servicing 022 switches

[Anonymous]

I got some of the tube cleaner from radio shack last night, and it made
a differnce. After I cleaned the contact pads and sprayed them down with
the tube cleaner, I noteced a film or residue left over, do I just leave it like
that, or do I need to clean that film off? I havent assembled the
switch back together yet, just been moving it by hand to work the spray though
the switch motor.

[Anonymous]

Don't forget to clean the four flat contacts on the motor base that the switch contacts touch whe both are screwed together. Wow that sure was vague....... anyway, when these are dirty, the switch can either fail to work in one or both directions or just be sluggish as well. Good Luck........ The keep it flat suggestion above is an often overlooked critical point. You can easily bind up a good switch by screwing it or adjoining track down to tightly on rough/uneven surfaces.

[waltrapp]

Here's articles that I know of:

CTT had an article Dec 2000, p. 102.

OGR (Barrett) had an article Oct., 2004, p. 110

OGR had another basic article by Barrett Aug., 2003, p.89

- walt

[Dr.Fu-Manchu]

The Doctor is in! As I recall, there have been 1 or 2 articles in CTT on the subject. I cannot recall which issues at this time. That is a good starting point, also the advise of the posts before this one. Also, obtain a copy of " Toy Train Repair Made Easy" By Ray L. Plummer. There is a piece on O22 Switches in the book. Well worth the money.
Till My Next Missive, I Remain The Humble Yet Strangly Evil Doctor !!! [}:)]

[Dr. John]

[#ditto] to what Ben said. It seems the more you use hte O22 switches, the better they work.

Make sure they are mounted flat as sometimes they can bind if mounted on a warped surface.

If you need more work done than this, you might check out this site:
http://members.aol.com/kingscycle/webpages/switchre.htm

[ben10ben]

Give the solenoids and electrical contacts a good shot of tuner cleaner(available from Radio Shack) and work them back and forth several times. They should loosen up quite a bit.

[Anonymous]

I got a hand full of 022 switches, all work, but some are slow (sticking).
Is there any good info either here, on the web, or book and fixing and repairing
and or servicing postwar 022 switches?