About 2 months ago I bought a 2245 Texas special in as is condition with the box for 20 dollars. Hooked it up to my zw and it seems to be running great only in forward, the orignal eveready d cell battery was still in there stuck and a lot of battery corrosion all over the metal frame inside. Theres a tiny bit of corrosion on the eunit which is why I think it's stuck in forward but despite all the corrosion it still runs and lights up great! After removing the battery and applying baking soda to remove almost all the corrosion the eunit is still stuck in forward and the horn won't sound. This was probably my only chance getting a lionel postwar f3 for that price so how do I go about getting it to run like fresh from the factory? The 2245 I have has a weird pulmor motor I never seen in a postwar lionel train and it has portholes.
I will suggest that you spray the E unit with deoxit
What's deoxit?
Cleans and lubricates electronic equipment without causing any harm.
Deoxit? I've never heard of that one, I've been using electrical contact cleaner myself, the over the counter spray type you can get in a hardware store electrical section. I've never paid attention to the brand name, it works, but Deoxit sounds interesting. Where can I find it?
Most big box and auto parts stores.
Is the specific spots where I should be spraying the eunit with deoxit? Also where do I start troubleshooting the horn assembly?
Pay special attention to the fingers on the E unit seems like it is stuck in forward only(assuming the lock out lever is where it should be).
Thanks! I'll look for it!
philo426 Pay special attention to the fingers on the E unit seems like it is stuck in forward only(assuming the lock out lever is where it should be).
I'd also advise spring the plunger in the solenoid (you don't have to take it out) in case there's old crud in there or someone mistakenly oiled it in the past, it should be dry.
Also look at the drum in the e-unit, the little thing on the bottom with a ratchet on it just in case it's broken. If it's fine a small drop of a light oil on the points that come through the the e-unit frame will prevent premature wear. I've seen them broken from the plastic points rubbing on the steel frame.
And that's a good point about the lock-out lever! It could be that's the issue.
James Huff Is the specific spots where I should be spraying the eunit with deoxit? Also where do I start troubleshooting the horn assembly?
Here's a seven minute video on Lionel horn repair. It's on a Lionel Alco, not a Texas Special, but the basic principles should be the same.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LsDKsNBBKQ
I should mention that the actual horn worked when I put the battery on top of the horn then putting a wire between the top of the battery and the relay the horn sounds then but once I put the battery back in the battery chamber and flip it over the horn won't sound at all
From what you're saying, it sounds like the horn works fine, but you'll need to troubleshoot the relay, and wiring.
Try this:
with the shell off, and battery in place, can you manually actuate the relay, and see if the horn sounds? This will test the contacts, and wiring.
Paul
so I chose to spray the eunit with wd40 because I already had wd40 and let it sit for 20 mins now it makes 2 different loud buzzing noises the first is what the eunit should sound like when its engaged and the other is this louder rattling sound that stops 2 to 3 seconds after I applied power it now gets stuck in neutral sometimes and then goes forward but it won't run in reverse.
Road Foreman of Engines From what you're saying, it sounds like the horn works fine, but you'll need to troubleshoot the relay, and wiring. Try this: with the shell off, and battery in place, can you manually actuate the relay, and see if the horn sounds? This will test the contacts, and wiring. Paul
so when you say manually activating the relay you mean flipping the loco upside down with the battery installed? That's what I first tried since i know that the horn doesn't need the transformer to activate the horn since the battery is powering the horn and flipping the loco upside down causes the relay contacts to touch each other. But the horn won't sound although I can clearly hear the contacts hitting each other when I flip the loco upside down with the battery inside
James HuffI chose to spray the eunit with wd40
Please, do NOT WD-40 on e-units. WD-40 is a good moisture displacer and light lubricant but after a while it's going to dry out and gum up and only make things worse. Do what's recommended and used electrical contact cleaner, that's what it's made for. It's even more important you use it now since there's WD-40 in there.
Flintlock76 Please, do NOT WD-40 on e-units. WD-40 is a good moisture displacer and light lubricant but after a while it's going to dry out and gum up and only make things worse. Do what's recommended and used electrical contact cleaner, that's what it's made for. It's even more important you use it now since there's WD-40 in there.
Looks like I got a little shopping to do.
Hi James,
what I meant was to keep the loco upright with the battery in place. If you can manually lift up the paddle on the relay, so the contacts make contact. You have already proved that the horn works, Thank You for that,eliminates the horn. So, if you can not get the horn to work with the battery in place, and holding the contacts closed manually, there is a continuity problem somewhere.
possibilities:
1. Relay contacts
2. wiring
3. corrosion in the battery chamber( because the horn works with the battery outside the chamber)
unfortunately, you will have to check each of these ,making continuity checks.
Good luck, your horn works, just need to get it to actuate.
I applied some deoxit on the eunit its not making that loud rattling sound anymore but now it's now completely silent when the lever is set to disconnect the eunit and when the lever is flipped in the other direction, it makes a faint buzzing sound when it's engaged. It as if I didn't spray wd40 on the eunit. Its still stuck in forward!!
As far as manually activating the relay with the battery installed the horn remained silent. So now what should I do next as far as getting the horn to work properly?
philo426 Cleans and lubricates electronic equipment without causing any harm. I also use it to clean the electrical contact rollers on the loco. Spray and spin the rollers to clean out the gunk between rollers and pins. Spray and spin until the residue drops are clean. much less sparking.
Well you need to test the horn. put a 9v battery to the horn directly. bypass the relay. only put it on for a couple seconds as to not burn up the horn. The 9v will sometimes jar loose a frozen horn. if it doesn't sound then you know the horn is the issue.
trainlivebob Well you need to test the horn. put a 9v battery to the horn directly. bypass the relay. only put it on for a couple seconds as to not burn up the horn. The 9v will sometimes jar loose a frozen horn. if it doesn't sound then you know the horn is the issue.
I already did test the Horn with a d battery directly on top of the horn and it sounded.
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