Mike, At least get some spray electronic contact cleaner, and give the bottom of the E-unit a good shot and make sure that the roller on the E unit is clean. You can use a Qtip with some alcohol (91% isopropyl from a drug store) and clean as much as you can. If it has been sitting for a long time, it will probably need a good going over in the motor to get it running in tip-top shape. If you have a transformer at all, you can take two test leads and connect one to one of the slide shoes on the pick up, and connect the other lead to any metal part of the loco, and while holding the loco in your hand, turn up the power on the transformer, and it should run, if everything is in good enough shape. It's a quick and dirty test, without having to put it on tracks to run it. I usually do this when I get something new that I get, but knowing that it is something that is going to need work. My eBay purchases, for restorations. Like I said earlier, I have three 1681's I am presently restoring, and four 1688's also. The motors are almost identical in all of them, and really easy to work on. The 1661E is the earlier loco, that the 1681E was based on, and are similar construction.
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