Hesitation between F & R in Lionel's 1963 NW2

Sounds like you have a two position E-unit (double wound field type motor), and the pawl is hesitating before being pulled up to rotate the drum into the next position. Until the drum rotates, power is still going to the same field windings and the engine moves in the last direction selected.  Once the drum rotates, current is directed to the newly selected field windings and the engine goes in the correct direction.

Check to see if the pawl assembly is moving freely in the solenoid. Don't lubricate it as that usually makes things worse, but see if it is hanging up on something - not much else you can do. It's just one of the quirks sometimes seen with this type of reversing unit.

On the upside, it does mean that your motor is in excellent condition since it starts running even before there is enough current to activate the solenoid in the reverse unit! 

Jim 

I appreciate the information you provided.  Thank you for taking the time to reply.

No drum in a two position e-unit. Just a contact arm that is toggled back and forth between contacts. It is very common for the engine to move in the last direction before the solenoid's armature pulls up and flips the contact arm over to the other position.

As far as I know, there is no fix or adjustment to a 2-position e-unit.

As Jim wrote: Do NOT lubricate the reversing unit.

Thanks for the info, C.W.  - forgot that the solenoid armature is connected to a different mechanism in the 2 position units. 

Jim

Here’s a couple of thoughts. First, try spraying the reversing unit with contact cleaner – saturate it thoroughly, every nook and cranny while working the mechanism with your other hand. Be absolutely certain the power is off, some contact cleaners are flammable! There is some merit to the idea that the solenoid may be sticking, but I think it is more likely that the switch contacts may be gunked up just enough to delay a clean snap when the first few volts are applied. Blow or air dry, the contact cleaner evaporates quickly, so you won’t harm anything in the reversing unit – Do NOT get any on your painted or plastic surfaces – some contact cleaners can dissolve paint or plastic!

There are two basic causes for the delay that’s causing this problem; a sticky solenoid and/or switch mechanism (described above), and/or a weak solenoid. For whatever reason, Lionel solenoids are sometimes not consistent in their pulling power – some are weak/slow in the first part of their movement. I have seen it in reversing units, crossing gates, and switches. If this is the root cause, the only cure I know of is replacement of the solenoid – in this case, replacing the whole reversing unit would likely be more cost effective and less time consuming.

Which brings me to my final point, if all else fails, just replace it – go to a train show, find the guy that sells parts and buy a couple of used ones – clean ‘em up, then test them individually with your transformer set to its lowest possible voltage – with any luck, one of them will snap into position quickly, even at just 5 – 6 volts. Like others have said, NO LUBE of any kind on these, only contact cleaner.

 George

GeoPeg posted:

...There are two basic causes for the delay that’s causing this problem; a sticky solenoid and/or switch mechanism (described above), and/or a weak solenoid....

No way!

As CW points out above - this is very common in these little double wound motors and is actually an indicator that the motor is in good running condition. There is NO NEED  to replace or fix anything.

Thank you George and C. W for the additional insights to what Jim provided.

Thanks Rob.  

In the pre electronic Post War Lionel era, the transformers come on at about 6 volts and go up to about 16 to 20 volts. The reason for this is the eunit operates when the voltage is first applied and Lionel wanted to apply enough voltage for the eunit to operate before the engine started to move. If you are not using post war transformers to run this engine, they may become on with a voltage too low to get the eunit to operate immediate, thus the engines starts to move first.  You might want to check the specs on the transformers you are using. 

In the pre electronic Post War Lionel era, the transformers come on at about 6 volts and go up to about 16 to 20 volts. The reason for this is the eunit operates when the voltage is first applied and Lionel wanted to apply enough voltage for the eunit to operate before the engine started to move. If you are not using post war transformers to run this engine, they may become on with a voltage too low to get the eunit to operate immediate, thus the engines starts to move first.  You might want to check the specs on the transformers you are using.

In my experience, some postwar engines will move a bit even with a postwar Lionel transformer.