I picked up a #600 from the bag yesterday, worked fair but stunk of ozone and seemed to only want to go one way and not the other. So after a complete overhaul and ops check, the thing runs super! The only problem is that it still only goes one way and starts to smoke trying to get it to go the other. E-unit funtions as it should. Now, if I switch the 2 wires on the switch plate, it will go the other direction but working the e-unit to make it go the other way it starts to smoke again. I suspect that the e-unit has a problem with making it go one way from the other. What should I look for? Or just swap e-units and hope to be done with it? Thanks
Sounds like the wiring from the e-unit to the motor is shorting.
Kurt
No, I swapped e-units and still the same. NOW, I did notice that manually doing this that the armature shaft comes up alot 1 way but not the other, so Im missing some parts. Upon looking in my book for diesel switchers shows that for the 600 needs a thrust washer on top of the armature. Putting 1 on doesn’t help at all, but also taking my finger and pushing down helps but the friction of my finger on the shaft hinders it, but will run. Looking at the 622 diagram shows there are 2 washers with the bearing ring on top of the armature, could that be what Im missing? Wish I had 1 in my parts bin.
There should be a thrust washer on the top of the armature and a tiny ball bearing under the bottom of the armature shaft. Also, look to see if the gear on the axle needs replacing. It’s possible the armature isn’t going completely down due to a worn gear.
I did put a washer on the top of the armature. It just seems that with the motor going the other way that the torque/geardrive pushes the armature up causing the gears to bind, and putting a ball bearing on the bottom would just add fuel to the fire sorta speak. It seems that I need like 3-4 washers on top to keep it down in order to work, which I really don’t want to do cause that’s not right. If I have to I’ll just lock it out to go only 1 way. Keep the ideas comming, thanks.
Which version do you have?
You haven’t said, but I’m guessing it runs like a banshee “backward”(cab first) & not so “forward”(hood first).
If this is the case, here is the solution…
The plastic “bearing” staked between the power truck side frames has worked loose. To confirm this, run the loco with the wheels off the track(using alligator clips) and squeeze the side frames together with your thumb & forefinger. It should run MUCH better.
The quickest way to restore it to operating excellence is to screw tiny self-tapping screws through strategically drilled pilot holes, one or two per side, through the side frames & into this plastic bearing carrier to make the entire assembly rigid again as new. Avoid any interference with the spur gears & axles, use black, or blued, hardware to minimized the visual impact.
Rob
Motor runs forward and backward by switching the wires at the motor. By switch plate I understand you to be referring to the metal areas with the brushes on top of the motor.
ie: problem is not with the ‘transmission’, and problem is not with the motor.
You changed the e-unit, and the motor will run, both directions if wires are switched to motor, but smoked when you cycle the e-unit.
It sounds like:
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Wiring between e-unit and motor is shorting. Separate the wires to the motor.
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Both E-unit(s) fingers are shorting. (2-bad e-units) Check inside the e-unit, and make sure the fingers across the copper barrel are not touching anything but the barrel.
That’s my best guess. Hope it helps,
Kurt
I did a e-unit swap with a known and operable one and the same problem. Works 1 way but not the other. Im starting to think that maybe something is screwed with the top plate on the motor. Think I got one lying around somewhere, I’ll keep ya posted, y’all do the same, thanks.
Could be the motor is wired wrong! Check with the Lionel factory diagram for the wiring of that particular locomotive and e-unit, don’t go with wiring from a similar model! Check the wiring as you may have a ground wire missing.
Since you tried another e-unit that you say is good it must be a wiring problem of some sort!
Lee F.
Having one of the brush wires swapped with the field wire could cause your symptoms. If there is a green wire between the e-unit and the motor, it should be connected to the field winding, not to either of the brushes. It doesn’t matter which brushes the other two wires go to. (They may be blue and yellow, or both yellow.)
Nope, just the way the book shows. Yellow in the middle, and the green and blue attatched to the brush terminals. And flipping the the 2 [green & blue] is the only way I can make it go the other way. Swapping with a known good e-unit still gives me the same problem of smoking the coil with motor going 1 way and not the other. As my brother says, “it’s one of those unexplainable electrical gremlins”!
Look again at the book. Green goes in the middle, to the field-winding terminal.
I hope you haven’t burned the field winding beyond the point of serviceability.
StubbsO…Is it possible that someone may have repaired this before???and instaled the colored wires incorrectly??? Do your other e-unit(s) wires have the same colors in the same positions?
Kurt
Here’s how it works:
In one direction, the e-unit connects the blue wire to the pickup and the yellow wire to the green wire. Since the blue and yellow wires go to the brushes and the green wire to the field, this puts the armature in series with the field; and the motor runs. In the other direction, the e-unit connects the yellow wire to the pickup and the blue wire to the green wire. Again the armature and field are in series, but with the armature connections reversed; so the motor again runs, but in the opposite direction.
If you mistakenly connect the green wire to one of the brushes and connect the wire that should be connected to that brush (let’s say its the yellow wire) to the field instead, then the first connection that I described is not affected. You swapped the green and yellow wires; but the e-unit is connecting them together anyway; so the motor runs normally.
But, when you step the e-unit to run in the other direction, things are not right. Now the pickup is connected to the yellow wire, which is wrongly attached to the field; so the field gets the full transformer voltage. On the other hand, the green and blue wires, which are mistakenly soldered to the armature, are connected together, shorting the armature. The motor won’t run that way, of course. Instead, the field coil just gets hot and eventually burns up.
A similar thing happens if the green and blue wires are swapped.
So connect the green wire to the middle terminal, the field terminal, and connect the blue and yellow wires to the brushes; and I think you’ll find that the motor runs properly.
StubbsO, did you ever get that NW2 working?
No, just with my messing with it and trying to get it going I wound up toasting the coil. Got a new one comming. I did the wire swap, but was to far gone to help. P.O.'s me after reading your last post about wiring, I shoulda looked in the book at color codes. No wonder the previous owner had problems, I just put it back the way I found it. Well, you know the story. It’s ok though, as I didn’t pay much for it and the body was a trashed repaint of a I don’t know what. So in the meantime I striped the body for a CNW repaint. I did the same on a PW 2353 which turned out great. Now, if only I could find some trashed boxcars to do the same to, I’d be happy. I’m getting into kitbashing! Thanks anyway, I’ll be lurking!
It’s alive and runs unbelievably fast!!! Body’s painted and will be decaled tommorow. Now I got more junk parts. My train season is rapidily approaching!