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Hi Everyone, easy one here: on my 2383 Lionel Diesel, one of the E-Unit coil wires broke at the coil.

I'm guessing if I can unwind one circumference of wire I can re-attach the wire to where it is supposed to go, but aren't the coil wires coated so they can't be soldered to? Can I scrape off enough of the coating so that I can make electrical contact and also create a solderable wire? The wire is awfully thin so I'm not sure my 73 year old fingers can manage this successfully. Otherwise I need to buy a new E-Unit.

Roger

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Überstationmeister posted:

It is magnet wire coated in shellac, you can scrape it off with something like an Xacto knife to solder it, but I prefer to use heat to burn off the coating utilizing either the hot iron or judicious use of a pocket lighter. It is usually a good idea to tin the exposed end before soldering it in place.

Thanks! I'll give this a try.

Roger

CK posted:

I've done that repair before and it should work fine. try not to kink wire when you unwrap it because it may crack on you again. You can also use sandpaper or emery cloth to strip the wire.  

Thanks CK, I have some 2000 grit sandpaper I can use.

Roger

Überstationmeister posted:

It is magnet wire coated in shellac, you can scrape it off with something like an Xacto knife to solder it, but I prefer to use heat to burn off the coating utilizing either the hot iron or judicious use of a pocket lighter. It is usually a good idea to tin the exposed end before soldering it in place.

Thanks! I'll give this a try.

Roger

I have repaired them myself in the past and it isn't hard if you are careful, to unwind a bit and solder it.  Because the wire is thin it doesn't take much to heat up the joint and let solder flow. 

If you can't fix the e-unit, I am of the school of replacing it with an electronic one from a place like Dallee, I kind of like the old e unit as a rube goldberg special, but a solid state one is so much more reliable

bigkid posted:

I have repaired them myself in the past and it isn't hard if you are careful, to unwind a bit and solder it.  Because the wire is thin it doesn't take much to heat up the joint and let solder flow. 

If you can't fix the e-unit, I am of the school of replacing it with an electronic one from a place like Dallee, I kind of like the old e unit as a rube goldberg special, but a solid state one is so much more reliable

Rube Goldberg...that says it all! Gotta hand it to those electro-mechanical engineers back then!

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