Hornby Class 56

I have been handed 2 Hornby class 56's in DC (R2646 Latest run of 56's). One had a directional lighting issue in that all lights came on whatever direction the engine ran in. Work to date:
All diodes checked and operating fine. all wires from the el/board to the tabs checked for a short circuit, found none. checked the contacts from the tabs to the lights and alignment from the body with the tabs and they were fine.
The second engine the motor would not rotate, no hum or any indication to go, no lights either at any power setting. The circuit breaker did not activate. Work to date:
Checked for continuity across the wheels on the bogies and the resistance was low. In other words there is a short between the + and -. Disconnected the motor, no good. Checked the wires from front and back bogies for shorts and to insure that they were correctly connected i.e. + to + etc.
My conclusion is that the el/board is faulty in both engines. One option is to install a bachmann chip and hard wire it eliminating the el/board. This will operate in DC an well as DCC.
Has anyone ever had an issue with this engine and any ideas as to what else to check?