I just recently purchased th Lionel Flyer Chief Polar Express set.
So far I'm have no smoke come out of the engine. I'm also experiencing power issues. The train will be running fine then stop and start again? I did notice some sparks coming from the front guide wheel assembly.
Any repair suggestions for these issues?
Please let me know.
Jason
Replies sorted oldest to newest
I had the same issues 3 months ago when I got mine. I sent mine for warranty service because I feared other issues arising, and I didn't want to void it by attempting my own repair.
When it was returned, it ran and smoked great. After some usage though, the power cutting out issue returned, but not the smoke or the arcing problems.
From what I had read on this forum, I first checked the pilot truck wire and sure enough it was loose...too stiff to endure the dynamics. So I replaced it with a super flex wire.
I know DIY is a risk if other issues arise in year one that need warranty serice, but it seemed to me that if Concord didn't replace with super flex the first time, then I was going to have this particular issue no matter how many times it went to Concord. So DIY is what I chose.
Check out the following topic postings.
Flyer Chief, Polar Express Locomotives stalling problem
Make sure the smoke switch is on and the right amount of fluid has been added.
And definatly do NOT overfill the smoke unit either. If its still dead, you will have to send back to Lionel. With the sound volume turned down, I can hear the smoke unit fan pulse as I slowly run the engine. Thankfully I do not use the smoke (causes issues with my asthma), so I leave my switch in the off position. I did test it tonight as it was the first time I ran the engine(early xmas present from my wife). Those of us that really enjoy this sent, and like myself want to see Lionel do more PE stuff in S gauge, need to start sending them emails to that effect. I have already emailed back and forth as they emailed back on what exactly I wanted to see added to the S gauge PE line. For me I wanted to see the figure sets offered in S, along with the hero boy's house and other items to help recreate the scenes from the PE movie. To bad the ceramic building craze has sort of died out, we might have seen a few PE buildings offered from someone. I hope your smoke issues get sorted out quickly. Mike and Michele T
Access to this requires an OGR Forum Supporting Membership
