I have a maroon top 2321 FM diesel and when it goes over 022 switches it changes directions. It completely goes from forward to reverse, no neutral. Is this because the pickups are at far ends of the engine?? and not on just 1 power truck?? thanks.
It's because the pickups are being interrupted twice, wherever the gaps in the middle rail happen to be. Check whether both trucks' pickups are connected. There's a good chance that one of them has come open, leaving your locomotive dependent on only one pickup roller and vulnerable to every gap in the turnout.
Bob Nelson
So basically the E-Unit and motors are getting power from one pickup?? So, how should i check which one is the bad one?? Try to see if it moves with one set of truck on track and then try the other truck, whichever one does not make motors move is the bad one, correct??
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What Doug suggests should work; but, with the shell off, you might easily see a broken wire.
(When you put the shell back on, consider putting a washer between the shell and the metal tab that each screw goes into. The shells are usually too long; so tightening the screw can crack the shell.)
So it's not so simple a problem. Can you tell whether the locomotive's circuit is coming open or shorted? If it's an open circuit, other lights powered by the same track circuit will stay lit as you cross the turnout. If it's a short circuit, those other lights will wink.
The reason I'm inquiring about the possibility of a short circuit is that that locomotive's pickup design is a bit flawed. They located the pickup rollers between the blind drivers, which are at the end of the truck that moves the farthest sideways on curves. On Lionel O27 turnouts they reliably touch the turnout points; but I would have thought they would be okay with 022s. If this turns out to be the problem, an easy fix is to rotate the pickup assemblies 180 degrees, putting the rollers between flanged wheels.
By the way, does the problem happen on both straight and curved paths through the turnouts?
Yes, it happens on both straight and curve turnouts. I have 21 locos and this is the only one that bugs me. Cause i like to run slow with my trains and everytime i go over a switch it switches directions. Will i be able to turn the pickups 180 degrees?? thanks.
Does it bounce a lot going thru the switch regardless of turnout or straight ?
Do all the connections, solder or wire nut, appear to be secure ?
If it bounces thru the switch could the p/u roller or it's frame be shorting to the motor truck ?
Turning the pickups around is very easy; but I expect that it will not solve the problem, since it occurs on the straight path as well as the curved. For anyone who does want to reverse the pickups, just loosen the screw that holds the pickup assembly on, rotate the assembly, including the insulator, 180 degrees, and retighten the screw. The insulator will no longer be locked in place by the bosses on the truck casting; but it will stay put if the screw is reasonable tight.
Have you done the experiment to determine whether the problem is an open circuit or a short circuit?
After I wrote the above, it occurred to me that rotating the pickups will put them about 2 1/4 inches closer together. If the problem does turn out to involve an unfortunate spacing of gaps on the turnout, changing the spacing might solve it. You can alse achieve an intermediate change of 1 1/8 inches by rotating only one pickup.
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