I was not successful the first time, or second. Then passed the third time (this October). I used similar references. But what helped me the most was taking a course. I took the online, live, PPI2pass Review course. I highly recommend it.
my dashboard now looks like (the 28th was removed):
PE Electrical and Computer: Power
Date Taken: October, 2016 Location: Portsmouth Area
Result Pending More information
I had a similar experience, failed twice, and then passed on the third try. Before taking it the last time, I took an online class and bought an FE quiz bank from http://ppi2pass.com/ and it really helped.