Cleaning an American flyer

[germandude77]

hey

I have an american flyer 314aw and I want to clean it. Are there any sugestions? When I start my train there is a wierd sound. It is like there is high amounts of electricity in the train. Is that normal? 

[n1vets333]

I had the same enigine, I bought it from a guy that had it in a box in a barn for years. When I applied power I heard the same thing and then a click before it started running. The cick i learned is the drum e unit switching the trains direction. That is normal, if the train makes that sound and isnt going in to the next direction there is most likely a finger on the e unit that isnt touchin the drum. This oculd be fixed by repositioning the metal fingers to touch the drum. I believe that electric hum is normal of an old flyer engine that hasnt been run in years. I would open it up and lube and clean it. This might make it sound smoother.

[Sturgeon-Phish]

The 314 has a plug in jack panel.  Seperate the tender from the loco.  Turn the armeture with your finger.  It should freely rotate and the wheels turn and linkage operate without binding.  If it rotates then place a jumper between the center two sockets and AC voltage to the outerposts.  The loco is then isolated for troubleshooting.  See if voltage will operate the loco, even a little.  If not operate at all, then check to see if there are brushes present  If it trys, then remove the lower grease plate and remove the gunk from around the gears and relube.  Contact cleaner on the armature and between the commutator plates will do wonders.  Once you get the loco going, then clean the e unit and the whistle.  These get a little more involved ut are very doable.

Get back to me as to your progress

Jim  

[germandude77]

I posted a video on youtube where you can here the sound

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqPNL4bw7cU

What oil ist best for lubing 

Raffi 

[Sturgeon-Phish]

Neat tool for dignosing a problem.

I'd say you have a sticking e unit.  A very common and easy to fix problem.

This is what it looks like

Get some contact cleaner like CRC 2-26 and spray clean the e unit.  Pay particular attention to the drum / pawl contact area.  Look where the pawl protrudes the side of the unit and look for rhe pawl hanging up as the e unit cycles.  You can manually cycle the unit by pressing and releasing the tab like bottom where the coil is.  Since it does run the electrics would be working.  At this point they are just not as free" to operate as they should be. 

Seperate the tender from the loco while doing this work because it does make it easier.  The loco should have smoke fluid added before you run it much for fear of burning out the wick.  Is any smoke coming out?

There are a lot of lubes on the market.  I use 3 in 1 on axles wheels etc and a synthetic moly lube for gears

Keep us abreast with your progress

Jim

[germandude77]

Wow, were do you know all of this stuf?????

Yeah, I have taken apart my Tender and am going to start soon. I still need to buy some lube and cantact spray. When I found my train in the attic there was no wick and since then I have not used the smoke unit or added any fluid. When I took my loco apart I cleaned the smoke unit. A piece was broken inside so I need to buy a replacement part and a new wick. At 18 seconds in my video, I press the whistle button but you just here that buzzing. Any idea what can be done.  Thanks for all the help. It is my first American Flyer and Train so I am a real beginer. I plan to make a layout with more trains. Sorry if my grammer and spelling suck. I am from Germany.

[Sturgeon-Phish]

I learned by reading books and trial and error and this forum.  I do not have a lot of money to buy "collector quality" trains and accessories so I buy units that need work or don't run.   90% of the time a clean and lube is all it needs.

I need to do a little research on the whistle as I do not have a 314AW, but to check whistles they have a small DC motor that blows air through a whistle.  The most common repairs needed for whistles is repair a motor that is not spinning fast enough, or a broken fan or blocked air flow path.  Does the motor turn fast?  If not clean and lube.  If sputters, take the whistle apart and check the impeller to ensure it is not broken.  Check the air flow path for spider webs, bugs and in general crud that may block the airflow.  When putting the whistle back together a dab of silicon caulk will seal the whistle case back together.

BTW your spelling and grammar is better than mine.  Most of the time I type post in word and copy it over to correct the grammar and spelling

Jim