Well, I placed the bearing ball properly in the brush plate and, with new brushes inserted, re attached the brush plate after cleaning up the armature. The drive wheels move freely without any binding noted, forward and reverse. So when I power up the unit the car runs well in the forward direction, but when I switch direction the unit just hums with the red light on. It sounds like an engine does when the E unit is in neutral. I tried to determine if the armature or wheels are attempting to run in reverse and the gears are binding, and I feel not. There isn't the slightest movement of the wheels or apearance of the armature moving. Thus, I feel the motor is not getting the power that the rest of the unit is.
Any idea on which wire iis loose or has a poor connection? Thanks for any ideas on diagnosing this problem.
It is not unusual on fire cars, trolleys, and other units with similar mechanisms to have the following problem:One of the wires from the field coil to the contact plate is grounded. So when the contact slide is positioned to activate the grounded winding, the piece runs. When the contact slide is positioned to activate the other windings, both windings are activated and the unit sits there humming. Look for something touching.
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