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I've been working on a 342AC I got at a train show.  Besides replacing the crummy wiring someone used, and needing new reverse unit fingers, I found that when I put the shell on, it shorts out.  I am thinking that the soldering lugs on the smoke unit are touching the shell.  They are nice and flat, but I'm thinking that's what is going on.   Has anyone else had this problem and how did you solve it?  I really don't want to put some insulating tape on shell, or the smoke unit lugs, but I don't see any other option.

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If it isn’t the smoke unit wiring shorting out it is possibly the wires soldered to the field coil touching the inside of the shell. See if you can re-arrange those soldered connections to be lower or put some insulation over the top of the field coil and the soldered connections and see what happens.

Gilbert did actually put a protective cover/tape over the smoke unit lugs on a number of engines, not sure if all though.

richabr posted:

Original Gilbert engines sometimes came with masking tape at the points of shorting possibilities, smoke unit and field wiring. The tape is usually dried and thru disassembly and age is usually missing. Any type of tape capable of insulating should be OK.

Rich

Was it on the shell or the field/smoke unit wires?

Great to hear you got it running.  As mentioned, some postwar AF steam engines came with a thin black ~5/8" wide strip of paper over the smoke unit contacts held into place with masking tape.  I found that if you can't reuse the original paper strip (too saturated with fluid, etc.) manilla file folder material and fresh tape do the trick nicely.  Have the area and smoke unit body clean and dry before installation.  Also some have been found with similar insulation on the ceiling of their cab roofs to prevent field connection points from contacting the shell.  Not all, but some.  

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