I was running my Lionel 2056 Hudson at a train club this past weekend, and it appears that the armature decided to short itself out, I assume in the windings somewhere. Using my multimeter, I can see that there is continuity between 2 of the 3 segments.
I was wondering that if before I attempt to get a used (and hopefully good) armature shipped up to Canada, if there is any suggestions of a potential fix for the commutator. I haven't been able to find a wheel puller locally to pull the commutator out, though the club might have one in storage.
Thanks for any help, this engine was the best running one I owned, since it was the only one that I worked on myself, rather it was done by a train repair shop about 3 years ago.
I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think there's a fix for a shorted armature,once it's gone, it's gone. I've got a shorted coil in a whistle unit and as far as I'm concerned it's a write-off.
I've got a 2056 myself, it's my favorite post-war, a real workhorse! Best of luck on your repair efforts!
I've never had one of those old motors fail, but I have had old e-units go on me, one died with a shower of sparks! Are you sure the problem's not the e-unit?
Technically shouldn't there be continuity between segments? It would be bad if there wasn't, because that would mean that a winding had been burnt out and current could no longer flow through a coil. All the windings are wound in series so that when two communtator plates are contacted by the brushes, the path between them is connected by one of the windings on the armature- but each commutator plate has two connections- a wire from the winding to either side of it. What you need to measure is the resistance through each winding- if one of the windings is significantly different from the others... well, there's probably an issue there.But the fact you mentioned that there's a segment that power isn't going through? That suggests to me that this is the source of your troubles.I would check there's no broken wires, just in case maybe a solder joined failed and you can simply reconnect the wire.If you have a blown winding, the only cure is to re-wind the armature. This can be done, but it will take a lot of time and effort- and you will need new enamel wire of the same gauge as the original. Make sure to count how many turns are on each pole (winding) of the motor (should be the same for all three, so just count one) so you can re-wind the correct number of turns back onto the armature. You should re-wind the entire armature, even if only one pole has gone bad.You can also send it off to be rewound by someone who specializes in rewinding motors. The advantage to this is you basically end up with a "good as new" armature, and it will probably endure far more use than a used original will.-Ellie
"Unless bought from a known and trusted dealer who can vouch otherwise, assume every train for sale requires servicing before use"
I don't think that it's the E-unit, since the locomotive still runs with a push, but with plenty of sparking and a little smoke from the motor. I'm hoping it may just be a piece of dirt that'c connecting the windings, but I'll need to pull a wheel to check that anyways.
Just a thought, since you've little to lose, try blowing the motor out with electrical contact cleaner (most well-stocked hardware stores should have it in aerosol cans) and some compressed air afterwards, also available in aerosol cans. There might be a foreign object or some crud up in there as you surmise.
One tip that worked for me in the copier repair field when dealing with malfunctions is look for the simple thing first.
Contact cleaner works well on e-units too.
I was thinking of trying that, since I need to spend time finding a parts supplier that ships to Canada. I'll have to go to the garage to use the compressor, since I used the last of my canned air on my computer. Thanks
Have an update, I ordered a used commutator from a Canadian eBay seller, and I bought a cheap "bearing puller" from a discount tools store. It was able to remove the wheel, but I had to use a small screw to "extend" the threaded rod, as it was too wide to fit onto the axle. The new part works, now just have to borrow a friends press to reinstall the wheel. I found it easier to pull the wheel with the gear on it, as there was more room between the wheel and the frame, then pull the other wheel and axle out.
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