The most likely reason why the solution does not converge at the first step is that there is a clearance between contact surfaces. This means that there needs to be rigid body motion before there are any contact forces. This is difficult for the solver. Move one component closer, or so that contact surfaces touch each other at t=0.
It's also an option to use prescribed motion instead of applied force. This is how I did it. Create a constraint that moves one component, and a force measure to keep tracj of the force.