Santa post man brought me Lionel Jr 1700E red and silver streamliner today.
Seller said he had cleaned and lubed it, so when I unpacked it I took it
in and put it on the layout. Turned on the power and poof, sparks and smoke.
I don't think 1700e's are sparkler locos or have smoke units so I turned it off
immediately. I slowly turned it back on and got the hum of death from the
transformer. I tried moving some of the old wires around, didn't work.
Dead short. I took the motor out and found some deteriorating insulating.
Put some tape on that, no help. I noticed the e-unit was partially out of the
frame, no screws. I think the e-unit got jostled in shipping and got something
grounded that was not supposed to be. The train was packed very well, so
I can't fault the seller. I finally ended up removing the e unit completely
and the train runs fine. I think the e unit fried the moment I turned on
the power.
Pics and video attached. Including the evil e unit.