Q: I’ve been have difficulty getting the “fan” to operate correctly on my Lionel No. 3530 Generator Car. It usually takes maximum transformer voltage, and even then the fan turns extremely slowly and stops on every full revolution. The vibrator motor has a rubber washer with three fingers. I have tried replacing this with a new washer, but this just makes matters worse.
A: The Generator Car, like all Lionel cars with vibrating motors, can be very troublesome. First, check the I.D. hole in the center of the vibrator coil. It must be absolutely clean. Use a toothpick or cotton swab to clean it out. Make sure the fan face and the vibrator coil are also clean.
Next, put the fan shaft in a variable-speed 1/4-inch drill chuck. Just tighten it by hand. Running the drill slowly will allow you to see whether the fan shaft is straight and true. If the shaft is bent, straighten it. These steps are usually all that’s necessary to get a Generator Car back in action.
The hole in the coil is not a thru hole. If anything collects in the bottom of the hole, it restricts the fan from engaging the rubber fingers. If the fan turns freely by hand, then this is the issue….there should be a small "drag" whne turning the fan by hand fron the rubber fingers
Use a very small diameter drill bit to clean out the hole with the car upside down.