Has anyone upgraded their 8864 or 8800 to a 5-pole before? I have two 8864 (small diesel switchers internally identical to 8800) that I attempted to upgrade to 5-pole motor. I followed instructions on zscale.org and used recommended parts - 209454 armature and 89871 brushes. Upgraded loco gives no signs of life when on tracks or when connected to a 9V battery directly. The armature spins freely and worm-gear engages wheels without binding. The current is present on brushes. This very same loco runs OK with 3-pole motor. I tried second 5-pole armature and set of brushes with exactly the same result - should I say lack of!
I purchased quite a few locos of ebay that were gummed up and needed some major cleaning before they would run, and eventually they would all come to life, but I'm totally dumbfounded with 8864 and 5-pole armature. Any ideas or suggestions are most welcome.

Best,
ig

Charlie,

You are absolutely right! It took several minutes of hand spinning and then a toothpick push and full throttle to get the rotor spinning! Thank you for your help!

ig