Hi everyone. I’ve got a Lionel 1689e engine and some cars that went with it but it has been in a box for as long as I can remember because it never worked. Now I’ve pulled it out, cleaned it up and would like to make it run but the motor isn’t working. The wiring is very old and some of it has what could be 60-year old insulation that is falling off. It also appears someone may have tried some wiring repair in the past because one of the wires seems much longer than necessary. I have no problem with resoldering wires but I’m not certain they’re all in the correct place. I’ve got a Lionel repair book but it covers the post-war years. Is there a site or reference that would clearly show me the wiring on this engine? I worked on it this weekend but didn’t want to tear the motor apart until I knew for sure how it was supposed to be put back together. Thanks for you help!
I would temporarily wire it without the e-unit, just to check the motor itself out. Wire from the pickup to one of the bruerminals, from the other bruerminal to the field coil, and from the other end of the field coil to the frame.
Bob, thanks for the quick information. I can pronounce those terms you used but I don’t know what they look like, other than the pick-up, hence the request for diagrams and reference material so I would know what I was looking at or looking for.
Hello Jamesh! Olsen’s Toy Train Parts has diagrams for engines like yours with all of the part names & numbers as well. If you look at the rear of the E-Unit where the wires come out of there should be a total of three. The Wire that comes from the Bottom of the e-unit is soldered to the left solder joint of the motor field.Next, there is a wire that comes from the four finger contact plate on the far left side that is soldered to the Brushplate that is on the commutator side of the motor & finally; The last wire of the three is soldered to the right side of the motor field & that is it for your wiring project. If you need wires or other parts for your e-unit. Olsen’s has them also. Take care & if you need anything else. let us know.
Hey Keith, thanks for the tips! I didn’t get a chance to look at it last night and I’m usually at work when I get to read through the forums (like now), but I’ll try to get some work done on it tonight. I appreciate anyone and everyone’s input and this forum is an invaluable resource to guys like me, trying to get back into the fun of trains. I’ve got to read through the “how to post pictures” topic to post a couple of my layout on the floor, which is taking up a good portion of the living room floor right now, especially as I want to keep making it bigger and bigger. BLOCKED SCRIPTinsertsmilie(‘[:)]’)
I started to point James to Olsen’s; but it didn’t seem to be working, as is often the case. I just tried it again; and it still seems to be broken.
I don’t have any picture of your particular locomotive’s innards here; but maybe this will help: The brishes are two little carbon cylinders, probably inside short brass tubes and spring loaded to press against the rotating part of the motor. The field coil is out where you can see it and wound around a stack of thin iron plates that probably form the bulk of the motor.
As I said, run a wire from the pickup to one of the bruerminals, then another wire from the other bruerminal to one end of the field coil. There is an excellent chance that the other end of the field coil is already connected to the frame of the locomotive, which is where you want it.
Wired this way, the locomotive will run in one direction only; but that should be enough to verify that the motor works. If you want, swap the connections between the two brushes to run it in the other direction.
Thanks again, Bob. I had tried to check the Olsen site this morning and it doesn’t seem to work. I click on the Library and it just opens up four Google search windows at the bottom of the page. I’ll print this topic out and it will be easier for me to reference the instructions, while I’m looking at the motor.
Is this problem with the Olsen site something that happens regularly?
Yes. The site can be very useful; but it is erratic.
Hello James! If you still have trouble accessing Olsen’s Site; Give Dr.Tinker’s Toy Train Parts a Try & see if he can scan a photo of a 1689E Motor so that you can see how it is wired & give you a idea of the part names as well. Take care & keep us posted.