Hello all, my pendulum reverse unit is not working in both directions. I replaced the brushes and it still just buzzes, no movement on wheels or armature. Any idea what is wrong?
Iâm confused. 1. you replaced brushes (to me that is not DIRECTLY related to the reverse solenoid. (BTW I have always been fasinated by that gadget, but never thought to call it a âpendulum reverserâ) 2. Where is this âbuzzâ noise coming from? electric motor or the solenoid?
3. Can you physically activate the reverser to âtop outâ should the solenoid be âweakerâ than before or obstructed and not making rocker switch either way (forward or reverse). Please answer #3 as this seems to be the problem. endmrw0318251638
Lionel 12 you mite want to post this under classic toy trains you may get more responses.
Chuck
I agree, the Classic Toy Trains forum is the right place for this inquiry!
I recently went through the second of my two pendulum reverse units, theyâre very interesting devices.
The reverse unit itself has no brushes (I assume you meant the motor??). It has a set of 4 or 5 fingers, depending on whether it is for a steam or an electric locomotive, which move over a contact plate, to reverse the motor (and headlight, on electric outline models).
There is a steel, pivoting âflapperâ and a thin contact strip as well. In operation, as the motor powers up, the flapper will be drawn towards the motor field, breaking contact with the contact strip. The solenoid that throws the pendulum reverse is wired to this contact, such that initially it will get power when the track is energized, and then as the motor starts up, the flapper is pulled down, and the solenoid is de-energized. So the solenoid should only briefly get power, just long enough for it to throw the pendulum.
There are a number of issues that can cause these units to misbehave. They can perform very nicely, but require some TLC to get there.
Here are some pictures of the unit I recently worked on:
On the left is the contact plate, and pendulum with contact fingers. Immediately right of it is the solenoid. way over on the far right is the flapper, and above it (but not especially visible) is the contact strip (mounted to a piece of fibre board). Below the flapper is the brass âlockoutâ lever for keeping the unit locked in one direction. It does so by forcing the flapper to remain down, even when the motor is not running.
Here is what the back of the contact plate looks like:
Note the two small contact patches set at 90 degrees off from the others. These are only for electric outline models, and are used to provide directional lighting.
Here is what the fingers look like- note that mine were badly worn, one of them all the way through. My solution was to make my own patches out of phosphor bronze sheet from K&S Metals.
Note the tiny finger at 90 degrees off from the others. Again, this is present for electric outline locomotives, and is for providing directional lighting.
Note that O gauge pendulum reverse units have the same parts, but use a differently shaped brass housing that is designed to mount onto an O gauge motor. The unit I have shown is for the Lionel âSuper Motorâ and the standard gauge âBild-a-Locoâ motor. Again, though, while the brass chassis is different, the O and Standard units use the same âinternal organsâ.
-El
Long ago in the early '60âs (I couldnât afford Lionel, had Marx sold at Sears) the locos reverse operation looked NOTHING like what is pictured here. Much simpler and very straight forward. I wish I could get a picture of it. Pendulum was appropriate to name the way this one operated. endmrw0319252245
@MP104 yes, Marx had a 2-position E-Unit which was much simpler and cheaper in its design.
In toy train lingo, when people talk about a âPendulum Reverseâ, in my experience it is most typically talking about the pre-war Lionel unit, from before Lionel acquired the Ives patent and was able to develop the â3-positionâ E-Unit that was standard on Lionel trains from the late '30s up until the late 1980s or early 1990s.
I completely missed that no brand had been specified, so much was I used to âPendulum Reverse Unitâ applying to the specific type I shared. It does in fact have a âpendulumâ action, the piece with the contact fingers swings back and forth each time power is applied.
Here is a short video showing my other unit, in operation:
Most of the unit is obscured, but you can see the pendulumâs manual lever projecting down, and watch it swing from side to side.
As far as the Marx units, usually I hear them called âtwo-positionâ units, despite their pendulum action. American Flyer developed a 2-position unit in the late '50s or the '60s which works exactly like the Marx, and looks very similar. Again, not usually referred to colloquially as a pendulum reverse unit.
Lionel had a 2-position unit in the postwar years as well, but it was completely different, and could only be used with motors that had special double-wound fields.
The Lionel pendulum units are notorious for confusing and inconveniencing operators. Having worked on two units now, I feel they have a bit of a bad rap. Itâs not that they canât perform well, but rather that many are dirty and worn, and need a little TLC before they can perform. E-Unit repair can be finicky work, and replacement units arenât really available, so I can understand why most people donât bother with fixing them.
-El
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Great come back to my mention of reverser. Such detail you had.
Sad that video canât âlookâ behind the electrical connections. For one NOT looking closely, LOOK very closely at the bottom of the wires. There is a BLACK object switching back and forth.
BTW I wanted to build the unit to apply to home brew track switching solenoids. âIn my mindâ itâs a done deal, but I have NOT started the first steps. Like many of my great ideas. To be used are scrap ATT âjunkâ thrown in the trash (circa 1960âsâŚlots and lots of relays w/coils) Western Electric had no use for that old stuff and locally they had NEW stuff.
BTW ALSO they pitched an old wheatstone bridge that I used in my HS Physics class. Local ATT had a computer devise much better than the manualy operated one. They didnât throw it, I had contacts who carefully handed it to me. LOL endmrw0320251341
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