e-unit weirdness. Forget the fix, please remind me

[msacco]

I know I've either seen this on the forum or read it somewhere, but how do you adjust the eunit so it does't do that little forward or backward jerk in neutral. REally remember there being a fix for this. Can anyone help?

thanks,

mike Sacco

[Anonymous]

Mike,

         Bend the pawl away from the drum slightly. The idea is to still have the pawl hook on to the teeth on the drum, but bend it so that it hooks closer to the outer edge of the tooth.  This allows the e-unit to cycle more easily.  This will eliminate the jerk when entering neutral, and it might also make the e-unit quieter.

 

                                                                                         Jim

[Back2Trains]

Be sure the tension on the contact fingers is not too strong. I have replaced contact strips in E units, only to have them start doing wierd things. Backing off the tension slightly took care of the problem.

[Anonymous]

This is mainly caused by it taking more voltage to pull up the E-unit than it takes to start the motor running. Any binding or pressure or dirt in the E-unit will cause this. The plunger could be dirty in the coil. The fingers could be putting too much pressure on the drum. The sides could be putting too much pressure on the side of the drum. the drum pivid points could be worn. The drum ratchit could be worn. Any source of drag or friction. A good test for the ideal is to take the E-unit out of the engin and with the wires disconnected, turn the e-unit upside-down. When properly adjusted the plunger should fall back into the coil under its own weight and move the drum into the new position. No shaking allowed.