout the train including in the patch wires between the cars.